News Archive
This Isn't Your Father's Internship. Virtual Opportunities Available This Fall and Summer
By Keith Morelli
TAMPA (January 7, 2021) -- Not long ago, business college students interned at the office, working shoulder to shoulder with professionals, participating in face-to-face meetings, networking in person, learning how to work within a team and generally preparing themselves for careers that mirror their internships.
That changed 10 months ago. A vast of majority of students participating in internships with corporations now work the 9-to-5 shift in front of computer screens at their dining room tables. Zoom or Microsoft Teams host their meetings, networking is online and their fellow team members appear in tiny squares on a monitor.
The reason: A raging pandemic that has killed more than 350,000 Americans locked down much of the nation鈥檚 commerce and stalled in-person recruiting for business-major interns.
Still, the Muma College of Business program that places business students into internships is going strong after a summer where internships dwindled.
鈥淭here currently are 1,500 internships posted for the spring and summer of 2021 for business students,鈥� said Pavla Ozkul, director of employer relations and study abroad in the college鈥檚 Collier Student Success Center. 鈥淭here was a large decline in internships over the summer of 2020, in which companies, in order to save their full-time employees, eliminated internship positions. Now we see those spots beginning to open back up.鈥�
Internships, though transformed from what they were in the spring, are still out there, she said.
鈥淔or a qualified student, it is not hard (to land an internship) if they are willing to look outside of their pre-selective top firms,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or example, some of the top accounting firms scaled down their intern numbers, but there are still some non-accounting firms offering paid internships for accounting students.鈥�
The result is a much more competitive process, she said, though there still are plenty of opportunities available.
鈥淪tudents just need to put a bit more effort in the job searching process,鈥� Ozkul said.
A Different Kind of Internship
Alyssa England just landed a virtual internship with NBCUniversal, and though she won鈥檛 be headed to New York to learn about the sports and entertainment business, she is eager to start in January.
鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 virtual, I wouldn鈥檛 have it,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o for me, it鈥檚 not an 鈥榚ven though it鈥檚 virtual,鈥� it鈥檚 an 鈥業鈥檓 extremely grateful this is a virtual internship, because I don鈥檛 know if I could move to New York right now to do this in person.鈥�
鈥淚 am currently working in USF鈥檚 Athletics Department and I love it,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut this virtual NBCUniversal internship will be my first professional experience in the entertainment industry. I鈥檝e been working on-campus in front of a computer for an entire semester now and one of the things I miss most is being able to read body language.
鈥淚 love public speaking, and it鈥檚 been difficult adjusting from public speaking in person to virtual public speaking,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 extremely comfortable speaking publically, but moving to virtual operations has presented new challenges that I didn鈥檛 recognize were challenges. I鈥檓 becoming more confident with virtual public speaking, but I really miss in-person public speaking.鈥�
This month, begins her virtual journey.
鈥淚 originally saw the experience as an opportunity to learn and grow,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ever in my wildest dreams did I expect to end up there. I thought NBCUniversal was so big, and I felt so small. I am just a college student trying to make the brightest future for myself after graduation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not that I didn鈥檛 think I was good enough, but I just assumed there were more qualified candidates applying,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is one of the biggest things I have learned throughout this whole process 鈥� don鈥檛 sell yourself short, and always shoot your shot. What鈥檚 the worst that can happen?鈥�
Virtual Internships: Pros and Cons.
Lost is the team building, immediate supervision when challenges are presented, a sense of belonging to a company鈥檚 culture, the social aspect, technology issues, even noise and distractions, Ozkul said.
What is gained?
鈥淪ome students prefer virtual, given they鈥檝e gotten used to virtual classes,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ome had issues with transportation in the past so now that plays to their advantage. Saving money on commuting, meals, business outfits, flexible scheduling, less distractions, feeling more comfortable in a home environment and feeling safer by not being exposed to COVID-19.鈥�
Students edged out of the intern market for the time being should concentrate on learning basic career skills, she said, such as sharpening professional greetings in emails, email etiquette, creating quality resumes, mounting effective job searches and polishing interview skills for when those opportunities arise.
鈥淚f they do not work on these skills as a student, it will be extremely hard for them to get an internship given we have fewer opportunities now and the job market is more competitive,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have great students and I believe they all are able to compete for top jobs across the country.鈥�
The pandemic may have permanently altered the way many businesses do business, she said, and that likely will have an impact on college internships.
鈥淪ome companies found out that shifting some or all portions of internship virtually will save lots of money from campus recruiting, traveling, office space, training, technology, etc.,鈥� she said. 鈥淪everal campus recruiting teams have been dissolved since all recruiting is done virtually. Virtual recruiting is not ideal, but for the most part, it is effective.鈥�
She said the future of virtual recruiting is hosting small, boutique-style events rather than large virtual career fairs. With online recruiting, she said, students still need to get the personal touch with the company and that is possible with one-on-one virtual event.
Ozkul said that once the COVID-19 vaccine is administered and business gets back to somewhat normal a return to what internships were like prior to the pandemic might also return. Well, sort of.
鈥淥verall the nature of internships have been changed and what was considered unusual (virtual internships, no hands-on experience) is becoming a norm,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tudents gain more experience as they study online and are able to transfer those skills to a virtual work environment.
鈥淚n the end, I believe companies will offer two versions of internships, one to extroverted students, preferring to work in person, and one to introverted students, preferring to work online, to get the best candidate for their company and their culture.鈥�