Kristen Dethloff, internship and student employment coordinator at the , provided some tips for students seeking opportunities to help them determine the best choice.

1. Credit and Compensation: “Students should receive academic credit or financial compensation for their internships. A student can also receive both, it is not an either-or,” Dethloff said. “According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are required to provide one, if not both of these forms of compensation to their interns.”
2. Explorative Experience: “Students can use internships as an opportunity for . This is a chance for students to test the waters in industries and roles that interest them since it is a short-term experience in a real-world setting. Students should take stock of the pros and cons of an opportunity, their individual likes and dislikes, etc.,” she said.
3. Criteria Alignment: “A student ought to be sure that the internship they are considering meets the criteria for their goals, such as academic department credit, postgraduate admissions, or experience toward full-time employment,” Dethloff said. “For example, many health professions prioritize candidates with hands-on patient care experience, but not all healthcare internships meet the definition of hands-on.”
4. Self Development: “Students should consider whether or not an internship offers professional development and skills enhancement. In other words, students should consider what they will come away from the internship having learned, additionally thinking about what could go on a future resume or how to leverage the internship on an application,” she said. 
5. Strong Communication: “Students should look for continuous and clear communication from the hiring manager throughout the application and interview process as this can be a green flag illustrating how the internship will play out,” Dethloff said.

Summer internships are a great way for students to expand their college experience without overloading their fall or spring semesters. To learn more, visit the   to find career coaches, , and  for Cardinals looking for an engaged learning stop on their journey towards graduation and their future vocations. 

According to the University Career Center, internships, co-op and experiential learning listings for 2019-2020 increased by 72% over the previous year. The bulk of the listings increased prior to the pandemic, but while COVID-19 stalled the workforce, it didn’t stop Cardinals from seeking and finding outside-the-classroom opportunities – even if they looked a little different.

Stuart Esrock, faculty-in-residence at the University Career Center, and Bill Fletcher, director of the University Career Center, acknowledge the increase in experiential learning opportunities during a global pandemic is surprising, but they say it makes sense from an economic perspective.

Listings of internships and co-op opportunities initially took a dive in March and April, when stay-at-home orders were issued, but the center began to see a slight increase in June. “Some of that increase in June was really because we began to see an increase in the economy overall,” Esrock said.

The increase is good news for students. UofL strongly encourages adding a real-world component to the undergraduate experience. Participating in internships and co-ops helps students build a skill set that extends past a classroom setting, network with future colleagues and business contacts, discover what they are passionate about and what they dislike, and earn work experience while still completing an undergraduate degree

Fletcher and Esrock said experiential learning offers a well-rounded educational experience, but most importantly, sets UofL students apart in the competitive job market. That’s even more crucial as the pandemic continues to affect the workforce. As Fletcher believes it will take longer than expected to recover economically from the pandemic, he stressed the importance of gaining work experience where available.

He added that the University Career Center has adapted its services to make sure students are prepared for a new sense of workplace normalcy, when everything from interviews to hiring is being done virtually.

The center has a plethora of resources to prepare students for the virtual workplace. It has virtual interview etiquette tips, mock interviews, appointments with a career coach, resume review, and other resources to help students figure out what career path they are interested in pursuing.

“We want to give students a realistic view of what’s going on in the world right now, about the job market, but we don’t want them to give up hope,” Esrock said.