Students are expected to have real-world experience
Career coaches have been
advising college students about the importance of internships for
decades. More recently, Baby Boomers have been encouraged to take on
"adult internships" to help them transition to new occupations or enter a
new field. However, the first-ever study on high school careers by
Millennial Branding and Internships.com says 50 percent of companies are
creating high school internship programs this year and high school
students are even more career-focused than college students. The study, "High School Careers,"
shows the importance of career development activities, such as
internships and volunteering, for high school students who want to get
into better colleges and find future employment.
How can high schoolers position themselves to be competitive for
internships? Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding and author of Promote Yourself, offers the following tips to enhance potential opportunities:
1. Ask your family members for help. "We found that 54
percent of parents have helped their children get work experience during
high school," Schawbel says. Students should encourage their parents to
introduce them to people they know who may help connect them to an
internship, and parents should help high schoolers prepare for
interviews. Schawbel suggests parents talk to their children about what
to expect in work situations and to suggest how to make the most of the
opportunity.
2. Attend networking groups and meetups. Go to eventbrite.com and meetups.com
and join networking groups in your city. "By going to these events, you
can start to establish your own network and differentiate yourself from
your fellow high school students," Schawbel suggests. "Rarely will you
see students attend events, so professionals will be more than impressed
if you take the initiative."
3. Ask your high school. See if your high school
administrators or teachers have any connections to companies that are
offering internships. Your high school probably has the resources and
connections that will help you get these opportunities, Schawbel says.
If they don't, they should be able to point you in the right direction.
4. Apply for an internship online. Internships.com is a source of high school internships. For example, Microsoft offers a paid internship
program for 8 to 10 weeks only for high school students. Many of the
top colleges also offer internships with online applications. For
example, Boston University has a research internship in science and engineering during the summer for six weeks.
5. Do freelance work. Instead
of applying to internship programs, Schawbel says, "You can also use
sites like oDesk.com and Freelancer.com in order to find work that
matches your skills. In our study we found that about 40 percent of
internships are administrative, but freelance work is solely based on
your skills and you can have more flexibility with where you do the
work. Do freelance work in order to build a portfolio that you can use
to get into a better college."