Internships and Co-ops
As a college student, internships will aid you in narrowing down your search for the event-planning position that best suits you. Internships allow you to enter the field for a short amount of time and experience different areas of the business.
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Before choosing your internship program, consider areas of event planning you are not drawn to immediately. A production position might not be as glamorous as an internship assisting a party planner, but experience in production will prove to be more beneficial when you market yourself for employment. Since these positions are the ones most offered to new planners, you will already have the experience and a leg up on the competition.
There are paid and unpaid internships. Unpaid internships are generally offered to college students on a part-time basis for a semester and allow students to gain perspective in certain environments while being supervised by a professional. As an intern you may get a sense of the responsibilities of a certain position as well as the hours involved. Your university usually will give you and your employer an outline of task-oriented goals you must complete to fulfill the internship requirements and receive academic credit. Some tasks may include:
Clocking a minimum number of hours (usually one hundred) during the internship
Gaining a firm understanding of the finances and daily operations of the business
Submitting a mock proposal, invoice, and budget sample
Performing a minimum number of hours (thirty) on the phone or doing other guest-related activities
Paid internships are offered more to graduates than undergraduates. The position may be full or part time, and it can sometimes be used as credit toward a degree program. Often a company will keep a paid intern until a position becomes available. This type of internship is beneficial to an employer who is looking for an extra set of hands but may not be able to fully commit to another salaried employee. This type of program allows the employer to observe a potential employee on a trial basis. For a paid intern, the benefit is the ability to gain experience in a specialized field without fully committing to a company.
Some companies also offer cooperative education or extern-ships to university seniors. Co-ops are also offered at universities with trimester programs. Co-ops differ from internships in that students are able to work full time for a semester rather than splitting the time between work and study. Co-op students are usually paid and receive some credit toward a degree program. Companies often look to hire co-op students for full-time positions upon completion of their degree programs.
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When in an internship, co-op, or externship program, remember to dress and act professionally. You are trying to establish yourself, make contacts, and secure a position while you intern. It may be wise to read a company's employee handbook since you may be just entering the work force and are not familiar with company policy.
Externships can be offered as part of a university's curriculum. Because externships last from a week to a few months, these programs usually do not have monetary compensation or degree credits in return for services. Externships are more of a service a company offers to a student or individual to attract him into a field. The student or individual does little other than observe in an externship. Extern-ships are also a great way to make contacts in a professional field.
