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Internships, college programs, and job shadows are all things that college students seek in the hospitality industry either because they are required or they want the experience. I know that I personally have learned so much from each and every internship whether it was negative or positive. I feel very lucky that Rosen requires internships and paid ones at that because of how they have shaped my career. After researching for this paper I realized that although the majority of internships and college programs are extremely beneficial there are also some complications when the internship is unpaid or if the intern is made to do menial tasks. Yet I have also learned how beneficial internships are not only for the student but for the companies themselves.
The concept of internships first started back in the middle ages, when young men and women had the privilege to become apprentices to learn trade skills (Enghagen, 2018). They became blacksmiths, butchers, carpenters, etc. Now internships 'provide not only enhanced employment and professional growth opportunities but also the ability to network within the industry by creating personal contacts' (Murphy, 2017). Internships benefit both the student and the company and they combat the hospitality industry's high turnover issue. Companies want college students to get a foot in the door with them and in the end, become valuable employees and assets to them.
They are also highly competitive in the hospitality industry.. I have worked at three different places for my three internships with Universal being one of them. I applied for a sales associate job and turned it into an internship. After I had worked past my 90 days I was really interested in one of their professional internships with human resources. I thought that my degree and working within the company would get me an interview but I was actually ignored and didn't even hear back from them after applying. This goes to show how competitive internships can be.
Many studies have been conducted about college internships. They look at how beneficial they were to the student, what students value in an internship, can internships determine if the intern will stay with the company or industry when they end, and how much anxiety can come with internships. In one of the studies where they surveyed 160 undergraduate students at a midwestern university, they found out that 70.9% agreed that the internship experience was positive (Self, Adler, Sydnor, 2016). This positivity came from getting enough training in orientation and in the day-to-day tasks. Their trainers and managers took the time to make sure the intern was comfortable and they also gave them challenges so that they could truly learn new skills.
Yet they also found out that about '43% would not work in the industry upon graduation with 96% stating that prior work experience was the top reason for this judgment' (Self, Adler, Sydnor, 2016). This goes to show how impactful the company around the intern can be in influencing their internship. After all, internships can 'improve student's perceptions of job fit and enhance graduates' job satisfaction' (Farmaki, 2018).
In my past internships, I ended up leaving the company after internship because I didn't feel appreciated, or noticed, and was left on my own a lot of the time. The independence wasn't bad but I felt like the managers didn't care if I failed or not. Their guidance and feedback were lacking and that didn't make me feel motivated to stay.
In another study, they found that most of the interns enjoyed their internship but afterward wanted to move into a job that was more hospitality generic instead of a hotel or theme park (Robinson, Ruhanen, Breakey, 2014). This was the case for me. I used to be on the theme park track during my freshman/sophomore year of college at Rosen but in my later years, I selected the generic hospitality management track because of how broad the hospitality industry is. I didn't want to feel tied down to theme parks when hospitality can be found in many more places.
While looking for internships in the past few years I realized how much anxiety can arise before, during, and after. Studies show that anxiety increased before the internship and decreased after the internship but it never fully went away (Wang, Chiang, Lee, 2014). The relationships that the students made with the upper management really helped to get the students familiar with their workplace. When I applied for my IAAPA internship I was very nervous and after the interview process and realizing I got the job I was even more nervous on the first day. I am a few weeks in now and I am getting more comfortable with those around me. Mostly because my boss is doing a great job of integrating me into the team.
I consider myself very lucky that all the places I have interviewed at want to pay me. But I know all internships are not paid. Unpaid internships have never appealed to me because I believe that companies should pay you if you are doing work for them. It makes sense to me. After researching I realized that it isn't as common to work as an unpaid internship but they do still exist. The experience and resume booster that the unpaid internship gives is enticing to students.
However, some companies do take advantage of the free labor that the internship brings to them or they just don't know what qualifies as an unpaid internship and what qualifies an employee. This can be very tough for companies. I know that friends of mine have said that all they did at their unpaid internship was menial tasks and the company didn't help them at all education-wise. A great journal article I came upon gave some standards that companies should apply to their internship programs to make sure it is as effective, satisfying, and legal as possible. These include: making sure both parties know that no money is involved, keeping the internship to a semester or quarter, receiving academic credit is a must, doing menial tasks and the tasks of a regular employee must not be involved, the intern must benefit the most, and the intern must gain real experience that will help them in the future (Enghagen, 2018).
These standards can be applied not only to unpaid internships but to college programs as well. The most popular college program I know of is the Disney College Program. I have heard mixed reviews of this program but the majority of it has been positive. A study was done on the value of the Disney College Program and out of the 57 international students, the surveys showed they believed the value of the internship was worth their time, and labor, and afterward spoke very highly of the program (Murphy, 2017).
Overall, internships and college programs are very beneficial not only for the intern but for the company and hospitality industry as well. Although hospitality jobs are everywhere they can be extremely competitive and there is always high turnover. There are unpaid internships but there are good standards in place to make sure that the intern isn't being taken advantage of. The standards help companies make sure they are taking the legal route. Internships will continue to be a great way for college students to get real experience and for companies to teach new potential employees their trade.
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