Part Two: The What, Why, and Who of Internships
Second in a series
WHAT is an internship?
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. They are typically undertaken by students and graduates looking to gain relevant skills and experience in a particular field. Employers benefit from these placements because they often recruit employees from their best interns, who have known capabilities, thus saving time and money in the long run.
More importantly, what isn’t an internship?
An internship is not ‘free help,’ intended to replace an employee, or more than 20% busy work (filing, covering phone, errands).
WHY should I consider offering internships?
“You need experience to get experience.” This seems to be the biggest issue for young adults transitioning into the workforce these days. A practical work background carries great weight when attempting to enter the job market. It’s all about competition and how a student can gain a competitive advantage.
Some internships may offer opportunities to transition into full-time positions. Although it is not guaranteed (or expected), most employers seek opportunities to add value to their organization. With an internship, students are given the opportunity to showcase their talents, commitment, and value to a prospective employer while learning new workplace skills.
Furthermore, employers may be more inclined to hire a student after they have invested time and money to train them.
WHO needs an intern?
The Who’s Roger Daltrey says that there are no great lead singers anymore. Whether or not you agree with him, the WHO we are talking about here are your future employees and they have little or no experience with corporate real estate.
CoreNet Global’s University Relations function, which has been connecting academia to the corporate real estate profession and, by extension, to CoreNet Global members and member companies, has designed Intern Connect to enable real estate groups in both end-user and service provider companies to access a pool of potential interns from some of the best universities around the world.
While the primary goal is serving your needs, it’s important to also acknowledge the benefit to students who can leverage this opportunity and possibly parlay it into a long career in our profession. At a minimum, we will raise the awareness and profile of corporate real estate as a viable career choice.