Internships vs. Externships
What’s Best for You?
We’ve all heard the saying that we need to “pay our dues” before. Simply put, we all have to put in the time and effort to begin our careers or break into something new; we all start at the beginning. For most, the beginning is an internship or externship opportunity to pad the “Experience” section of the resume. Both can be advantageous for you, so let’s take a look at what is an internship, an externship, and the benefits of each.
What are internships?
Internships are opportunities for students or professionals who are breaking into a new industry to gain experience within that field or a particular company. Different from job shadowing, internships allow the individual to actually work at that company and perform the daily responsibilities required for that specific position. Some are paid, others are unpaid but offer school credit for undergraduates.
What are externships?
An uncommon term, but relevant for career growth. Externships are opportunities to job shadow a professional in the field or position that you’re interested in. As an extern, you’re able to see the responsibilities typical of that job, but you’re not employed by the company itself; You’re simply a visitor, onlooking to understand the position better. Often, externships run for a much shorter time than an internship. They can be for one day or one month, but always on a temporary basis with no guarantee of the opportunity to work full-time for that company in the future.
Benefits of Internships
Internships have many pros: the opportunity to add something extra to your resume, real time experience on the job before landing full-time employment, and, most importantly, some internships are paid. Whether it’s a paid or unpaid position, it’s a foot in the door to work with that team and that’s a step above the competition who will be applying to the same job when you’re ready for full-time employment. Companies prefer hiring from within (including interns) because it’s a lot more affordable to train a current team member on a new position than starting from scratch on training an employee new to the company, and team, as a whole.
Our Internships blog post further details why internships are the best way into full-time employment, “Internships are a great opportunity, especially for recent college grads. By joining a team as an intern, you have your foot further in the full-time employment door than new applicants.”
Benefits of Externships
Externships are nearly always unpaid, you don’t perform the daily tasks of the job, and you don’t have a near-guarantee of receiving full-time employment with the company as you do with internships. So, what are the benefits? Why would someone try an externship? While you don’t do the job, you get insider information on how to do the job. This knowledge helps you narrow down what’s important to potential employers when looking at your resume or interviewing you. A job description on the application website is helpful, but it doesn’t tell you everything you need to know to complete your resume and ensure you sound like the perfect fit. Only job knowledge, from past experience or your externship, can help you do that.
For more tips to help you with your internship or externship options, keep following our blog and keep up with our podcast for more job search tips.
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