The Intern’s Bill of Rights
A college degree by itself no longer commands a quality job. That’s a fact of life in a global job market tattooed with relentless change.
Having two or three quality school-related internships under your belt by graduation gives you an edge. The trick is to avoid those dead-end gigs so useless they should come wrapped in yellow crime-scene tape.
When you’re partnering with your school, the good news is that you have rights. No one talks about them much but here’s my take of what The Intern’s Bill of Rights would look like. Or should.
Learning Opportunity. You have the right to expect a quality training experience with clear objectives in learning.
Strategic Choices. You have the right to target internships allowing you to build the specific kinds of experiences and relationships valuable to your future career. But when you have no work experience, almost any interning assignment can polish rough spots on soft skills in the workplace.
Good Matches. You have the right to turn down internships that do not relate to your education and that do not train you in the equipment and processes used in the career field you’re exploring.
Active or Passive. You have the right to know your internship options upfront. Are you applying for a “passive” or an “active” internship? Interns in the passive category chiefly observe, learning by osmosis; they handle low-level tasks, often as clerical helpers. By contrast, interns in active internships do occupational-specific tasks within the field, rather than simply being immersed in the working environment.
College Credit. You have the right to receive course credits, objectively graded on your performance.
Job Offers. You have the right to ask your school’s internship coordinator about the percentage of interns who received job offers after graduation from your prospective employer. Jobs are not guaranteed but many companies hire a high percentage of their interns.
Supervised Training. You have the right to expect your boss to write an evaluation of your work performance for a faculty supervisor.
Representation. You have the right to receive faculty intervention should the content of your internship differ substantially from the model presented before you signed on, as well as to know what, if any penalty you’ll incur by not completing the misrepresented internship.
Unpaid. You have the right to expect consideration of flexible hours when you are an unpaid intern, leaving you time for a second paid job to stay afloat.
Your Work. You have the right to be a grown-up on the job and not to be surprised if your behavior is so performance-free that the boss complains to your faculty supervisor. Internship, done right, benefits both parties.
And now for the commercial:
Not only are internships good bait on your resume proving you have real experience, they’re sources of powerful recommendations and new contacts in the business world.
— Joyce Lain Kennedy, Author of Resumes For Dummies, 5th Edition, and Job Interviews For Dummies, 3rd Edition.
