Paid internships are the employment programs offered by an employer to find potential employees. It usually targets Undergraduate or postgraduate students who want to gain experience in their field before they start their professional lives.
During an internship, since you’d be contributing to the employing organization’s growth and revenue generation, it is only fair that you try to get a paid summer internship.
These days, unpaid internships are quite common everywhere around the world; which only pay students in terms of experience and skills.
- It’s not a losing bargain but for students who want to make some money for the next semester, such kind of internships may be challenging.
However, if you try hard enough and make yourself proactive, you can find yourself some paid summer internship that acknowledges your hard work not only in terms of skills, but also monetarily. You just need to keep a few points in mind:
Make an Impressive CV For Paid Summer Internship
CV or resume are all about you trying to sell yourself at the hands of the employer, so make sure you give it yourself. A CV contains all the experience or skills you have gained over the years, thus, a good cv requires years of hard work.
Whenever applying to a new internship opportunity, first determine your area of interest and expertise and then link it to the position you are applying to. It would be difficult for the organization to let you go by not paying you if you have an impressive academic and social record.
However, never lie on your resume as it is not only ethically and morally wrong, but could lead you in deep trouble if the employers find out that you have provided false information.
Be Proactive in Your Approach
Usually, internship applications for large organizations begin as early as the October of the previous year. It is extremely important that you know all the deadlines and applies to your desirable organization without missing deadlines.
Many organizations have talent hunt programs for internees to filter the best potential candidates that they could employ in future.
As we all know this interesting concept “Be Proactive, Not Reactive”, so when you are being proactive in your attitude, it shows the potential to seek a new horizon in your upcoming professional life.
Thus, start your internship hunt as soon as you can before summers and apply to any place you think would be willing to hire you. Often times, you might get emails from your university regarding internship opportunities, apply to any position that is open for hiring and is related to your field.
Where to Find Paid Internship Opportunities
This usually depends on your field of education and knowledge; law firms, banks, real-estate firms, research labs, private hospitals, consumer goods companies, etc. often offer paid internships. It could be in the form of monthly stipends or weekly and fortnightly pay, etc.
which also depends on the position you are applying to and your level of expertise. Usually, students are able to find paid internships after they have completed their third year because the employers know that the students have gained enough knowledge by then to contribute to the development of the organization.
Whether or not you’ll get paid also depends on the type of organization you are applying to. Non-profit organizations do not have funds sufficient to pay their interns.
If you are applying to a non-profit organization, you need to bear in mind that it will most likely be an unpaid internship. If earning money really is that important, you can change your mind and apply to places that offer paid ones.
And if you are unable to do so, you can push yourself to combine a part-time job along with your internship if the skills they are providing are worth it. Again, whether or not you’ll get a reasonable offer depends on how much effort you put into it.
If you start looking for offers both online and offline really soon, you’d have good luck in finding the job of your choice.
Visit the websites of your desired organizations often, look for career opportunities on their websites and if you are unable to find anything, you could email them and ask for any details they can provide regarding the career opportunities they offer.
Sometimes, Education Commissions or universities give scholarships to the students who do unpaid internships in various sectors like public health, education, scientific research, etc. If your field comes within any of these areas, you can apply for the scholarship as well.
Funded Internships
Apart from getting paid for the internship or getting a scholarship for one, another way to get paid during summers for your hard work is through funding. This funding could come from organizations or foundations and may even come from your own college.
Many alumni or parents donate to college for this cause. Sometimes, post graduate or doctorate scholars give funding to the students who want to do research or experiential work related to their field.
Private, Profit-Making Organizations
Private businesses which have good revenue are bound to pay their interns by law of ‘Federal Internship Guidelines’ set up by The US Department of Labor.
If they refuse to do so, they can be held accountable by the law. However, their internship application programs are often extensive and require a lot of innovation, knowledge, persistence, and expertise for you to get through them.
Apart from money, these organizations might also offer some experiences whose value can’t be fathomed. Moreover, you always have a strong chance of getting hired by the same organization after you have completed your education.
Bottom-line is that, there is nothing that can’t be achieved with dedication and passion combined with hard work. These days, internet has eased our job hunting methods and it is easier to get internships during summers for the students.
