Internships aren’t limited to college students or young professionals. High school students also have the opportunity to develop professional skills and gain hands-on job experience before committing to a college major or career path.
Participating in high school internships helps answer important questions about their career interests and ideal work environment, says Alphonso Amos, executive director of Urban Alliance Detroit in Michigan, part of a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides job skills training, mentoring and paid internships to high school teens and young adults to promote workplace equity.
“Many students often change their direction after an internship, and that’s actually a good thing,” he says. “It’s better to explore and discover their interests early rather than after spending years in college on the path that may not fit.”
However, high school internships can be challenging for students and employers. Companies may not have the budget, bandwidth or scheduling ability to take on young interns, while students may face transportation and affordability barriers, experts say.
[Read: How Colleges Weigh High School Extracurriculars]
?”There are some places, communities and schools that have really made it a strong priority to facilitate that type of work,” says Julie Lammers, president and CEO of Britebound, a nonprofit that helps students with career exploration and academic success.
“But there’s not a lot of opportunity for young persons to go out into the community and find something on their own. A lot of these programs are still organized through school and community partnerships. That is often, quite frankly, one of the most effective ways of getting these internships done because there are a lot of logistical challenges to having a young person in a worksite.”
For high school students interested in pursuing an internship, here are four tips to help with the search process.
Identify Interests
Experts encourage students to pursue internships in a potential field of interest, but it could also be a time to try something new.
?”About 65-70% of high school students don’t know what they want to major in in college,” says James Lewis, co-founder and president of the National Society of High School Scholars, an academic honor society. “And with the high cost of university life and academics, the clearer a student could be about a potential future profession will help them identify a major or a minor that they may want to explore at the university level.”
Start With Your School Counselor
There’s a lack of awareness that these opportunities exist at the high school level, as well as skills and confidence gaps, Amos says.
“Some students may feel they aren’t ready or qualified, even though internships are designed for learning,” he says. “And so without preparation and resume writing, interviewing, professional communication and things like that, some students may not pursue those opportunities.”
There are many resources to help with the internship search, including at a student’s school.
[Read: Co-op vs. Internship: Know the Differences.]
?The “first place to always start is with the school counseling office,” Lammers says. “They often have the best access to availability of internships in your local community.”
While it depends on the student, some experts recommend trying to get an internship by junior year.
But preparation can happen beforehand. Freshmen and sophomores should “start reaching out and doing some shadowing,” Amos says, adding that “internships should really kick in your junior and senior year.”
Use Your Network
When searching for high school internships, families may “self-select out” after seeing company websites list only college-level internships, Lewis says. However, that’s when pursuing your personal network can be beneficial.
Talk with family members, family friends, coaches or community leaders, for instance. Some may have internship leads or allow you to shadow them at work.
“Opportunities often come through conversations, and it’s typically a lot of word of mouth,” Amos says. “Somebody might know somebody that knows somebody who’s looking for a high school intern. So definitely talk to the people around you.”
After talking within your network, another option is to connect with your local chambers of commerce.
“It’s very state-specific, but many states are setting up intermediary organizations that are helping to facilitate these types of activities,” Lammers says.
Take Initiative
Compared to college students, high schoolers have fewer options when it comes to internships, which means they may need to create their own opportunities, says Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at Handshake, a career platform for college students and job seekers to earn, learn and find jobs.
[Read How to Earn College Credit Through Dual Enrollment.]
“Take the initiative to craft your ideal internship,” she wrote in an email. “This could look like researching business and community needs, developing a plan for how you can help address those needs, and approaching local businesses with your idea. … You can also look for youth programs or volunteer opportunities and use that as an ‘opening’ to get your foot in the door or to pitch them on your internship idea.”
Even if there are no active listings at a company, there may be other opportunities for career exposure, such as through shadowing.
High schoolers should “reach out with a short email expressing interest, or ask if they can shadow or if internship opportunities exist at that company,” Amos says. “You’d be surprised how many people are willing to say yes because a young person came through the door and asked, versus even us as staff members of an organization.”
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How to Find a High School Internship originally appeared on usnews.com
