Staying competitive in today's field of job applicants can be a challenging task for a young college student looking to make his or her mark. The number of students attending college keeps going up and has significantly risen since their parents were young men and women. Finding resume items that will raise the bar for one's competitors has become an important part of preparing oneself for the job searching process.



Finding a good college internship is one way in which young college students have been preparing themselves for the ever-important job hunt. Experience is invaluable when looking for a job and if an applicant can show experience while looking into entry-level positions, they have already taken a significant step towards being hired into the new position. The presence of a college internship on a resume will impress the job recruiter or employer with the applicant's level or responsibility and ambition. Many students do whatever they can to get by with the bare minimum. Many do not attend class and let their grades slip, but even those who attend class and receive good grades but do not choose to participate in any extracurricular activities will always be a step behind those who do. Extracurricular activities can include anything that develops one's qualities and skills such as leadership ability, real world experience through internships or jobs and one's maturity level. As an applicant, being able to show that you took initiative and made yourself get some real world experience while many of your peers were out partying or just being lazy will tell your employer that you are not only ready to take on the pressures of the real world, but that you have already proven you can handle those pressures.

Choosing the right college internship can be a tricky task, however. There are many internships to choose from and students often having trouble telling the difference between the value of each. Many companies choose to utilize their interns to do mundane tasks such as filing, getting coffee or making copies. While many see this as a stepping-stone to something more worthwhile, college students can surely find something that will give them better experience and help to hone their skills more than these tasks. A college internship should be engaging, enjoyable and a little challenging to the student participating. Finding an internship that allows you to take on more tasks, feel useful and important and lets you enjoy what you are doing is key in finding the perfect fit. Some companies allow their interns to make their own smaller teams within the company and work independently, managing their teams, handling money all the while gaining valuable experience.

Having these skills to speak about in an interview is extremely valuable when searching for a job after college. Many students find it difficult to fill the gaps and silences in an interview and having real life experience from a college internship that you can speak about during the interview will take you to a new level above many of the other applicants.