Last month I was delighted to be invited to speak at Melbourne Business School on a careers related topic, which was around preparation to secure an Internship. As a career coach I enjoy being around such dynamic and inspirational people, who have invested a lot of money and time, as well as making personal sacrifices to develop their careers and work towards achieving their goals.
As a part of the masters programs, students are encouraged to secure a paid Internship. However as we discussed the topic it started to become clear that perhaps the word Internship is not ‘commercially viable’ these days for those at post graduate study level. Often when companies and HR think of ‘Internships’ it is undergraduates who come in for 1 day a week and work gratis. They generally don’t bring any relevant work experience, require a fair amount of training and managing, and the process is coordinated through the university.
As a post graduate or Masters Student seeking an Internship it can be challenging, particularly as you are looking to be paid for your time and expertise, which is not traditionally associated by employers with the term Intern. Even though more often than not you bring related work skills and experiences with you to justify the fee this is not always valued by prospective employers.
At the end of the session we discussed that perhaps there is a need to rebrand or repackage what an internship means at a masters level, for as you delve into it, essentially it’s a short term contract you are seeking. Rebranding or repacking it may make masters ‘Interns’ more desirable to employers as ‘contractors’ are on fixed term contracts, bring proven skills and experience, and are paid for their time.
What are your thoughts on the subject of Internships and the need to re-package or update the term to be more relevant for master’s or post graduate students?
Does pitching yourself as a contractor make more sense? Will it or has it increased your odds?
3 Comments
Thank you for your comment and question. Six Figures is a job site rather than a recruitment agency. We do offer a variety of free resources you can access via the site http://www.sixfigures.com.au/job_seekers/resources as well as some Career Coaches you may wish to speak with or engage http://www.sixfigures.com.au/job_seekers/career_services to assist you. Best wishes, Kelly
I think the reason that “internships” are so attractive to employers right now is precisely because the involve no pay.
With the current economic downturn companies are happy to get something for nothing and supper reluctant pay for anything they can get for free.
I think the re-branding you suggest would take tremendous effort, but I would definitely be glad to see it enacted.
I beleive Internships are a good way of candidates getting vital experience within the marketplace, the way a candidate is marketed into the company does go a long way, the benefits of the candidate need to be explained properly to the employers. I run one of the Employment Agencies in Perth, Allstar Recruitment Group, you can see tips at http://www.allstarrecruitmentgroup.com.au about ensuring you market yourself correctly.