internship

Internships: 3 Reasons Why Your MBA Is Incomplete Without One

Perhaps, on your way to owning your own business, you’re studying for a master’s degree in business, an MBA. Consider that an internship with your MBA program can be critical to your success.

An MBA program with internships at reputable companies will give you a competitive edge in your field. Such a program will offer a space for testing your learning. It will also allow you to put the practical skills you obtained in the classroom to use. Furthermore, it will provide you with strong references upon graduation. Then, too, the connections you’ll gain within your industry will increase your chances for being hired later.

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1. Internships Put Students on the Fast Track to Success

Even a degree as prestigious as an MBA might not help you win the job of your dreams. However, if you have relevant experience in the field, you will have a leg up on the competition.

Internships provide this experience, along with the opportunity to specialize. They also provide exposure to the inner workings of a given field, be it accounting, supply chain management, or international business.

When a candidate performs well in their internship, there may also be the opportunity to land a position at the company with which they interned. That’s because they’ve proven they’re capable and hard working. In this way, the internship is used as an opportunity to develop a relationship. These relationships, moreover, benefit prospective employers as well as interns themselves.

2. Internships Help Candidates Specialize and Choose a Career Path

Sometimes students completing their MBAs still haven’t found their best fit career-wise. Internships are excellent opportunities for changing industries and finding the right fit. The internship can be used to find a line of work that the candidates believe in and excel in.

It also allows students to see whether the specialization they’ve chosen translates to their enjoyment of that working environment. An MBA from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics provides students with a wide range of 10 specializations to choose from. And an internship can further help them to navigate those opportunities.

3. Internships Prepare Graduates for the Demands of the Business World

Not only do internships give evidence of a graduate’s abilities, they also give students opportunities to take chances. In these placements, students can make mistakes and grow, so that upon entering into (or back into) the workforce, they will also have an established confidence when chasing those high-tier positions. Those running the business world ask prospective applicants to be sure they can perform the work competently, and to be ready to use their previous experience as support.

Internships with your MBA program can help you to see where you need to make changes. They can help you to determine what is working and what is not working in your approach. And, finally, internships offer a concrete assessment of where you can improve when that next opportunity arrives.