Externship vs. Internship: How to Find an Externship

An externship is an unpaid experiential learning opportunity. The purpose of an externship is to gain real-world knowledge of an occupation before employment, usually by shadowing a professional in the workplace. Recent graduates, college students, or high school students often hold externships, but they can help anyone looking to make a career change.

Externships are a way to experience how knowledge learned in a lecture hall translates into a paid occupation. You can include them on your resume to procure employment or simply pursue an externship to determine if a particular industry is a good career path for you. Externs learn the day-to-day routines of a company and gain insight from current employees through observation and informational interviews. An externship can also be a chance to network if you’re looking for future employment.

The type of externship that will be best for you depends on your needs and what you’re hoping to get from the experience. Consider which of the following types is the most valuable to you before beginning your search:

1. 1. Short-term or long-term: How much time do you have to devote to an externship? And how much do you hope to learn about the industry you’re job shadowing? These questions will determine whether you want to check out a company over spring break or for just a day between semesters.
2. 2. Occupational field: Externships frequently correspond with your educational interests, but they don’t have to. There are as many externship possibilities as there are career paths. Still, some of the most popular fields for externship placement are law firms, advertising, finance, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, health care, technology, publishing, and fine or performing arts.
3. 3. Credit or no-credit: You may be able to earn academic credit for an externship if it is part of college or high school coursework. For-credit externships are often longer-term, and your school may require additional work, such as a report about your experience, to earn credit.
4. 4. On-location or virtual: Externships don’t have to be in-person, though you may prefer to be onsite. One of the advantages of a virtual externship is broadening your search to anywhere in the world.

Both externships and internships provide learning opportunities about a career before the participant actively pursues employment in the field. However, there are some key differences between the opportunities:

• Compensation: Externships are typically unpaid but may be eligible for academic credit at a university. The value of an externship experience is that it provides access to a workplace to get an overview of a career, allowing you to determine if the job is a good fit for you. Internships are unpaid or low-paying (you might earn a stipend) and may or may not earn college credit. The value of an unpaid internship lies in actively learning new job skills, building your resume, and networking with individuals with the goal of eventual employment.
• Depth of information: Externships tend to be less in-depth than internships. You might take several exploratory externships to narrow down the field of careers that interest you, then accept a longer, more in-depth internship experience that provides job training and preparation for a full-time job.
• Duration: Externships are generally shorter than internships, lasting from a single day to several weeks. If it’s a student externship, it often takes place during the school year and is sometimes part of a program between a college and a company or organization. On the other hand, internships are longer-term work experiences offered by an employer and can vary from full-time to part-time, generally lasting around ten to twelve weeks. Due to the time commitment, interning often occurs outside of the school year or after completing your education.
• Responsibilities: Externships are generally less active than internships. The primary goal of an externship is to observe professionals through a job-shadowing program to get a sense of how the company or organization functions day-to-day. An externship might include sitting in on company staff meetings and conducting informal dialogues with employees. Interns have an active job experience, intent on learning a skill set, which may involve participation in projects, completing tasks for team members, and taking part in staff meetings.

Here’s how to find an externship that fits your needs:

• Determine what kind of externship interests you. The first step to getting an externship is to figure out what profession or work environment you’re interested in exploring. Ultimately, an externship is about finding a career, so it’s okay to do more than one to discover your calling. Once you’ve chosen a field, start searching for an externship that works for you.
• Visit your university career center. The easiest way to find an externship is through your school. Most colleges have centers that provide career services with job boards and listings for both internship programs and externship programs designed to match students with companies looking to recruit future hires.
• Attend career expos or job fairs. Career expos can support your job search by introducing company recruiters to prospective employees and vice versa. They’re an excellent opportunity to learn about company training programs and get acquainted with multiple organizations and industry professionals in a single afternoon.
  
• Visit online job sites. Employment websites are great places to search for externship opportunities. Just type “externship” into the search box with your desired location and see what comes up. Check out large, public websites and smaller ones affiliated with your school or industry.
• Network in the field. Meeting people within your career field goes a long way when breaking into a new industry. Networking is a valuable tool for making connections that could lead to an externship or job offer. Attend networking events through your college or classes where you can meet people with similar interests. Join social media groups for your particular field and ask for help finding an externship. Utilize the people you already know, like professors, family, or friends. Most people will be happy to help you with your career goals. Check out these networking tips for more.

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