Virtual Internships in the Time of Plague and HOW TO SUCCEED Books

During this time of lockdowns — when I told my younger daughter that a large quantity of my book HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL AND PREP FOR COLLEGE had been purchased, she asked if the book were still accurate. I replied of course. Then she asked, “What about the internships you recommend?”

And the next day (June 2, 2020) an answer to her question appeared in the print edition of The Wall Street Journal in an article by Nancy Keates with the title “Make the Work-From-Home Internship Work.”

It turns out, as Keates reports, that — with a large dash of creativity — internships can flourish online. In fact, in the article several internship students talked about the advantages of virtual internships.

Keates writes about one student who says “working remotely has helped her overcome the discomfort she has felt in the past at reaching out to adults.” This student feels less intimidated online. Another student noted that otherwise she would never have had all the senior managers’ cellphone numbers.

Why are internships important whether in-person or virtually?

As I discuss in all three of my HOW TO SUCCEED books — HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL AND PREP FOR COLLEGE, HOW TO SUCCEED IN COLLEGE AND PREP FOR BEYOND COLLEGE, and HOW TO SUCCEED BEYOND COLLEGE — internships give students and young adults (and even not-so-young adults) an opportunity to “try on” a career before committing years of study and megadollars of tuition.

For aspiring candidates who do not have opportunities for close observation of the pluses and minuses of a particular career path, internships can be invaluable.

And why should companies work to engage interns, especially now when it probably must be done virtually?

Companies often use in-person internships to evaluate potential new hires. Companies will need to continue hiring before and after an effective COVID-19 vaccine is available. If companies cannot evaluate potential new hires in person, virtual evaluations can be the next best thing.

And, in fact, virtual internships may give companies more touch points on which to evaluate potential hires. For example, if an intern cannot write a concise, well-written email, perhaps that intern is not a good candidate for a full-time position. (Tips for effective emails are included in HOW TO SUCCEED IN HIGH SCHOOL AND PREP FOR COLLEGE.)

In conclusion, the lockdowns occasioned by COVID-19 offer opportunities for both companies and potential internship candidates to utilize the best of online tools to move forward with “business as usual in the new normal.”