What Is an Internship?

• An internship is pre-professional work experience that provides students, recent graduates, and career changers with opportunities to explore various career fields and interests. Internships can be part-time (most common) or full-time, paid or unpaid, and are offered by a wide variety of businesses and organizations. The duration or length of an internship can run anywhere between an intersession (5-6 weeks) and a full-quarter/semester (10-16 weeks) and/or summer (10-12 weeks) depending on the company. A typical intern usually works between 10-20 hours per week, though this varies depending on the company as well.

What Are the Benefits of Doing an Internship?

• An Internship can help you narrow your career choices and focus your career goals. You can learn more about where you might like to work, or gain insight about a specific industry or career field.
• Internships can make you more competitive and marketable for full-time jobs and graduate and/or professional schools.
• Internships help you to apply what you learn in the classroom to the workplace.
• An Internship is a great way to build your professional network and “get your foot in the door” of a particular industry or company. You will meet people in the industry and gain professional contacts.
• An Internship provides you with the opportunity to gain valuable transferable skills.
• According to the National Association of College Employers (NACE), 70% of employers say that they hire their interns for full-time positions after graduation before looking elsewhere.

When Should I Begin to Look for Internships?

• Most Internship providers prefer students who have completed at least a year of college (30 transferable units) prior to starting an internship program. Internships in the fields of Accounting and Finance usually favor students who are Juniors or will start their Junior year in college when the internship begins.

Where Do I Start?

• First, explore internship opportunities that match your career goal and complement your academic major. Then determine 2-3 fields that match your interests, skills, and values. If you don’t know what you are interested in, the GCC Career Center (SV Bldg. 3rd floor) can help you identify things you have liked or disliked doing in the past, what you do well, what is important to you, and your career goals. Also, make sure to attend Internship Fundamentals, Effective Résumé, and Cover Letter Essentials workshops offered through the GCC Career Center and schedule an appointment to have your resume and cover letter reviewed by a Career Counselor. Most internships require a Resume and Cover Letter with your application.

Where Do I Find an Internship?

• Glendale Community College uses College Central Network as its official job and internship posting service to help students and alumni in their search for employment. Visit the Job Placement Center (SV Bldg. 3rd floor) and learn how to create an account profile that will enable you to access internship positions using College Central. In addition, GCC faculty members can serve as a great resource for finding internships, especially in areas such as psychology, sociology, political science, and hotel restaurant management. Furthermore, there is a number of good websites that offer a multitude of internship postings:
  
  www.internships.com
  www.internships-usa.com
  www.idealist.org
  www.experience.com
  
  
• Besides the websites mentioned above, it is also a good idea to research specific company websites and type in the word internships in their search box. Many companies do not list/post their internships on large internship/job websites. They expect that interested and resourceful students would know to search their company websites for internship opportunities.

How Do I Get College Credit for an Unpaid Internship?

• Labor laws state that students who are serving an unpaid internship must be receiving college credit. When funding and space are available, students may enroll in GCC’s Cooperative Education 101 - General Work Experience class. This class is offered throughout the academic year. In order to qualify for CO ED 101 during Fall and Spring semesters, students are required to register in 7 units at GCC, including Cooperative Education. Cooperative Education is offered as 1, 2, and 3-unit classes. For more information, please email the GCC Cooperative Education instructor Stephanie Yau at syau@glendale.edu.
• For questions regarding internship classes in the specific areas of Business, Culinary Arts, and Hospitality Management, please contact the respective departments directly.

NOTE: Internship 050 is now scheduled by each Academic Division as and when is deemed necessary. Currently, internship course sections offered by the Business Division are reserved for GCC students enrolled in Business programs.