Business Internship Guidelines for Success
Business internships are particularly important career
opportunities. This is primary level experience, essential for career
progression, and a potentially invaluable insight into your future
career paths.
Finding business internships
Business
internships are relatively easy to find online, but it's important to
recognize that your future needs are also affected by which internships
you take.
The main streams of business internship are:
- Finance
- Marketing
- Economics
- Business information systems
- Human resources
- Management skills
- Legal studies
Choice of internship involves careful consideration of your specific
needs for career development. If you intend to specialize in a
particular area of business, it's advisable to try to get current
experience in that field as soon as possible.
The best and by
far most reliable way of finding a suitable business internship is to
research employers in your preferred area of business. This allows you
to explore internship options very effectively and make comparisons
between internship programs. Some business internships are
significantly better than others, and knowing the market means you can
recognize the really great opportunities when you find them.
Important: It's advisable to check directly with preferred employers regarding the specific content and nature of their internships.
Business internship interviews
Interns are approved on a merit basis. The most important elements for interviewees are:
- Qualifications and pass levels: Be prepared to show strong qualifications achievements.
- Areas of specialization related to the internship: Often a
vital element of internships, and another good reason to contact
internship providers prior to making applications.
- Presentation: This is a competitive process. Applicants must present well and engage effectively with interviewers.
- Motivation: Employers specifically look for motivated
applicants. The best motivation relates directly to a career path in
the same area as the internship.
- Communication: This is a primary business and employment skill, and it's also highly relevant to presentation. If you lack interview experience, training is strongly advised.
Interview questions:
Primary areas of questioning will be:
Specialist questions:
These questions relate to the relevant business skills areas. You may
be asked to describe your actions in a particular business scenario, or
simple questions on subjects like how to create a business plan or
marketing issues for a product.
Behavioral interview questions: These are the standard job interview types of question. They include questions like:
- "What are your weaknesses?"
- "Give an example of solving a problem"
- "Give an example of working in a team"
Internship-specific questions: These questions relate directly to the internship, including the motivational questions like:
- "Why do you want this job?"
- "Why should we appoint you as an intern?"
(See CVTips Motivational questions http://www.cvtips.com/interview/what-motivates-you.html)
Important note: Preparation
for interviews is absolutely essential. It's strongly recommended that
applicants research the internship in depth, and ask for any available
guidance regarding the interview requirements.
Check out
CVTips Interview Questions and Answers
http://www.cvtips.com/interview/interview-sample-q-and-a/ for specific
questions and answers examples and background information.
Guidelines for success
The
internship is an extremely important stage of your career. You should
take every opportunity to explore the areas of future career needs. You
should also make it your business to acquire industry standard skills.
These are the main elements of future success:
- Set high personal standards for your work. The higher your standards, the better your performance.
- Seek guidance and advice from experts. Real professionals are always happy to help.
- Learn to understand your business thoroughly, in depth and in detail.
Success doesn't "just happen". You make it happen.
