Beep. Beep. Beep.

It’s not just the sound of an alarm clock going off at 6 AM– its the sound of opportunity. While many college students are sound asleep at this early hour during the summer, dreaming about their future job after graduation, a select few woke up to the ring of opportunity and headed off to their externship, internship, or CoOp. In a world of drastically increasing job competition, career experience and leadership opportunities are vital in obtaining your dream job.

Villanova’s business school does an excellent job of making its students aware of the importance of externships, internships, and CoOps. In their recent Professional Development event, VSB Rise to the Top: Internship/CoOp Basic, Jackeline Vega, VSB Assistant Director for Internships and CoOps, gave a presentation providing important information on the value of these job-experience opportunities.

Externships

Externships are leadership opportunities typically offered to freshmen as a way to gain career experience and leadership skills. Externships last anywhere between 1 day to 3 weeks and are typically unpaid. Even though these experiences are unpaid, they teach leadership skills and provide valuable networking exposure. Externships are highly encouraged and offer a resume builder that can lead to internships and eventually job offers.

Internships

Internships are temporary positions with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment. These opportunities are valuable career building experiences and can be either paid or unpaid. Internships are typically either part-time during the academic school year or full-time during the summer. Many companies in the U.S. offer both domestic internship programs as well as international internship programs and can be found on Internship Finder. They can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months. Most all internships have a minimum GPA requirement and interview process. Because 73% of internships lead to job offers, they are extremely valuable to students looking to be hired right out of college.

Co-operative Education (CoOps)

Co-operative Education, or CoOp for short, is a type of internship program that enables college students to receive career training with pay as they work with professionals in their major fields of study. These opportunities offer work experience in government, business, industry, and human services that enhance a students’ academic training. They are always paid and last between 6 months and 1 year. CoOps are highly encouraged as they offer a real-life job experience relevant to your major.

As you prepare to begin your search for the perfect job-experience opportunity, I encourage you to follow my Blog. I will be posting weekly updates on how to better your chance of landing your dream job. Just remember, keep listening for the sound of opportunity, as you never know when a valuable experience will come knocking (or ringing).