Pros and Cons of Extending Your Internship

Congratulations, you were offered an internship for a company, organization or non-profit. Whether it is paid or not, it is a new and exciting opportunity to grow and learn in the communications, marketing or advertising field. So you spent the semester interning doing a variety of tasks and projects. Now it’s the end of the semester  and you have the choice to find another internship or extend and stay at the same place for another semester. Of my past three internships, I extended two for a second semester and enjoyed every second of it. Keep in mind, there are pros and cons of extending your internship.

Pros

-Continuing to Grow and Learn

By continuing your internship, you can grow more in the same company. You have already spent a full semester proving yourself, and staying longer can help you gain more responsibility and duties. It also allows you to get to know the company better and lets you explore different departments.

-Strengthening Relationships

Staying at the same place for an additional semester will help you strengthen relationships. You will continue to get to know you supervisors and co-workers and vice versa. Being there another semester will allow you to really get comfortable and fully trust each other. It also gives you more time to network and get their advice to help you advance in your career.

- Job Opportunities

Professionals are always on the prowl for new opportunities. You never know when someone at the company you are interning at is going to leave for another opportunity. By extending your internship, you supervisor already knows how you work, so you could be a top contender for the job.

Cons

-Less Internship Diversity

Being at the same place will lead to a smaller number of total employers and less diversity in your work experience. Exploring a variety of internships can help you figure out what fields you enjoy and don’t enjoy so much.

-Stunting Growth

At some internships, you can only grow and learn so much. Thise internship may have been great for one semester but you might have learned and done all you can do there. Staying an additional semester may not help you grow more because you will just repeat the same jobs and tasks. Moving on may be the best to learn new skills.

Whether you stay or search for a new internship opportunity, good luck in you internships and always remember to work hard and never be afraid to ask for help!

This blog post was written by PRowl Secretary Shaun Luberski.