Internships serve as potential ‘bridge’ for students

By Fritz Klug
News Editor

With many students getting closer to graduation, the transition between college and the “real world” workforce may seem overwhelming, however, internships can serve as a convenient and positive bridge between the two, according to Lynn Kelly-Albertson, executive director of the Career Network at Western Michigan University.

“I’m hard pressed to find a major that doesn’t offer an internship,” Kelly-Albertson said.
“There is no major that doesn’t have a practical application.”

For some majors, an internship is required, and those departments usually have a good infrastructure for placing students. But for those majors where an internship may not be common, there are, with some creative thinking, options available.

Kelly-Albertson said that she looks to see how the major “works,” taking the skills students learn in the discipline apply them in real world applications.
“We create the place to connect the dots,” she said.

A history major, for example, has research abilities that could be used in compiling information for corporations or the federal government.
Internships are a good way to “try a profession,” Kelly-Albertson said.

Often, the best people to talk to are advisors in the department, Kelly-Albertson said, who know the ins and outs of the profession.
Kelly-Albertson said she helps students find internships in town at companies who may not take a high volume of internships or work with a company to create an internship.

“Let’s not wait until they are posted,” she said.

Internships are what the student makes of them, she added.

While the Career Network can be recourse for students, much of their success relies on how much they are motivated.
Kelly-Albertson and Bob Miller, vice president for community outreach, hold internship workshops with local businesses to get them involved with working with the university. Kelly-Albertson said that she works with thousands of companies to find ways to have WMU students intern and clear up misconceptions they may have about having students work at their company.

Companies hiring interns is not as common as in years past due to the economic conditions, but the possibility is still there.
Internship as well as job opportunities are listed on BroncoJobs, WMU’s job search engine at www.wmich.edu/career.

There are also links on the Career Network’s Web site, same as BroncoJobs, to other listing services, such as Intern In Michigan and Partnership for Public Service.

This Thursday, Jan. 28, the Career Center will be broadcasting, “Internships from accounting to Zoology,” from 1 to 2 p.m. in 3301 Kohrman.

The speaker will be Donald Asher, author of the book How to Get Any Job, and will be covering the basics of getting different types of internships, how to find the right internship, as well as crafting a solid resume.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=14026

Posted by heraldstaff on Jan 24 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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