Students often think that finding internships for online college is harder than finding internships at traditional face to face colleges. Most schools today do not have an internship requirement, but those schools encourage students to do those experiences for the valuable skills and knowledge they earn. No matter what topic you choose to study, you can find an internship in that area. Even if your school doesn’t offer internships through its career development office, you can find one on your own.
Do Online Colleges Offer Internships?
Though most online colleges go not have an internship requirement, many of those schools do offer internship opportunities for students. These internships usually require that you talk with a counselor working for the career development office and that you go over both your application and resume with the counselor. Only after the counselor signs off can you officially apply for a position. Depending on your school, you may find that the internships are only available in the city where the main campus or the headquarters of the school is located. Other schools will simply gather a list of internships from all across the country and list how to apply for those positions.
How to Find Internships
If your school doesn’t offer help finding internships, you can still find one on your own. There are hundreds of websites that compile data from different companies and organizations. You can also find those opportunities when you search for internships and the subject you study on Google or another search engine. You usually need to submit a completed application packet and include a copy of your resume and a cover letter. For internships in writing or the graphic arts and similar fields, you usually need to include copies of your past work as well.
Getting Credit
When you find yourself looking for internships for online colleges on your own, you need to ensure that you receive credit for that work. Most online colleges will give you one to three credit hours for a summer internship or an internship that you complete over the course of a semester. You’ll need to contact the school, give the school information about your internship and wait for approval. The college may require that you keep a detailed log of the work that you do or that your adviser or supervisor verifies the work you did.
Tips for Applying
Forbes recommends that when applying for an internship, you show the programs and supervisors that you’re flexible. Interns typically handle the duties and responsibilities that others don’t want to, including making or picking up coffee for other workers, answering phones and working in the mail room. Forbes also suggests that you use the interview process to show off your best side. You never know when the work that you do as a student can help you find a job with that company later. Though some employers hesitate to work with online students, you can change the way they think about online programs during your interview.
Conclusion
An internship lets you get your hands dirty and learn practical knowledge and skills that you won’t learn in your online classes. Though not all online schools offer internships for its students, you can find internships for online college that will still help you learn more and give you additional credits.
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