If you’re looking to get into tech, but you’re still a student, there’s a way you can get your foot in the door, now: take on an internship.
Internships, once considered optional, are now a must-have for students who are looking to tip their toes into tech, or really any career for that matter. Internships are jobs taken on by students, paid or for school credit, where they are basically treated as an entry-level employee.
It’s a great opportunity to make solid contacts, earn the respect of professionals and gain real-world experience.
Here at MatchCraft, we believe in the power of internships. That’s why we partnered with Fulfillment Fund to help students who were looking to test drive a career in tech. We lucked out and wound up with two ambitious students, Josue and Emily.
Josue attends El Camino and is studying business administration; Emily attends UC Irvine, studying biology. Both have an interest in business and are taking the time to explore different areas and opportunities before they decide where to land.
Josue’s internship allowed him to work closely with MatchCraft’s marketing department. He was tasked with crafting blog posts, updating web pages, researching and creating infographics and much more. These are real-world assignments that he can now place in his portfolio and leverage when he’s ready to apply to professional jobs.
His impression of the experience?
“I was shown a lot of support. I thought it might be more ‘sink or swim’ so the level of support and guidance really surprised me. My advice to all interns is to strive to keep an open mind. And the more questions you can ask throughout your experience, the better.”
Emily’s role led her to become the office all-star assistant. She worked alongside executives and managers to help with anything that came up, from organization of files to a slew of projects for MatchCraft’s CEO.
Emily was impressed with the opportunity to communicate with a variety of people in the office, allowing her to gain insights and fresh perspective from a diverse group of people. She didn’t realize how much an internship would help guide her business acumen, either: the importance of professional communication skills like email (and having just the right subject line to catch someone’s attention) surprised her.
Hosting two incredible interns from Fulfillment Fund not only helped us out around the office, it made our summer! Thanks, Josue and Emily, we can’t wait to see what comes next for both of you!