I never had an internship during college, and I have finally found a decent one. The only problem is that I graduated back in 2016. Is it weird to have an internship after college, especially two years after? Right now I am unemployed (have been for almost a year), so it's not like I have another job that would conflict with it. According to the listing it appears to be paid, as it mentions salary ($10hr) but also mentions giving credits for those still in college, so it seems like they will take graduates or students. My mother and sister think it's weird that I'd want to do one now, but the way I look at it is, it's still experience. And even if the company doesn't hire me once the internship is over, I can still look for another job elsewhere and get experience in a field related to what I studied (Majored in Animation, internship is in Graphic Design/Interactive Design, which they also required us to take a few courses in). Even if it's not directly related it's close, and it's something I'm still capable of doing. I also don't drive yet, so I'd have to take three buses to get there, but I wouldn't mind doing that. I feel like when it comes to this, it's better late then never. It could still develop into something, and I'd rather take a chance than not do it and be stuck in dead end retail jobs for the rest of my life, but I'm being told it's not a good idea to do one now. I need opinions on this. I'm torn because I can see both the pros and the cons and I'm not sure what to do. Do you think it's weird for someone almost two years out of college to do an internship? Should I just try to look for another job instead, or take a risk and go for it?
Internships are very important. You going back to do one is an awesome idea and you're actually pretty lucky to have found one willing to take people after college, most will only take students. It doesn't cost them anything to hire a student since they can say the student is getting compensated with credits, but they legally have to pay non-students, so usually avoid hiring non-students. It's not weird at all and there's many people who try to do what you're doing and can't after they graduate. The internship gives you solid work experience which will be valuable for every job you apply for after that. It honestly seems like internships are the main difference between people who succeed and don't once they graduate from what I've seen. All the business students I know who did an internship or two got great job offers even before graduating, while the ones who didn't do an internship have a really hard time finding a job even though they have the exact same training as the people who got good jobs. I've done 2 internships (one in marketing, one in chemistry) and was going to do a 3rd this summer but decided to do research for a university lab instead so I wouldn't have to move away from my boyfriend for months. They are really good experiences and super useful.
I'm a recruiter, and I work with people trying to break into new fields. My advice? Go for it. An internship isn't a job, but it's experience in a professional setting doing the thing you want to do. If you get one, you can then say in an interview "Yes I've done this, here's what I've learned, here's what I'm looking to do as my next step, and here are some supervisors who can vouch for the work I've done." Getting your first job in a field is the hardest job search you'll ever have, so anything that can crack that door open is a good move. If you need any more specific tips or ideas feel free to PM me. This is literally what I do for a living.
Thanks guys! I'm just terrified because if I do it and don't gethired afterwards, then I'm back to square one when it comes to unemployment.
You wouldn't be at square one. You'd have relevant experience on your resume that wasn't there before.
So yes to the internship, but check your expectations about being hired. Talk to your manager to see if there are opportunities to get hired after the internship. A lot of internships do not lead to a job because that's not what they are designed to do for most companies. Your goal with an internship is 3 main things 1) See if this is the industry that you actually want to work in 2) Build your resume with new and exciting projects 3) build your portfolio. You should focus on helping in as many projects as possible. Read books about how to be a good intern because it takes A LOT of drive to be able to ask for more work if you are being underutilized. Its also important for you to keep record on what projects you work on and the impact of those projects in order to create a good resume. Either way, a blank resume for 2 years is worse than a resume with an internship thrown in. It will explain your story better to future employers. Another thing you can do is start having coffee or lunch with people who you admire at this place after you start working. Ask them how they got there, if they have tips for incoming people, and get to know them. For better or for worse, the world is revolves around human relationships. You need to get to know people so you can start planning your next step in your journey.
