Ever Considered a Virtual Internship?

I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal that talks about the newest trend in internships: doing them virtually. Which basically means, you can gain valuable internship experience while never actually leaving your couch. This holds true especially for internships in the fields of communications and marketing and web-based technology, in which much work is done online, especially when it comes to tasks like researching, blogging, and supporting social media campaigns.

The pros? Well, interning virtually means that no longer are potential interns limited by geographical constraints. I mean, not everyone has an aunt in upstate New York who let’s them crash in their spare room for the summer (thanks Aunt Babs!) With virtual internships, you might find yourself interning for a company that’s across the country. Another benefit is that many virtual workers have the flexibility to do their work on their own schedule, which allows even people working full-time to explore other work opportunities by doing an internship off-hours.

Of course, virtual internships do have their downsides, such as not getting to soak in the energy of an office or have valuable face-time with people who could potentially help you get a job once you’re out of college. When I was in college I interned at NBC News in New York because I dreamed of being a hot-shot news producer someday like my fictional idol “Jane” from the movie Broadcast News. Being on the news floor, just a few hundred feet from then-news anchor Tom Brokaw, was incredibly exciting. While the tasks I actually did were forgettable (something about communicating with station affiliates about the news satellite feed), I learned a lot about the culture and vibe of a newsroom, and got to observe people doing much more interesting jobs than I was, therefore expanding my view of what was possible in the field of news. My internship didn’t turn into a job opportunity, mostly because my supervisor retired before I graduated from college and thus my contact was gone. But I know that in many fields, such as magazine and book publishing, there’s almost an expectation that internships will ultimately result in an entry-level job offer down the road.

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Interested in exploring internship opportunities? The site Urban Interns promotes internship opportunities for small businesses in urban areas.