Fetching coffee, prepping documents, compiling generic spreadsheets, etc. are all examples of the pictures painted by movies and television of what items are associated with a student internship. Unfortunately, in some cases, this may not be too far from reality!

“I have been asked to do small tasks like cleaning a shelf or compiling information that takes me less than an hour to complete. I have been asking people who I know are busy to please let me know if they need any help, because I’m desperate” (Green, 2020).

Internships are usually sought by college students that are seeking preliminary professional experience in a formalized organizational setting. Should an individual be motivated enough to seek these opportunities, prove he/she is able to manage the job/school workload along with personal interests and obligations, and have the aptitude to pass all of company’s hiring criteria, is it not reasonable to reward this individual with the type of experience they are seeking?

While any role (whether it be Full/Part-Time or an Internship) can have some “horror stories,” Indeed.com cites several examples of how internship opportunities can really benefit interested applicants (Indeed, 2021):

1. What Am I Interested In?
   1. Internships are a great, low-risk opportunity to see what tasks or careers one may or may not be interested.
2. Networking.
   1. Whether an Intern is thrilled about the internship or not, it will still provide an otherwise unavailable environment by which professional connections can be made.
3. Learning in a Safe Environment.
   1. Again, most internships can be considered “safe” or “low-risk” where mistakes are expected, corrected, and learned from.
4. Unspoken Rules.
   1. Internships in an office environment are a great way to observe general “office politics” that may not be otherwise identified in a job advertisement such as office gossip, order of authority, addressing upper management, etc.

AFI has been able to grow its business over the past 30 years through the creation of systematic processes and repeatable systems by which the same standard of excellence is continually ensured. The responsibility of executing these systems is then placed into the jurisdictions of the applicable individual. This standard is replicated throughout the entire company, including our Interns.

Recently, Paige and Dominic, two students at the University of Missouri-Columbia completed their respective Marketing and Accounting Internships with AFI! Both students were given a robust list of jurisdictions that they were responsible for on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis in addition to any schoolwork or extracurricular items they were involved in. AFI asked a great deal of both these bright individuals and the feedback that was continually offered was, “I cannot believe the amount of responsibility I have or how much my work actually influences the business.”

In addition to an hourly wage, AFI was DELIGHTED to award both Paige and Dominic with a $10,000 bonus following graduation and completion of their internship requirements. These students have worked diligently to add true value to AFI and we wish them nothing but tremendous success in the future. The bar is certainly set quite high for the next group of Interns!

References:

Green, A. (2020, January 14). I have nothing to do at my internship. In www.askamanager.org. Retrieved from https://www.askamanager.org/2020/01/i-have-nothing-to-do-at-my-internship.html

Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, February 22). Why Is an Internship Important?. In www.Indeed.com. Retrieved from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/why-is-an-internship-important