In most professional fields, it is common practice to pursue an internship prior to beginning your work as a professional. Most often these internships last a few months and take place as a student is working through their college coursework.

As with most things, Information Technology is a bit different. There are colleges, universities, trade schools, online programs, and many advocates for not bothering with post-secondary education altogether. It does have to be that way, however, as IT internships are an excellent way to help build your resume and give you a glimpse into the real day-to-day experiences of IT professionals.

Why you need an Information technology internship

Experience

There is a cruel catch 22 you will discover as you enter the workforce: You need to get a job to gain experience, yet you need the experience to land a job. This may seem unfair to begin with, and perhaps it is, but look at it from the business’s point of view- of course, they want to lower their risk and bring on people with a track record, even at their more junior ranks.

Anything you can do to reduce the number of obstacles that stand in your way when looking for work will be worth it. An internship is an opportunity to gain experience and put something tangible on your resume, and there will not be any expectation of professional experience this time!

Low barrier to entry and low pressure

An internship will typically come with no prerequisite experience other than possibly an educational requirement. This means that the playing field is much more level as you apply for positions against other candidates.

In addition to the lowered requirements, you will often find yourself doing a narrowed subset of work once you have landed the internship. These tasks might often be remedial, or even repetitive, but they are something that the business is confident that they can train someone to do rapidly and to their standards repeatedly. While that doesn’t sound like a dream job, it does mean that you will experience a lower pressure environment as the expectations are not set too high. This does not mean that you should slack off, however, because excelling during your internship might possibly lead to…

Opportunity for full-time employment

When I am looking for an intern, I almost exclusively look for candidates who want to work with me long term. This means candidates who have a dream of working in the IT field and are not just looking for some internship to fill an educational requirement.

It takes great effort to find candidates for just about every position in IT these days. If I am capable of finding a great intern who I can turn into a great employee, then I’ve just done twice the work in half the time. That’s a win for me, the intern, and the organization as a whole.

Opportunity to work with many parts of an organization

There is more to growing into a professional than just doing technical work all day long. This may be what you love doing and what has lead you down the Information Technology career path, but you must also develop soft skills and an understanding of business in general. At a minimum, you will need to master working with others in a professional setting, and most of those “others” will not be technically-minded people. They will be accountants, architects, product managers, marketing experts, artists, or something else entirely.

Many internships will allow you to spend time moving throughout the organization and seeing how the different pieces of the puzzle fit together. You will see how business processes work, and organizational efficiency (or inefficiency) at play. You will meet many people from different walks of life, and each of these people gives you the…

Opportunity to grow your professional network

It may seem contrived, but who you know is more important than what you know. You are not the only person to have learned the things you have learned, so you must always work to set yourself apart. Building a strong network of professionals who you can call on is a task that will take a lifetime, and will pay off many times over.

You have the opportunity for this while in school, through social organizations, sororities, fraternities, and the like. Making connections in the workplace with people who have been around a while is a an important step to take. These same people may find you new opportunities in the future, or they may become your mentors. You never know who will pass through your professional life, so do not hesitate to invite as many people as possible as early as possible.

What will you do at an Information Technology internship?

This is something that will vary widely from organization to organization. Some teams have mature, highly-developed internships with structured activities for you to follow. Others, meanwhile, have you fetching coffee and sorting files. Neither one of these is bad, because keep in mind, we are here for the experience and to build a more competitive resume.

Most often, I see interns working with hardware. This can be imaging new workstations or decommissioning old ones. That work can involve lifting moderately heavy things now and then, and possibly traveling around town picking up or dropping off equipment and supplies. When there isn’t any of that work to do, hopefully, you will be given the opportunity to shadow more experienced technicians and see how they perform their work. Seeing what the professionals are doing each day can help guide your decision making as you look for a permanent position later on, as well as guide what areas of study you focus on.

Things you should take away from an internship

Hopefully, you land an internship with an organization that allows you to communicate freely, ask questions, and learn a great deal. In this kind of work environment, you will be able to ask for quality feedback- both good and bad. If your manager is effective they will help you focus on the things that you may need to spend some extra time and attention working on. Even if there is not a permanent position available at the end of the internship, getting some quality feedback will help in your future job search, and it will help you identify what it is that managers are looking for from their staffs.

If most of that feedback is on the positive end of the scale, advocate for yourself and look to receive a letter of recommendation. Building a high-quality packet of information about yourself that stands out from the rest will be key to landing a great job in the future. If for any reason your manager (or their manager) can’t do this for you, don’t be negative or passive aggressive. Always been professional and simply thank them for their time and the experience they afforded you. No matter where you live, most places are smaller than you think, so take special care not to burn a bridge early on in your career!

How to get an IT internship

We have talked a lot about why you need to get an internship early on in your career, and about what you may find yourself doing once you start. But how do you find these opportunities?

College Job Boards

If you are in school there will often a job board just for students. These will typically have entry-level positions and internships exclusively. Many employers establish relationships with schools, be they colleges or trade schools, and the path towards some level of employment in these instances can be shortened.

General Job Boards

While they may be a bit rarer, internships are often found on the usual job boards alongside part and full-time positions. Spend some perusing Indeed, Monster, Dice, or your local Craigslist for opportunities. I have covered these options in some detail previously, so we won’t dive too deep this time around.

Social Networking

The importance of knowing people in the industry cannot be overstated. It may seem impossible to build these relationships when you are first starting out, but reach into your personal network and see if there is anyone with the connections you seek. Perhaps an old friend or family member can put you in touch with someone looking for an intern, or entry-level employee. You have 800 Facebook friends, right? Put them to work for you!

Cold Calling

If you can take some time to learn about the different companies and organizations in your area that are in the field you wish to be involved in, then why not give them a call? It has been my personal experience that people who are willing to call me out of the blue after seeing me on LinkedIn are more often a higher-caliber candidate. These are clearly folks who are not afraid of some telephone conversation- which is a big part of being on the Service Desk!

The worst thing that can happen is that the person on the other end of the phone tells you “no.” If you can live with that tiny bit of rejection, then do not hesitate to call the company you have been keeping your eye on and hoping for an opening. Pick up the phone and take a chance on yourself!

Get some help from the pros

There are many organizations out there that are interested in getting people to work. These might be your local chambers of commerce, a workforce alliance, or professional group. A great option for those of you who are just starting out in IT is Creating IT Futures, a non-profit started by CompTIA in 1998.

Creating IT Futures will help train you in entry-level IT skills, prepare you for interviews, review your resume, and help you achieve your first certifications. In addition to all of this, they spend a great deal of time doing the professional networking piece I mentioned previously. If you are just gettings started and are struggling to find your first opportunities, take some time to speak with someone over there and see if their program is a good fit for you.

Final thoughts

It is hard enough to look for a good first job today- competition can be fierce, and great companies to work for are hard to come by. An internship is an excellent way to build your resume, establish the beginnings of a professional network, and hopefully take home a few skills along the way. I have said it many times and I will continue to say it: any thing you can do to set yourself apart from all the other candidates vying for the job you want will be worth it. Sure, that takes extra time and effort, but this is your career, the thing you will likely spend your life working on. Make the most of it.