The saying “Its a five o’clock world,” doesn’t just lend itself to large executives within corporate jobs.

Students seeking insight to their possible future careers may consider internships as a means of experience.

The NIU campus offers many starting points for students hoping to begin their internship search. One such starting point is Career Services, which assists students in obtaining internships. Career Services is located on the second floor of the Campus Life Building.

Why get an internship

“Don’t wait until next semester to start the internship search because you think it’s too early,” said Brian Pillsbury, assistant director for team supervision. Pillsbury compares the internship search to a “real job search,” and wants to encourage internship-seeking students to begin looking for one immediately. Pillsbury said internships are extremely valuable and offer students work experience, career exploration and networking opportunities. Even if not hired, the application process of getting an internship can be beneficial.

“If they don’t hire you, they might know someone who would,” Pillsbury said in regard to networking.

Meet with a counselor

One way to go about finding an internship is to set up an appointment with a career counselor, Pillsbury said.

“It is to help the student make the best internship search strategy through career counseling,” Pillsbury said. “You’re meeting with a professional career counselor to talk about career interests, how to find internships, resume development, the resume process.”

Attend the internship fair

Another method is to attend the internship fair, which Career Services holds every semester.

“Students will find several employers [looking for] applicants for internships,” Pillsbury said.

Robert Caldenwood, junior mechanical engineering major, said he found his internship with Woodward Governor Company at a mini-internship fair held by the college of engineering.

Caldenwood said as apart of his internship, he had the opportunity to help design test stands for aerospace products. He said his internship experience gives him hope about future employment, and an understanding of his future career. He also aspires to be a development engineer for an aerospace company.

“I know I have contacts with the company, which will make finding a job a whole lot easier,” Caldenwood said.

He also said many companies treat internships similarly to a job interview.

Use online resources

Victor eRecruiting is Career Service’s online database of job and internships postings from a wide variety of employers. A recent search of writing internships yielded results from the WTVO-TV Channel 17 of Rockford to the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Career Services also has listings of external major-specific job and internship Web sites. Students can also approach companies to see if they are offering any internship.

Liz Gibble, sophomore math major, said she wants to intern to get a better feel of a future job as an actuary.

“It’ll help me understand if I’m going to enjoy what I’m going to do,” Gibble said. “Because no matter how much you read and read and read, you’ll never get the experience.”

Gibble said she has been browsing a few Web sites that specialize in internships and jobs in actuarial science. She said she also plans on looking into Career Services and the resources it offers.