Understanding Internships
By Salomé Valencia-Bohné
I treated my internships as one of the foundational pieces to my university experience. Each summer, I would continue to work a full-time job, and I would intern during my “free time” in the hopes of building my skill set and professional network. It is my hope that the brief tidbits of advice below will support you in your academic journey.
Internship Experience
Everyone has different goals for what a successful internship looks like. Before you start looking, take a moment to jot down what you’re looking for, what you hope to gain, how much time you can invest in your internship, and whether you can afford to take an unpaid internship.
Once you have a clear vision of these basic pieces, visit your university’s career center and make an appointment to speak with a knowledgeable staff member. Ask for any helpful websites, brochures, and other materials that may support you with better understanding what to expect from an internship. Also understand that you may need to start this process early if you don’t have a large amount of time to invest and if you know of internships that have deadlines.
When you settle into your appointment, speak with the career center staff and determine what opportunities exist that are within your budget and meet your expectations. Some internships are offered in different cities, states, and countries. Some internships may have deadlines months in advance and require several professional references.
Because I was a first-generation student, I understood that I would need to remain local, and I would have to make time outside of my normal job for an internship. I worked with my career center in advance to determine which local internships were a good fit for me.
The first internship that I decided to apply for was a research assistant role at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. For this role, I needed two professor recommendations, and I needed to schedule time off work to attend Harborview’s mandatory volunteer orientation.
Ways to Land an Internship
For my first internship, I decided to go the traditional route and work with my career center. For my later internships, I asked professors and university staff if they knew of internships that would support me in building my research skills. The hope was to be able to apply to graduate programs after I paid my student loans in full.
Because this was my long-term goal, I worked with my professors to apply for local research assistant opportunities. I also transitioned to holding different university jobs that would allow me the flexibility to work and attend school full time.
I still used the career center to edit my resumés and cover letters as well as attended university workshops to build my interview skills. These workshops were helpful because they taught me what to wear to an interview and that having a solid understanding of the organization would better support me in understanding how I fit into the greater organizational structure.
What Internships Taught Me
Internships taught me the importance of understanding how my degree connected to the professional landscape. They provided me with insight that getting a degree is only one small part of the bigger puzzle. I would need “real world” experience in combination with my degree to help me land my first job after graduation.
Internships also taught me which potential organizations had good cultures and what job prospects existed for the type of degree I was getting. For example, I earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Interning in the field taught me that I would need at least a master’s degree to be able to do the work that I dreamed of doing.
Internships can help you build your skill sets, broaden your professional network and much more. If you’re like me and are a first generation student from a different city, from a different culture, and with limited understanding of what “professional work” looks like, then internships may give you the building blocks to construct the life that you envision for yourself. They may also give you insight as to whether the degree that you are working towards is the right degree for what you want to do, or if your degree is the right one for the lifestyle that you want to eventually have.
Wherever you decide to intern, I hope that your internship helps you grow into the person that you want to become and presents you with opportunities and knowledge to continue to invest in your community.
CSF Alumna Salomé Valencia-Bohné holds a Master of Social Work and a Certificate in Care Management from University of Washington in Seattle. She also holds a master’s degree in International Care and Community Development from Northwest University, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pacific Lutheran University, and graduated from the University of Aberdeen’s Erasmus Program. She is a former Achievers Scholar, Gear Up Scholar, Diversity Scholar, Hispanic Academic Achievers Program Scholar, and Carol LaMare Scholar. Throughout the years, Salomé has won various community awards and roles such as the Ubuntu Award, a Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work clinical student paper award, and a UW Student Ambassador position.