<p>Son is a sophomore and business major at college. He went on a few interviews today at school for next year summer internships. A couple look promising. We don't know a thing about what to expect when it comes to internships. I guess the biggest question I have is, how do you know which one to accept, if you get multiple offers? Should he commit to one now or does he wait until the spring and see what is offered then? Any insight would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I’d say to worry about the problem of which to accept if and when he gets multiple offer letters.</p>
<p>If he gets an offer now he will be told how long he has to make a decision. He will need to abide by the company’s timetable. If he gets more than one offer feel free to post and we can weigh in with our experiences- right now he should just do his best!!!</p>
<p>Along those lines of doing his best…what should he expect from an interview? Certainly the company will cover many things, but what kinds of questions should my son have to ask the interviewer?</p>
<p>the Career Center at his school should provide mock interview services as well as resume writing help and they should be able to provide him with a list of common questions asked on interviews. </p>
<p>There are also web sites that provide videos on mock interviews along with examples of how to dress and not to dress. There are also web sites with common interview questions.</p>
<p>The important thing for him to find out is how he will be spending his time - where the educational component is. There are internships where the student is being used as a cheap or unpaid substitute for a clerk and others where the company is serious about their obligation to provide an educational experience with significant supervision. See Intern Nation - I am not in agreement with the author in many areas, but I do think it’s a provocative book and one that your son should read. It talks about the uses and abuses of the internship system by employers of all ilks.</p>
<p>Other ways to find out about the position - try to find former interns at his school or currently working at the company and talk to them about their overall satisfaction with the experience. Ask if there will be a formal evaluation of his performance at the end. Will he have the same or multiple supervisors over the course of the internship? Is there anyone who is responsible for interns overall at the organization? </p>
<p>Before he accepts a position, his goal should be for him to know what the company is offering him educationally and what he is expected to provide in return so there are no surprises. </p>
<p>My kids have done many internships and for the most part, the experiences were very good overall - but there was a great deal of ‘lack of transparency’ and unevenness in oversight that result in the kind of problems that come up in Intern Nation.</p>
<p>My D (also a business major) had three internships offers for the summer of her junior year. In her field, you had to commit to an internship by the beginning of November - so, no, you can’t wait until spring to weigh your options. The reasoning was that there were other kids interested in those internships, so you had to make a decision relatively quickly in order to accommodate those on the “wait list.” In her case, the most prestigious internships were all settled by Thanksgiving. but YMMV.</p>
<p>If your son gets called back for a second interview, he should really prep well for the experience - research the company, talk to previous interns, and prepare some intelliegent questions to ask the interviewers (obviously, not “how much does it pay?”!).</p>