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The word “intern” is from the French “interner,” and originally meant to confine or impound. American flipped it to a noun in the late 19th century and morphed it to mean “a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience.” see www.dictionary.com.

If you’ve been reading moneylaunchmykid over the past week of our launch, you know that I like to draw from my own experiences when trying to advise my kids (and you) on money matters and financial responsibility for college students. Why discuss internships? Well, it comes down to a three letter word which I’m sure we are all interested in, especially in today’s economy: JOB. While an internship may seem to a student somewhat more in line with the French idea of confinement to schedules and expectations, your parental twist of getting solid, practical experience cannot, repeat–CANNOT be overlooked.

I actually did not take on an internship until I was in graduate school when I first worked for the City of Akron, helping to revamp their waste collection system (garbage in is not always garbage out). Then following my final degree, I grabbed a second internship as an aide to the Ohio State Senate Judiciary Committee. There is absolutely no doubt that the experience of these two positions–one paid and one unpaid–led to my first “real” job as an executive director for a municipal association near Chicago. An internship was the jump-start I needed to get a great, well-paying job and to leapfrog other candidates for the position. The move to Illinois also introduce me to my wonderful wife of almost 30 years and three great kids who would not even be here were it not for the internships. Talk about win-win..

Good, solid internships in a student’s field are springboards to success.

My tips for encouraging your student to seek out an internship:

• Ask what it is they think they would like to do. Most kids have no idea and may be too focused on coming up with the “right” job. Encourage their interests, the focus will come later. I really wasn’t looking for rides to the garbage dump, but city management greatly interested me.
• Have them prepare a cover letter and a one page resume which can be tweaked on the fly for new opportunities.
• Tell them how to dress…yes, dress. Even today, companies are looking for interns who at least look like they might be responsible.
• Give them to a short, bulleted checklist for interview tips. Here’s a good one– www.iseek.org/sv/41315.jsp
• This may be tough, but see if they will role-play an interview with you. Remind them they are not applying to Applebee’s or WalMart.
• Work the web: www.vault.com, www.internzoo.com and www.internships.com
• Don’t miss job fairs at the college. Many businesses have some internships, some businesses have many.

Finally, you’ll notice that I had both a paid and unpaid internship. The unpaid internships are far easier to come by (especially with our current economic mess)–and less competitive. Remember, this is all about real world experience. Call your student now, today, and get them goin.’