Due to more competition in the job market, university graduates are finding the job search process an increasingly frustrating ordeal. Job announcements proclaim "BA plus one year's experience," but the recent graduate faces the paradoxical question of how to get experience when experience is a requirement for employment. A growing number of colleges and universities, government agencies, public service organizations, and private firms offer a solution to the "need experience to get experience" dilemma: internships.

• What are internships?
  Although definitions vary, the basic premise of an internship is that a junior or senior student works outside the traditional academic environment to gain practical job experience and extend his/her learning to a new setting. The term covers co-ops, temporary projects and some full- or part-time jobs, whether they last for one quarter or for the academic year; in all of these cases, the student receives academic credit for job-related research. Some organizations provide at least a nominal salary to students, but interns can also volunteer their time. Since you receive academic credit, your job must be related in some way to the Odd of geography, and your research project should focus on some geographical problem. It is up to you and the organization which sponsors your internship to agree on your actual duties, compensation, hours, etc.



• What benefits can I expect as a student intern?
  Looking for an internship and making your way through bureaucratic paperwork can be frustrating, but luckily there are many benefits available in the internship experience as well. For example, internships can provide a unique learning experience outside the traditional academic environment, one where you can test the theories, concepts and methods introduced in the classroom. In studying the functions and workings of a particular organization, you also gain experience working with others and seeing how decisions are made. Also, as an intern you get the chance to explore potential careers and make key contacts in the field. Most of all, internships can provide you with the opportunity to get to know yourself better: What kinds of work do you enjoy the most? How do you react in particular work environments? What kinds of people do you like to work with? What things can you do particularly well? What areas of geography would you like or do you need to know more about?



• Is this for you?
  Internships can be wonderful experiences - educational, exciting, challenging - but they are not for everyone. Working as an intern involves discipline, responsibility and a firm commitment to getting the most from this experience. But before trying to find an internship, be sure that your goals are realistic and that this is really the opportunity for you. Do not expect to get rich -- although some organizations do offer minimal salaries, many do not. What you will receive in the way of experience, contacts and knowledge more than makes up for the donation of your time.



• Where can I find internships?
  If you've decided that an internship is important to you, your next step is to make contact with possible sponsors. Start with checking with the Geography Department for a current list of contacts and position announcements, as well as alumni employment lists. Take a look at the Geography Department’s bulletins boards and don’t forget to ask faculty members for suggestions. Another resource in your department is your fellow students who are or have participated in internships, so find out how they went about getting their positions.
  
  Although many people think the University’s Career Placement Center is oriented towards graduating seniors, it is also a great place to expand your list of possible contacts. Counselors may have valuable suggestions and may have a notebook devoted to internship positions. Remember, some summer jobs or part-time jobs can qualify as internships if they are related to geography, so take a look at other job listings as well. You may find information on many of the companies on your list in separate folders. The Career Center also has a small library which may be helpful in your search; don't forget to use the phone book and the Chamber of Commerce's index of local businesses. Don't get discouraged if you don't find many jobs earmarked for "geographers" -there aren't many of those; descriptions of the duties involved give you a much better idea of whether you have the knowledge required for the position.
  
  Other places on campus to look for internship information is the library. Reference material such as The Internship Bible and The Princeton Review list over 100,000 opportunities. Also check with other departments on campus for information on their internship programs: browsing through their material may produce some leads. The Work Study and Student Employment Offices are also a source for job notices which might fall under the category of geography. Work study, in particular, is an extremely desirable option from the employer's perspective, since he or she must contribute only a small percentage (20-35 %) of the overall salary.
  
  When you've finished your research, you should have a list of possible sponsors and phone numbers or addresses where they can be reached. When you contact them, you need to be politely aggressive, efficient and professional-seeming. Some things to think about before calling:
  
  
  1. Be prepared for some curves: the internships listed may no longer be offered, or may be offered next fall, etc. Be polite but firm in getting to the right person to tell you which internships are available, now and in the future.
  
  
  
  2. Prepare a story about geography. Many internships which Geography majors have actually received don't mention Geography as one of the qualifying majors, though many do say something like "or other qualified majors". So be prepared to succinctly describe course content, skills and interests: for example, if you are in urban geography, you could talk about your ability to analyze residential housing or retailing, suburban land use, etc.
  
  
  
  3. Prepare a professional story about yourself. Some elements of this story might be your background and interests in the type of work this organization does; your coursework; your writing, data-gathering, statistical and research skills; and your career goals.
  
  
  
  4. Have at least a draft letter of interest and resume ready to go. You should tailor it a bit for each position - ideally, it should be on a computer disk so you can make minor changes and print it out quickly. Many places will want to see such paper from you, or will be impressed if you get it to them as soon as you can.
  
  
  
  5. Be persistent and cultivate contacts. Even if things don't work out this quarter, there are more quarters and more internships, and you may discover valuable advice on how to appear more competitive on paper as you go along. Don't be shy about calling people back either--after a decent interval has elapsed since you sent a resume. A lot polite but firm aggressiveness may be to your advantage.
  
  
  
  6. When you do set up your internship, be sure that all of the arrangements between you and your sponsor are clear, including the length of the internship, hours per week, pay, supervision and, most importantly, the specific duties you will be performing. Menial tasks and answering the phone are not what internships are designed for - you may do some work like that, but make sure that you also will be doing work which will give you practical experience in the field of geography. When people do encounter problems with their internships, one of the primary reasons is that there are unclear expectations among the parties. Don't let this happen to you.
     
     
• Now that I've found a position, how do I get academic credit?
  Devise an academic project that is complementary to, and grows out of, both your coursework as a geography major and the substantive activities you are engaged in during your internship. Typical projects might be a paper or series of papers on the industry or public policy issue you are working in as part of some aspect of regional economic development, organizational structure, or some other social or economic pattern. You might study a particular issue you are involved in, or the effects of the application of new ideas or technologies to your sector. Library work is often going to be essential--at least a half hour a week per credit is a good guideline. Also, consider recycling--revising, expanding--your work, either by expanding papers you've already written for geography classes, or, beyond the current quarter, continuing your exploration of your specialization or subfield next quarter in an independent study course. In other words, from the academic side of things, think of the internship in the overall context of your intellectual development as a geographer. Such an attitude will help you use and test material from prior courses, form and test hypotheses, and, generally, make the internship as much a research project as a source of on-the job-training. It will also help you come up with a plan of study to approach a faculty member with--and, by the way, will interest the faculty member a great deal more than the fact that you simply want credit for work in the "real world".
  
  
• Is Credit Necessary or Appropriate?
  Not always. You don't need to sign up for credits to take on an internship. Especially in the private sector, sponsors may not be particular about the connection with the university. One thing to keep in mind: if you can't think of a project because you don't know enough about the industry or public policy issue, you might hold off the academic exploration of a problem until after you've interned for a quarter--then, perhaps, intern again and get credit that quarter, or sign up for an independent study course.
  
  
• What if I have problems during my internship?
  In any situation where you are dealing with people it is possible for misunderstandings and personality conflicts to occur. Part of your learning experience will be to handle these problems in a professional manner as they arise. Don't wait for small issues to mushroom into huge problems; encourage communication and feedback on what is going on. Along with unclear expectations, poor communication is the primary cause for problems in most internships. Hopefully, your maturity and communication skills will avert any major problems; if, however, a situation does arise which you and your sponsoring organization are not able to resolve, contact your faculty supervisor or advisor.