4.15.25
By Phil Blair, Co-Founder of Manpower West Staffing. 
Let Internships Prepare You for the ‘Real’ World
The students were broken into groups of 10, and under the guidance of Rotary facilitators, each group came up with a business idea. They considered finance, management, marketing and every other issue that affected their chosen product or service. Then each group presented their project to an audience of 120 people, all the while learning what it takes to prepare themselves for “real” work.
Programs such as Camp Enterprise and paid internships, both at the high school level and through college, provide young people with work experience that is not as readily available in the “real world” as it once was.
Nothing prepares young people for the reality of the workplace like being right in the middle of an active worksite.
For many fortunate young people, having an internship is a rite of passage, a great way to learn about a desired company or industry from the inside. For many, it’s their first time working within the structure of a business. And that can sometimes be scary.
Knowing what an internship can offer
Deciding to apply for an internship is a big decision, one that starts with knowing what it can offer. At Manpower, I tell our interns that they’re now leaving the world of being a kid and entering “my world of work.”
An internship is a way to demystify the unknowns and what-ifs of working in an adult environment. It builds an intern’s confidence through a structured intro to work and professional behavior with real-world work experience. Most importantly, internships are an ideal way to learn from others, including your mentor who guides you through work-related situations and projects. Often, mentors are available long-term after your internship.
Think you want to be a lawyer? Two hundred hours working in a law firm over the summer will either confirm that you do — or don’t. Same with accounting, PR, HR, healthcare, hospitality and nearly any field you may find of interest.
Along the way, it boosts your resume in a big way. While your future job competitors were out surfing, you showed initiative and gained valuable work experience. Do a great job during your internship and you will pick up great references for your next job.
As for employers, offering internships:
- Provides young people with invaluable real-world experience, skill development, and networking opportunities
- Establishes connections with nonprofits, high schools and colleges, to increase their ability to recruit future employees
- Gives interns the opportunity to train, teach new skills, and share their expertise
- Offers a cost-effective way to identify and groom potential future employees
- Provides added mentorship to future team leaders and supervisors, especially those who shine
Almost 50% of interns are later offered full-time jobs by the firms where they’ve worked. Maybe not until after they graduate and, of course, not all interns accept the jobs. But what a good feeling for the young interns.
We’ll probably have 500 to 600 interns working for Manpower clients this summer and throughout the year through a myriad of local nonprofits. If your company, large or small, wants to learn about hiring an intern please let me know via email.
Our goal is not to have internships be only for the elite sons and daughters of management who network to get internships for their kids. We are more excited about young people from struggling backgrounds who want to improve their future job outlook. Paid internships not only provide experience and professional confidence, they can also help pay for food and other basics of life.
Getting back to our Camp Enterprise students, San Diego Rotary Club is proud to teach them to be productive future employees.
Now they’re almost ready to be hired as interns.
Blair is co-founder of Manpower West Staffing and Author of “Job Won! 500,000 Hires and Counting” and can be reached at pblair@manpowerwest.com
