More than Office “Coffee Boy”: A College Student’s Perspective on Internships

In my search for a company to intern for, the top priority on my radar was to find an organization that would keep me busy with work and would make me a more valuable business professional. In other words, I did not want to be the office “coffee boy”, and as it turns out, I am far from alone.

As a college student and current intern, I’ve quickly come to understand the value of interning. Of course, for some, the value of interning is to simply check off a box on an imaginary list of pre-requisites, but for me, the opportunity to obtain hands on experience in a professional setting is where the true value lies. My role as a marketing intern has enabled me to greatly expand my professional network, become a better professional communicator and has made me a more dependable asset to a future employer. However, I’ve quickly come to learn that not all students my age had the same luck in their experiences as an intern.

I did not want to be the office “coffee boy”, and as it turns out, I am far from alone.

According to 5-year research study conducted by Intern Bridge, gaining hands-on experience in their field was the most important quality that potential interns desired most from their experience as an intern. Despite 84% of interns responding that they were satisfied with their internship, roughly 65% said that there was room for improvement while 68% said they would be willing to accept less pay for more experience.

This research made it evidently clear to me that the up-and-coming generation of college interns highly value receiving hands on experience, and I couldn’t agree more. Today’s interns are not satisfied with coffee runs, filing or making copies for the office. Like me, they want to work in collaboration with full-time employees to meet deadlines or work on high-stakes projects, all of which will prepare them for a future full-time position. It is for these reasons that I fully understand the frustration that some people my age face within companies that do not fully trust or value their interns.

For starters, understand that interns like me have a true appetite for learning and developing new skills on the job. Keep us busy and challenge us with new and interesting tasks.

So, if you are a company that employs interns and happen to find yourself reading this blog post, listen up.

For starters, understand that interns like me have a true appetite for learning and developing new skills on the job. Keep us busy and challenge us with new and interesting tasks.

Next, give interns the opportunity to work with full-time employees on various projects throughout the company. These experiences beat tedious tasks such as data entry and will help mold us into all-around better employees.

Lastly, promote an environment that encourages interns to ask questions – we learn much faster and much more effectively this way.