What is an internship?
An internship is a preprofessional experience which can provide exposure, training, and mentorship in a given career field. Individual internships vary in terms of duration. For example, many Stanford students intern during summer when it is possible to work full-time, while some students intern during the school year on a part-time basis. Internships can be paid or unpaid, and sometimes offer academic credit. Stanford interns have worked in many sectors, including business, communications, environment/ecology, education, fine arts, health, public service, law, and technical fields. Internships can also vary in terms of responsibilities and assignments. For example, your experience might involve working on specific projects or writing assignments; attending staff meetings; or rotating through various departments in the organization.

What the difference between an internship and a summer or part-time job?
Much like an internship, a summer or part-time job can help you gain a variety of skills and experience. Though they may or may not be career-related experiences, they can help you develop important skills like teamwork, communication, or organization that can be applied to almost any work setting. Typically, summer or part-time jobs are advertised as needs arise within an organization, and are always paid.

Throughout the academic year, the CDC receives hundreds of part-time employment opportunities suitable for students in the local area. Most allow for flexibility around the student’s class schedule. During winter and spring quarters, the CDC receives full-time summer listings, primarily from local employers.

What are some other types of other types of experiential learning experiences?

Co-ops (cooperative education)are very much like internships. Co-op positions are usually paid, highly structured in nature, and directly relate to your course of study. Typically, you must be enrolled in a cooperative education program at a college or university to participate. Stanford does not have a co-op program, but many community colleges and state universities have such programs.

Externship or Shadow Programs
These programs provide experiences that allow you to spend between a day and several weeks observing a professional on the job. You gain an overview of a specific career field and get a taste of the activities in the day of a particular professional.

Volunteer/Community Service/Service Learning
These are generally unpaid work or service experiences in the human services or nonprofit sector. The Haas Center for Public Service on campus offers many service learning courses.

Fellowships are opportunities that allow students to receive income and do work in a particular area such as public policy, the arts, or education, and are sponsored by specific organizations or agencies.

Why do I need an internship?
Over the years, internships have become increasingly popular because they provide an opportunity to help you:
1. reinforce academic and career objectives and personal values related to work;
2. identify the skills you need to enter a given field;
3. gain practical work experience in your field of interest to balance the classroom training; and
4. get an edge in the competitive job market over those individuals with no relevant work experience.

When is the best time to look for an internship?
It is best to start looking as early as possible in order to have more choices available to you. Some internship programs have deadlines as early as November for summer internships. However, winter quarter is generally a good time to begin your search for a summer internship. If you are looking for an internship during the academic year, agood time to start might be one quarter before your anticipated start time.

When is it too late to find an internship?
Depending on your specific requirements, it may never be too late. However, don’t take this as a sign to wait until the last minute. Some employers have deadlines during the fall quarter, while many don’t have deadlines until winter or spring quarters. Many employers post their internships with the CDC as their needs arise and may not post them until late in the school year. If you are open to participating in an internship during the academic year, this will also give you more options.

How can I find an internship in or near my hometown?
1. Check the CDC’s job/internship database. You can do a search by state or country and you can do a keyword search by desired city. Also, check Internships.com, (email carolc@stanford.edu for log-in and password information). Links to other National internship sites can be found at http://cardinalcareers.stanford.edu/links/ and scroll to the "Internship/Summer Job" section.

2. Look through the various internship publications in Career Resource Libary and perform a search by location.

3. Network with Stanford alumni, who are located throughout the United States and internationally, through the Stanford Career Network.

It is possible to do an internship for a month? Can I negotiate the start or stop date?
Depending on the employer, they may be flexible with you in terms of the duration of your internship, while others may have strict requirements. If you have other commitments during the summer that may conflict with participating in a summer internship, consider a short-term project, working for a temp agency, or finding some other short-term jobs. It’s difficult to juggle many different responsibilities during the summer, so determine your top priorities. If it turns out that you only have limited time to devote to an internship, you may want to wait until the school year or next summer in order to get the best experience possible.

What if I can’t afford to take an unpaid internship?
If you can’t afford to take an unpaid internship, the Community Service Work Study Program, administered by the Haas Center, may be able to help subsidize your internship if the organization is an eligible non-profit and you qualify for Federal Work Study. For more information, call (650) 725-7407. Another option is to apply for an Undergraduate Research Program Grant. For more information on fellowships, grants, and funding, check our links database, and click on “Fellowships and Grants.” If you are a graduate student, please refer to the Internet Resources Handout and refer to the “Resources for Grants and Fellowships” section.

Can I participate in Cardinal Recruiting while I am abroad?
Cardinal Recruiting is the on-campus interviewing program provided by the CDC. To register and read the policies and procedures go to, cardinalcareers.stanford.edu/recruiting/
If you will not physically be at Stanford on the Cardinal Recruiting interview date, you CANNOT submit your resume because you won’t be in the US to interview with the company. However, you can individually contact the employers (using contact information listed in the Cardinal Career database under the “employers” tab) you are interested in, and ask to be considered for an interview (outside of Cardinal Recruiting) by submitting your resume directly to them. Tell them that you can't interview on campus through the normal program, however, you would be happy to do a phone interview at their convenience...or meet with them when you get back.

What if I have more questions that aren’t answered here?
Please make an appointment with a career counselor by calling (650) 725-1789.
http://cardinalcareers.stanford.edu/start/counseling.htm