Internship, an instrumental way for businesses to attract young and untapped talent. Students get the opportunity to learn about a company’s culture, people, business etc. This sets the foundation for students and plays a significant role to shape their future. Are you here to learn about Internship?

What is Internship?

A temporary job arrangement for students that focuses primarily on evaluating their core skills, such as aptitude and attitude, to determine whether they would be a potential contributor to the success of the organization.

Internship - A complete guide
Internship – MentorIF

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Why is Internship important?

Internships offer value to both businesses and students. Although students’ benefits are very much obvious, what about companies?

Internship for students – Why do businesses offer internships?

  1. Find quality future employees: Finding quality talent is crucial for any growing business. This is a proven and most efficient way for any business to grow their head count while keeping its values and culture intact. Companies can train and groom interns as per their specific requirements, which will benefit them after interns join them as full time employees.
  2. Free staffing services: Interns can be hired at no extra cost such as consultancy charges. Hired interns are usually paid minimum wages which have no or very little impact on the company’s finances.
  3. Well trained and tested workforce: Companies collect data on interns’ performance, behaviour, competency etc. After analyzing this data, strengths, weaknesses, and consulting with many people, full time employment is offered. Interns are also informed about this assessment process during the induction process so that they learn and work with the right mindset.
  4. Brand visibility in schools and colleges: It greatly increases a company’s visibility in schools, colleges and universities. To access the best talent pool, hiring managers and recruiters develop strong working connections with the college placement office. Among students word of mouth works incredibly well and generates a lot of publicity for the company.
  5. Brand visibility on social media: Almost all students are tech-savvy in today’s time. They keep their social profiles updated with the latest happenings in their lives. This gives businesses another great medium to promote their brand, build awareness and trust among the masses. Talent draws more talent. With this phenomenon and with the help of social media companies can multiply their brand reach to a large extent.
  6. Develop leadership skills in employees: Current employees gain valuable leadership skills by mentoring and supervising interns. For employees aspiring for a management position in a company, this can be great training. Employees are frequently motivated to hold themselves more accountable and develop into great leaders by mentoring and assisting interns. In this approach, bringing in interns strengthens and expands the company’s leadership.
  7. Improve work environment: Having interns in a team, senior employees can focus on innovative or advanced or R&D projects. It offers them opportunities to grow, learn new skills, stay relevant in the market and eventually become leaders. Additionally, interns often bring enthusiasm, motivation, and positive energy. Such work ethics and positivity can easily rub off on others, improving the overall culture of your company.

Types Of Internship

Paid Internship: As the name implies, companies pay interns some amount to work and learn. Mostly big companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Goldman Sach, etc. pay their interns. This is the most popular type of internship when compared with others. The amount paid varies based on company, location, and department where you will be interning. Majority students are encouraged to do paid internships given a choice. Companies adopt a very rigorous selection process for paid internships. Usually competition is very high as they run these internships at a very large scale. If you want to avoid competition, look for smaller companies. Smaller companies are less popular among the masses. You may find the names of a few smaller companies which offer paid internship for students.

Internship for students college credits: Usually, these internships are part of the academic curriculum. You can choose to do an internship in a company or in college. This type of internship lasts for a full semester. By the end of the internship you need to submit a report along with a certificate of completion to college. You may be required to prepare a presentation to illustrate the knowledge and skills you have learned during the internship. This internship helps you score well in academics.

Summer Internship: Most popular internships among students, usually last for 8 weeks to 12 weeks. Though these internships help you score well in academic routine, you are free to choose anything you would like to learn and train yourself on. These short-term experiences provide a real insight into what it’s actually like working in a particular job or career field. Startups are wonderful choices for such an internship. You will surely get to do a lot of hands-on projects which will boost your confidence and prepare you for pressure or unfavourable situations. Choose your favorite domain, find startup companies working in that domain, and approach their founders or employees directly over LinkedIn or other social platforms.

Volunteer Internship: Since these internships are more motivated by one’s passion and desire to give back to society, they are less frequent among students than other types of internships. You can participate in such internships, which are mostly offered by nonprofit groups, and work on social projects. You don’t have to work hard to get such internships. Even yet, these internships are crucial to standing out from the crowd. Hiring managers surely enjoy reading about your volunteer experience on your resume and the progress you have made in this field. Check out Simple Resume Format to understand the expectations of hiring managers and how volunteer experience adds value to your resume.

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Intern exploitation or abuse

The purpose of internships is to provide learning and experience opportunities. However, some businesses see this as a way to take advantage of students for their own gain.

  1. Paying nothing or very little. Students are occasionally required to provide a security deposit to the business. You must undoubtedly be aware of these businesses, avoid them, and spread the message to safeguard others.
  2. Not giving enough opportunities to learn and grow.
  3. Inadequate mentorship and guidance, which is especially important during an internship.
  4. Sharing a non-valuable work load with interns that does not add value to their career.
  5. Employers demand interns to promote their products and services on college campuses, on their social profiles, and with their friends and family etc.

Internship for students: Obvious questions

  • Location: Clarity regarding the location is necessary. No matter if you have to relocate to go to the office address or internship allows you to work remotely (from home) or in a hybrid setting where you must visit the office occasionally.
  • Relocation assistance: If an internship for students requires relocation, whether the firm provides relocation assistance such as allowances or reimbursement or find the place to stay etc.
  • Department: Usually, companies give choice to interns. You can choose the department based on your interest and career aspirations. Do you know any senior or person who has done an internship there? Get their feedback. Try to find employees of the team on social media and connect with them to discuss the internship opportunity to gauge the impact of the opportunity and alignments with your interests and career aspirations.
  • Paid or Unpaid: Is the internship for students paid or not? Sometimes different teams offer different internship amounts. Having clarity helps you make an informed decision.
  • Certificate and higher education assistance: Does the company provide an internship certificate upon completion? Does the company also provide financial assistance for higher education while working for the company? This is important as you might be planning for higher education and want to prepare for the same as well. If the company you are planning to intern with or are already interning with provides such assistance, it would be really helpful to you financially and with other arrangements to timely secure a seat for higher education.
  • Application process: 
    • Have you understood the application process?
    • Does the application process make sense to you?
    • Have you studied company culture and values? Very Important!
    • What is the application deadline?
    • Can you apply for internships in multiple departments in the same company?
    • How many interview or screening rounds would there be?
    • Have you understood the purpose and expectations of each round?
  • Duration of the hiring process:
    • How much time would it take for each round?
    • How much time for the complete hiring process? When will the final decision be out?
    • When are you supposed to join after getting selected?
    • Does it conflict with any of your other commitments and aspirations?

Internship for students: Unconventional questions

  • Is it OK to mess up as an intern? Since internship is all about learning new skills and gaining new experiences. You will undoubtedly make mistakes. You can only escape making mistakes when you are not interested in learning. Which is not advisable. So, making mistakes is totally okay. On the other hand, employers encourage interns to make mistakes. But certainly avoid repeating the same mistakes. Things to keep in mind
    • You are not alone, everyone makes mistakes.
    • Don’t shy away from making mistakes. Otherwise, you can slow down your learning.
    • Making mistakes is not the end of the world, though.
  • What to do if you hate your internship? Right internships help you learn and explore new abilities and opportunities. However, a bad one can sap your passion, enthusiasm, and energy. It can increase your frustration and lead to burnout. What should you do in those circumstances?
    • Introspect yourself first. Why did you accept this opportunity? What do you really want to gain from it? Do you have wrong expectations? How is your relationship with your peers and seniors?
    • Suppose that you are in this situation; find out what you can change now? How can you change that? Make a genuine effort to change things around.
    • Reach out to your network and request assistance if circumstances go beyond your control and a solution cannot be found. Realizing what you want to learn and not enjoying what you are actually doing is also learning.
  • Do interns ever get fired? Intern firing is rare, unless you are messing around with people or the company’s values and culture. Generally, companies wait if you are not performing or taking time to understand things. Avoid doing unethical things which go against company policies and code of conduct.
  • What are the cons of internships? Are there any actual pitfalls of an internship? Free work, stressful working conditions, conflict of interest, high expectations and mundane work are some of the negative aspects of an internship.

Internship for students: Different Stages

Stage 1: Pre-Internship (Internship Interview)

  • Background
    • Tell me a little bit about your background.
      • Where do you go to school?
      • What is your degree in?
    •  What brought you to [company]?
      • Why did you take this job?
      • What will you be doing at [company]?
  • Socialization
    • What do you know about [company]?
      • How did you learn that information?
        • When was the first time you ever heard of [company]? Tell me about what you learned upon first hearing about [company].
        • What do you know about the culture of [company]?
          • What do you know about the people at the company?
          • What do you know about the mission/values of [company]?
          • What symbols or acronyms do you know at [company]?
      • When did you learn that information?
        • Who did you talk to before/when you accepted this position?
        • Where did you go to seek information (online, in person, etc.)?
      • What information about this company are you missing? How will you go about getting those questions answered?
    • Tell me about how you got your job. What was the recruiting process to intern at [company]?
      • What did you learn about [company] through the recruiting process?
      • What did you learn about the people that work at [company] through the recruiting process?
      • What did you learn about your future job through the recruiting Process?
  • Identity
    • When you talk to a friend and they ask, “What are you doing this summer,” how do you respond?
    • What does it mean for you personally to work at [company]?
    • We talked before about what all you knew about this company before working at [company]. Do you feel that you will be a good fit at [company]? Why or why not?
    • What are the values or goals of this company? Are those different or similar from your personal values or goals?
    • How similar/different do you think you are to full-time employees at [company]?
    • How similar/different do you think you are to other interns at [company]?
    • In what ways has [company] made you feel like you are a member?
      • Have you received any company paraphernalia?
      • Have you been on any email lists or gained access to technology?
      • What communication have you had with employees thus far?
      • Do you feel like you are a member of [company]? Why or why Not?
  • Technology Use
    • I’m curious about your use of technology in general (outside of work).
      • Was yesterday a typical day?
      • Walk me through which technologies you used yesterday.
      • Are there any other technologies you use?
    • Tell me about the technologies you used to seek information about this company or the people that work at [company].
      • What websites did you visit?
      • Who did you look up online?
      • What was the most helpful information you found? Where did you find this?
      • What information could you not find? How will you find out that missing information?
    • What technologies will you use more now that you are working at [company]?
  • Demographics
    • When did you first hear about/apply for this position?
    • When were you officially hired?
    • When was your start date?
    • How old are you?
    • What pseudonym did you give yourself when you took the first survey?
  • Is there anything else I should know that have not already asked you?

Stage 2: During-Internship

  • General Job
    • Tell me about what you are currently doing in your job.
    • Walk me through what you did yesterday.
    • How did you learn each of those tasks?
      • Who taught you?
      • What do you do if you have a question?
      • What has been the hardest thing for you to learn? How long did that take you?
  • Socialization: I’m curious about what you have learned this summer at [company.] For each of the following, what is one thing you have learned over the summer? Think if you could just pass on one piece of advice to a future intern for each of the following items I’m going to list. (Probe on each)
    • Employees at [company]
    • Interns
    • Managers
    • Culture – why people do things the way they do (org values and beliefs)
    • Norms – how people usually act/think/behave
    • Feedback
    • Involvement
    • Job Competency – how you know your job
    • Occupation
    • Figuring out responsibilities
    • Networking
    • One thing not to do
  • Identity
    • How similar/different do you think you are to full-time employees at [company?]
    • Do you feel that you are a good fit here? Why or why not?
    • What do you like about [company?]
    • What would you change about [company?]
  • Technology Use
    • Tell me about the ways you communicate with others during a typical day at work.
      • First, I’m interested in how you get your work done.
        • What media do you use?
          • Who do you talk to?
          • What websites do you visit?
          • Who do you look up online?
      • Second, let’s talk about the ways you learn about your role.
        • What media do you use?
          • Who do you talk to?
          • What websites do you visit?
          • Who do you look up online?
      • Third, I’m interested in how you learn about [company.]
        • What media do you use?
          • Who do you talk to?
          • What websites do you visit?
          • Who do you look up online?
      • Fourth, how do you learn about other people at [company?]
        • What media do you use?
          • Who do you talk to?
          • What websites do you visit?
          • Who do you look up online?
      • Lastly, what about the way you learn about norms or the “way to do things” here?
        • What media do you use?
          • Who do you talk to?
          • What websites do you visit?
          • Who do you look up online?
  • Is there anything else I should know that I have not already asked you?

Stage 3:  Full-Time Employment

  • Background
    • Tell me a little bit about your background.
      • Where do you go to school?
      • What is your degree in?
      • What jobs/internships did you have before coming to [company?]
    • What brought you to [company?]
      • Why did you take this job?
      •  Did any of your prior work experiences (or being an intern) influence this Decision?
  • Orientation & Meeting Your Team
    • Looking back on orientation, what were the 2-3 most beneficial parts of those two weeks?
      • What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
      • If you were in charge, what would you change about orientation?
        • Anything you’d add?
        • Anything you’d take out?
      • What was it like interacting with people you interned with (or didn’t)?
    • Tell me about meeting your manager and team.
      • What did you know about them beforehand?
  • Learning Your Job
    • Tell me about your first day at your job.
      • What feelings did you have that day?
      •  How were your expectations met/unmet?
        • About [company?]
        • About your team?
        • About your occupation?
    • Do you feel like you have a good understanding of what tasks you have to do to perform your job?
      • What are those tasks?
      • How did you learn each of those tasks?
        • Who taught you?
          • Formal vs. informal
          • Direct vs. indirect
        • Where do you seek information if you have a question about how to perform your job tasks?
        • What has been the hardest thing to learn?
      • Do you remember a turning point when you thought, oh, I understand the tasks I’m supposed to do now?
      • Did any of your prior work experiences (or being an intern) help you learn these tasks?
      • Have you mastered your tasks? Why or why not?
    • Do you feel like you have a good understanding of what people expect of you in your rotation (job requirements and expected role behaviors)?
      • What do they expect?
      • How did you learn each of those expectations?
        • Who taught you?
          • Formal vs. informal
          • Direct vs. indirect
        • Where do you seek information if you have a question about expectations?
        • What has been the hardest thing to learn?
      • Do you remember a turning point when you thought, oh, I understand what’s expected of me now?
      • Did any of your prior work experiences (or being an intern) help you learn these expectations?
      • Have you mastered these expectations? Why or why not?
  • Learning about the Company
    • Now I’d like to ask you some questions about how you learned about [company.] Do you feel like you have a good understanding of what the culture is like here (norms, how people do things, politics, language, organizational goals and values)?
      • How would you describe the culture here?
      • How did you learn the culture?
        • Who taught you?
          • Formal vs. informal
          • Direct vs. indirect
        • Where do you seek information if you have a question about the culture?
        • What has been the hardest thing to learn?
      • Do you remember a turning point when you thought, oh, I understand the culture now?
      • Did any of your prior work experiences (or being an intern) help you learn the culture?
      • Have you mastered the culture? Why or why not?
    • Do you feel like you have integrated well with others here at [company?]
      • Who are you friends with here? How many friends do you have?
      • How did you make friends?
        • Did people introduce you?
          • Formal vs. informal
          • Direct vs. indirect
      • Do you remember a turning point when you thought, oh, I have friends Now?
      • Did any of your prior work experiences (or being an intern) help you make friends?
  • Sense of Identity within the Company
    • What does it mean for you personally to work at [company?]
    • Do you feel like [company] is a part of who you are? Why or why not?
    • What are the values or goals of this company? Are those different or similar from your personal values or goals?
    • How similar/different do you think you are to other employees at [company?]
    • In what ways has [company] made you feel like you are a member?
      • When did you feel like you were a member of [company?]
      • How did that happen?
  • Technology
    • Tell me about the technologies you use on a typical day at work to learn about your job.
      • What websites did you visit?
      • Who do you look up online? Why them?
      • What other technologies do you use to seek information about your role?
    • Tell me about the technologies you use on a typical day at work to learn about [company] as a company.
      • What websites did you visit?
      • Who do you look up online? Why them?
      • What other technologies do you use to seek information about this company?
      • What technologies do you use to seek information about the normal “way to Do things” at [company?]
  • Is there anything else I should know that I have not already asked you?

For up-to date company insider details, book a free mentoring session with the mentors of your desired companies and understand the opportunity in detail, does and don’t. It is simple and convenient. 

Few big and small companies internship links:

Internship with Google

Internship with Amazon

Internship Goldman Sachs

Internship with Meta

Internship with TCS

Internship with Github

Internship with LinkedIn

Internship with Zoom

Forbes: 10 Best Websites to Find An Internship

Top Internship Websites In India

If you have any questions about the company, interview preparation, team, culture, growth etc. you can get in touch with mentors listed at MentorIF. Additionally, you can reach out to our support team. MentorIF is a great Mentoring and Training Platform for students and professionals. With the mentors of your choice, you can arrange for a free one-on-one mentoring session. It costs nothing to chat with mentors. Don’t think twice before sending them your first message. You can also request for training to advance your knowledge and career. You can also discuss your requirements with our support team.  We will assist you by creating a training program that is specifically tailored to your needs and matching the right mentors on the training.