What an Intern Seeks

With the way the economy is headed there are more young professionals seeking internships prior to transitioning into the working field. This decision is not necessarily by choice.

Have you even been turned down for lack of experience or most of the jobs you come across require more experience than you have to offer? I know I have and that is why I choose to look for an internship position. Not solely for this reason, but I also know there is a lot more out there that I can learn. This situation has young adults, like myself, sitting in limbo between student and professional. This situation has us wondering how are we going to get our foot in the door?

Since we have to start somewhere I believe the best way for young adults to gain the experience they need are through good internships. 

Since these internships are usually not paid we need to make sure we get the most out of them.  There are a few things we look to gain from these experiences that potential employers may not know. 

The main thing we obviously want and need to get out of the internship is experience. 

Most young adults lack the experience that most job opportunities may be looking for. There are things you just cannot learn in a classroom and these internships will be very beneficial to our future careers. 

As an intern most of us hope to gain hands-on experience in the design world by working side by side with experienced designers. Getting to see how a designer thinks, works, and operates will be motivating and beneficial for young adults and me who are just looking to soak up any knowledge we can gain in this field. 

Of course we also would love to get great work pieces out of it as well. The ability to have professional work to add to our growing portfolio will be priceless. Working on projects with the designer will challenge our artistic ability and it will push us in ways we never thought we could be challenged. 

Working in a professional setting will also help us with our communication skills as well. If you get the chance to work with clients it is only a plus because you will learn how to communicate with them on a professional level. Many of us may lack the communication skills we will need in order to communicate with clients or co-workers. Learning how do communicate is one of the intangibles interns will definitely need as a professional. There are so many things to learn from an internship and I think as young professionals it is a great place to start.

To me an internship is like the practice run before the race or the walk through before a game. It is preparing us for the professional world and we are able to learn and gain knowledge from experience professionals. Why not get as much information and direction you can before you are on your own. I know what I am looking for in an internship and you should to.

So even though the position is not paid you are compensated in many other ways. The experience, knowledge, motivation, and even networking you get out of an internship are payment enough for me.

Haliena Snowden
About me:

I am currently pursuing my Master of Arts in Publication Design at the University of Baltimore and I am an intern at Kate Tallent Design. I received my Bachelors degree in Graphic Design from Towson University. I love to learn and gain inspiration from others and that is why I feel that young adults can always benefit from a great opportunity like an internship.