Internships

As a Military Spouse, you may find yourself in a location where fully paid opportunities are limited or highly competitive. Perhaps you are considering transferring your skills to an alternate career field that may have more viable long-term opportunities for you, but you would like some extra work experience to build credibility on your resume. If it is taking you longer to achieve fulfilling employment than you would like, or if you are considering volunteer work, an internship is an avenue that is definitely worth exploring.

Most people only think of internships as a way for school students to gain in-school credits and “real world” experience, but they are also a very valid way in which already qualified graduates and post-graduates can build on their experiences or network their way into a full-time paid position. As internships normally run for three to six months, and can be of negotiable length, they are an ideal fit for a Military Spouse that has only a limited duration in a location but a desire to be engaged and involved with the workforce. They are also a valuable job search technique; a fact highlighted by a 2012 Study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) that found that 60% of paid interns were ultimately offered a job. The statistics for unpaid internships were significantly less (37%), and this may be because the types of duties and tasks carried out in these internships tended to be more menial in nature than the more professional style of projects that were given to paid interns.

Vault.com has an in depth list of over 800 post-graduate internships with highly respected organizations and businesses such as Garmin International and Google. Many of these arrangements include some financial incentive in addition to the potential for long-term career opportunities with that company or organization. While these positions aren’t permanent and the pay is very minimal, they certainly give an advantage to the internee over incoming competition for future jobs, allow the opportunity to learn and practice new skills, and provide continuity to the sometimes-patchy Military Spouse resume. InternMatch is another site that can be a great way to search internships by field and city. Although the site itself requires a paid membership if you are not a student, you can use the search function to locate internships and then contact the companies directly to avoid paying a fee. Internships that may be of particular interest to Military Spouses include:

Federal Internships for Recent Graduates: This program is for individuals who have recently graduated at a graduate or post-graduate level and seek Federal Employment. The program involves ongoing training and mentorship with the view to establishing a long-term career with any Federal agency. To be eligible, applicants must apply within two years of degree or certificate completion.

The Capital Fellows Program (California): This program welcomes graduate, post-graduate and mid career professionals interested in state and public policy.

InclineHQ: Incline is a social enterprise that is expanding its current veteran service to include Military Spouses. They provide free training in web and graphic design and then place graduates in high-tech companies upon completion of the six-week program.

For further reading on internships, see the following articles.

Interning as an Experienced Professional by Liz Seasholts

Start over as an Intern by Alexandra Levitt

Internships: Not Just For College Kids Anymore by Investopedia

If you know of any other worthwhile internship opportunities or want to share your own experience, please use the comments section below.