You Don't Need the "Perfect" Internship, You Just Need to Do Something Real
Here’s a harsh reality to consider. According to a 2024 CBS News report, roughly half of college graduates end up in jobs that don’t require their degree. One can imagine this dynamic has only worsened in the last two years, and not because college students aren’t working hard enough in school or because they’re choosing the wrong majors. In many cases it comes down to something more preventable. Too many students and young job seekers enter the job market without real work experience on their resume.
Research backs this up. Students who complete at least one internship before graduation significantly reduce their risk of ending up underemployed after graduation. And yet, for too many students and recent grads navigating the job market, real work experience remains an item buried way down their list of priorities. It’s something they’ll get to next semester, next summer, or once the right opportunity magically comes along.
Unfortunately this is a trap many fall into, thinking there’s nothing they can do during college (or even after they graduate) to improve their odds of finding a fulfilling opportunity early on. But there are several ways to add relevant work experience to your resume that, in turn, can stack the deck more in your favor when you’re trying to land a job doing something you really want to be doing.
Your Degree Isn’t Enough
We’ve all read how challenging the job market is right now for new college graduates. Employers are more cautious about hiring, entry-level roles are increasingly competitive, and a diploma alone doesn’t automatically wave you into the job market like it used to.
What employers are increasingly hiring for is demonstrated ability. Not what you studied, but what you’ve actually done. Can you show up, do the work, take both initiative and direction, and deliver something useful? Those questions don’t get answered by a transcript. They get answered by work experience. This is true whether you’re a junior deciding how to spend your summer, a senior heading into recruiting season, or a recent grad wondering why a solid resume isn’t getting traction.
What You Actually Learn Outside of Class
A good internship teaches you things no course can deliver:
You learn how work actually works. Organizations have a pace, a set of priorities, and an internal dynamic that you need to figure out how to navigate. You start to understand how decisions get made and what getting things done actually looks like in practice, particularly given today’s workplace environment.
You learn how to put your initiative and work ethic on display. Frankly, a project you complete and can speak to specifically in an interview is worth more than a top-tier GPA. Real work experience derisks the hiring decisions managers need to make because they see that you’ve “done it” before and they don’t have to roll the dice that you’re going to be productive right away.
You learn, perhaps most importantly, how to fail, bounce back, and strengthen your resiliency muscles. Getting critical feedback on a project, pivoting when something doesn’t work out like you expected, and being able to recover from a mistake when the stakes are relatively low, collectively builds the kind of resilience that employers expect in their team members.
“Free” Might Be Your Best First Move
The traditional pipeline for competitive internships doesn’t favor everyone equally. Those brand-name summer programs tend to run through a small set of well-resourced schools. If you’re not at one of those schools, or you missed the recruiting window, the front door to the perfect opportunity can feel closed to you.
So find a side door.
Sometimes the smartest move is to offer your time and work for free to get inside an organization or industry you want to be part of. This isn’t about undervaluing yourself. It’s about making a strategic investment in access when the traditional path isn’t readily available.
I did this during grad school when I was trying to find my way into sports business organizations, first by networking my way (through friends who helped make the connections) to an internship that paid barely enough to cover New York City rent, but that ultimately helped me get inside the world of sports and meet people who could help me network with other people in the industry. One of the connections I was fortunate to make during that summer in NYC led to project work for a major consumer footwear and apparel brand during my second year of grad school, and that “free” project turned into the full-time consulting job I started with that same company right after I graduated from my master’s program.
I know for sure the journey I was able to take in my career would have been much different if it hadn’t been for the personal investment I made to land those first two work experiences. And without a doubt those experiences paid me way more in terms of what they taught me than the money they put (or didn’t put) in my pocket.
Stop Waiting and Get Started Somewhere
Before this semester ends, identify one project you can take on, either with a research lab on campus or a company that could take you up on the offer to help them out. It doesn’t need to be at a recognizable name-brand company. It doesn’t need to pay. It just needs to be a real project tackling a real problem. It needs to end with a real deliverable, and be done in collaboration with real people who will give you feedback that you can learn from.
Platforms like Riipen connect students with real employer projects that are short-form, remote-friendly, and accessible regardless of where you go to school. Local nonprofits and small businesses are other great options to consider. The opportunities are out there, so make it a top priority now to find a project that puts real work experience on your resume and that bolsters your confidence with real-world learnings.
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