by G M Burkart

Created on: September 25, 2008

Internships open up the best of doors from the inside of any industry or profession without needing an already established professional network or full credentials. Here are four key considerations for leveraging your time as an intern to learn the industry's inner working and establishing yourself as a knowledgeable professional.

#1: Stay or Go?
First among the benefits of an internship is the ability to enter an industry on a 'trial basis.' Many have found internships to confirm their love for the work that they do, and similarly many others have found themselves thankful for a chance to see the ugly side of the job, either strengthening their resolve to stay or making an early exit before overly committing themselves to something they would loathe from Day 1. Take advantage of your internship to take on a variety of jobs and responsibilities. Honestly consider how you feel about your work, and whether you want to proceed and commit further. From the standpoint of a cost-benefit or a risk analysis, an internship is really quite a good deal for tentative career choices.

#2: References and Networking
A key strength of an internship is your placement within the organization. Although you're in an entry-level, learning position, this is your best chance to meet and see the true professionals and power-brokers of the industry in person, and in action. Exactly *how* to go about networking is rather up to you and certainly many articles and books have been written on the subject. Today, with services such as LinkedIn - you *do* have a LinkedIn profile set up, right? - you should be able to either directly network or get introduced via your rapidly-expanding network to the key players. Perhaps more importantly, get to know the teams and assistants to the key players. These professionals are no less key, and are often the most connected, knowledgeable and *approachable* in the room. Chances are, a number of them have worked with several of the top players, and can give you a better balanced sense of the landscape. Also keep in mind that while it is great to have a direct network connection to the top players, being known and remembered through their assistants is a powerful backup recommendation.

#3: Jobs
Do you think that all the industry's jobs will show up in the Classifieds? Yeah, you know better than that. An internship gives you the inside window to the hiring process, and often hands you the keys to putting yourself out there as a candidate from the inside. Take

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>