Internships serve as a stepping stone to the career world for college students, but did you know that they may be just as valuable for high school students? There are a variety of internships aimed toward high school students across a wide range of career fields.
Preparing Your Child for Success: The Rise of High School Summer Internships
Before you dive into the options at hand, ask your children to start considering their interests and goals. Doing so will help them think about their skills, as well as the skills they’d like to build through the internship experience. An internship is truly about acquiring new knowledge, acclimating to the working world, and networking with professionals in a field of interest.
Once you’ve put your children’s goals at the forefront, encourage them to start their research. According to Forbes, you can’t truly “trust” whether an internship is the right fit until you complete your research.”You’ll need to research the firms, and look at size, industry, reputation, and history, among many other things to decide which ones best suits [your child].” Once your children have a list of companies that offer a good internship fit, see if any of your personal connections, such as your colleagues or friends, are employed there. While you want your student to take most of the initiative, there’s no harm in leveraging your personal connections to give your child a leg up.
Encourage your child to speak with a high school counselor or check the local paper to see if there are any internship fairs coming to town. Before attending, your child should plan for success, which can include researching the company thoroughly and dressing to impress. Keep in mind, however, that “It’s easy to overdo helping your child and turn into a helicopter parent,” says Carolyn C. Wise in a contribution to MomSpace. “Be sure to share your job search experience with your child, but remember that there’s a difference between encouraging and nagging.”
To begin research on internships, high school students can look on the “careers” page of the organizations they are considering or check out Internship Programs to explore some options.