Internships

FAQ's

Internship opportunities are rising, with employers often limiting their hiring pool to past or current interns. Successful completion of an internship may significantly enhance your network, expand your connections, clarify your career paths, and improve your chances of securing a challenging, rewarding job upon graduation. Integrate your academic learning with the real-world workplace, and reap many benefits.
An internship may be part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid, carry academic credit, or consist of a volunteer experience. Remember: Experience is Experience regardless of the specific internship.
An internship, broadly defined, may consist of any on-site learning experience in a work setting that involves obtaining new skills/knowledge, and is related to your professional interest and career goals.
Typically, the junior year is the ideal time to pursue an internship. With a significant amount of core coursework completed, you can offer a prospective employer the innovative techniques and knowledge you have obtained in the classroom.
Internships can be completed during the Fall or Spring semesters, Summer Sessions, or for the full academic or calendar year. Employers requiring internships of a particular duration will specify this when promoting to prospective students.
Internship academic credit will be based upon positive feedback from employers and successful completion and submission of the Internship Paper at the conclusion of your internship. Students must work a minimum of 120 hours to receive three credit hours.

Student Benefits

Experience
Perhaps you’ve heard the adage: “you can’t get a job without experience….but you can’t get experience without a job.” Supplementing textbook, theoretical, and formal knowledge with actual real-world workplace activities brings it all together. Internships provide the chance to test your skills, expand your knowledge, hone workplace etiquette, and practice professionalism daily. The experiential opportunities are endless (appraise, budget, compile, communicate, correspond, design, develop, examine, facilitate, fundraise, market, negotiate, organize, prepare, promote, record, recruit, research, supervise) and allow you to become the best professional you can be.

Career Clarity
One way to determine the best career path is to try various experiences that interest you. Internships are a highly effective way to explore different environments and work climates in an effort to determine your fit-small office or large corporation; profit or non-profit sector; an office, laboratory, or field position.

Contacts
Where is the best place to network? ON THE JOB! Move beyond the exchange of business cards to the exchange of ideas, the sharing of skills, and the contributions you make as member of the organizational team.

Marketability
Particularly in a challenging economy and job market (and don’t think that it is ever not challenging!), chances of securing a professional position in your chosen field are significantly increased for students with the practical, valid work experiences gained through internships. Employers look to intern pools as a primary source of recruitment for full-time, post-graduate professional positions.

Student Guide

Congratulations on the pursuit of your internship. The opportunity to apply your academic knowledge, test workplace environments, refine your skills, and gain valuable experience through an internship. The steps you take in pursuit of the right internship opportunity are also excellent practice and preparation for future professional level job searches. The staff at the Lilly Career Development Center (LCDC) is here to assist you as you progress through each step.

Step One: Outline Your Goals & Objectives
Consider the type of internship experience that would benefit you at this stage in your academic career. Consider work environments; geographic locations; part-or-full-time hours; duration (a semester, summer); paid or unpaid. Outline the skills, characteristics, and abilities you bring to a prospective employer. Why should they offer you this experience? What do you hope to gain/learn from the internship? (Example: workplace skills such as cooperation, communication, collaboration specific technical skills, or knowledge of a certain business/industry).

Step Two: Identify Prospective Internship Sites
Utilize all possible contacts and knowledge you can to identify employers with whom you wish to intern. Contact the LCDC and schedule an appointment with the Director, Tim Ryan , talk with your academic advisor and faculty, search the web, watch bulletin boards, and ask neighbors, friends, parents’ colleagues, and anyone you know who works in an environment you find appealing and pertinent to your academic/professional goals.

Step Three: The Application
Prepare your resume, along with a cover letter outlining your interest in the particular internship opportunity. If the position requires, prepare any supporting items such as writing or photography samples or portfolio items.

Step Four: Follow Up
Once the employer has received your resume, follow up within the week to inquire about the status and offer to arrange a mutually convenient interview time.

Step Five: Do Your Homework
Research the company/organization’s background, study their mission, learn about their clientele/customer base, and develop a working knowledge of business and industry trends. Pay particular attention to the job description for the internship, and consider what you believe you can contribute and how you can fulfill the duties and responsibilities outlined.

Step Six: Communicate Your Results
Contact the LCDC once you have made contact with an employer; we are interested in how the interview went, whether you were successful in securing the position, and how we can assist you further.

Step Seven: Complete Required Documentation For An Academic Credit Internship
Obtain the Internship Program Form from the LCDC. Register for the appropriate Internship Course; consult your Academic Advisor to verify accuracy. The completed form should be returned to the LCDC Director.

Step Eight: Complete A Mid-Term Evaluation
Please provide the feedback requested from the LCDC; this will enable us to better assist you, interface with the employer as needed, and maintain meaningful internship opportunities for Holy Cross College students.

Step Nine: Complete A Final Evaluation
Please provide the feedback requested from the LCDC. Your perspective as a student/intern is key to our ongoing program development and employer and student relations.