Internships are a source of both joy and headaches for students. Thankfully, the Career Services Center has taken steps to try and ease students into their internships, while also stressing how important they are.

“Internships are a win-win,” Karen Hagans, Executive Director for the Career Services Center said. “The student is able to ‘test-drive’ a career field to aid in determining their first career destination after college graduation. They have an opportunity to gain fantastic professional, career and personal experience.”

Hagans said that internships benefit not only students, but also employers as well.

“Employers have the opportunity to obtain valuable insight from new professionals as they contribute to the organization’s goals and objectives,” Hagans said. “Employers also have the chance to see the student in action and determine if that student would be a viable candidate for future employment within their organization.”

For some students, internships can be eye opening and can completely change their perception of their career.

Senior criminal justice major, Anna Kiebel interned at her county courthouse as an Adult Felony Probation Student Intern, and said the experience only served to strengthen her confidence in her career choice.

“I feel so fortunate to have interned with my county’s courthouse,” Kiebel said. “They allowed me to do anything and everything a Felony Probation Officer does. Without allowing me to do so, I would never have learned that this may be the perfect job for me. That is the most important role of an internship.”

Other students learn about their professions from different perspectives or see things that they would never have thought of before.

Senior dietetics major Ivana Petrovic said her internship didn’t alter her perception of her career, but it showed her another side.

“My internship was able to change my perception not of how things work in the field of dietetics per se, but on how communities work together,” Petrovic said. “The team effort aspect of community involvement was definitely at play; however, community nutrition is an area of dietetics in which many registered dietitians are employed or volunteers.”

Petrovic enjoyed her internship so much she wishes to return in the future.

“Hopefully I am given the opportunity to return next year and have a little bit more time to devote, as the experience was more than eye-opening,” Petrovic said. “I was able to go through responsible research training, enter data for various cities pertaining to food item and product availability, and further explore the city of Cleveland, not just from an entertainment standpoint, but also from an everyday life point of view.”

Other students believe the most important thing they learned wasn’t necessarily related to their profession.

“The most valuable lesson I learned in my internship this summer is to remember to learn from every task even if it’s something simple,” said Olivia Huff, a former intern at Cardinal health. “I also learned to listen to everyone because you can learn simple things if you are aware of your surroundings and how your co-workers problem solve.”

Huff explained that while working as an event planner, she gained an extra understanding of behind the scenes people.

“ I definitely didn’t realize how extravagant the event would actually be on-site,” Huff said. “I also have a greater appreciation for all the people who are working on the event in the planning stages.”

The Career Services Center strongly encourages students to do as many internships as possible after seeing a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. They released the findings of a study involving nearly 48,000 college students and showed that approximately 60 percent of 2012 college graduates who took part in paid internships received at least one job offer.

To get in contact with the Career Services Center, students can visit Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, schedule an appointment by calling 419-289-5064 or by visiting the office in the Student Center.

The Career Services center is also hosting a series of events this fall including:

The Develop Your Brand employer panel discussion and meet and greet on October 17, 4:00 p.m. in the Ridenour Room.

Resume Blitz – Every Hour/Every Major/Every Grade Level – Obtain assistance with writing or updating your resume on October 25, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the HCSC Auditorium.

Job and Internship Fair Preparation Workshop, October 29, 4 p.m., Career Resource Room, 254 HCSC.

Attend the Job and Internship Fair November 7, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Upper Convo.

The Career Services Center also added that a large number of employers complete their internship hiring in the fall for the following summer.

The Career Services Center is open Monday through Friday.