How skipping the internship changed my career

I’ve become familiar with internships. From having one myself last summer (it was a blast!) to managing and coaching interns, I’ve gained a good sense of the value and opportunity that internships provide. When I think about my own internship experience, one of the most influential decisions that I ever made was choosing to turn down an internship. 

7 years ago, I was doing what every driven student in the Boston College Carroll School of Management was doing – polishing my resume, writing cover letters and applying to as many internships as possible. As a natural planner and go-getter, I had developed a plan for success – getting good internship experiences means getting good jobs, and getting good jobs helps you start a good career.

But amidst the interviews and 20 revisions of my resume I saw another opportunity come across my plate – Applying to be an Orientation Leader for First Year Students at Boston College.

As an Orientation Leader, I would be working with fellow faculty, administrators and leaders to welcome incoming first-year students. It felt like a combination of being a mentor, advisor, camp counselor, and personal coach.

Having had great coaches, mentors, and guides in my life I saw the value of these people. So I really strived to do the same for others, which made this an attractive opportunity.

The challenge would be that I would have to forego gaining relevant business experience, and do something entirely different than the majority of my classmates. Not to mention, go down a path that was actually pretty far from my own “plan.” However, I had really enjoyed my experience at BC, and I had navigated it smoothly thanks to the guidance of my own Orientation Leader and countless older students. As a passionate believer in the Jesuit mission of using your talents to benefit others, the opportunity excited and energized me in ways any of the internships I was applying for weren’t. But I couldn’t see how this “path” fit in my plan.

When it comes to making decisions, I take into account both my head and my heart, and this time, they were telling me different things. With this one, I couldn’t ignore my heart, and decided to apply. After applying and making it through a few rounds of interviews, I was given an offer to be an Orientation Leader.

 At the time, my friends and family were supported but perplexed. They knew I loved business and was motivated and driven by my “plan,” so doing something that derailed from this seemed unlike me. Furthermore, this was also in spring of 2008, (spoiler alert: recession) and others around me warned about the potential limitations I was putting on myself for getting a full time job.

A photo from my summer as an Orientation Leader

Instead of learning the ins and outs of a business, networking with executives and going to happy hour, I was advising students on what classes to take, how to adjust to life on your own (no parents!) and honing my dodgeball, acting, and icebreaker skills. It was far from that internship I coveted, but I loved every second of it.

Sometimes I got envious of my classmates who were interning at investment banks, consulting firms and Fortune 500 companies and getting “real world experience,” but what I gained was just as real world as working a “traditional internship.” (I am also certain they were not playing dodgeball at work!)

That summer, I had a sense of purpose, and that was to help incoming students and parents feel comfortable and excited about their opportunity to pursue higher education. Having gone through the transition myself, I could speak openly and honestly about my own experience. Getting to work alongside 40 other Orientation leaders, (many are my best friends till this day) faculty, and administrators who were just as passionate about BC’s mission gave me an energy and enthusiasm that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Being an Orientation Leader did not feel like work – it felt like an extension of being the best version of myself, where I could use my skills, and leadership abilities to help other people.

 Furthermore, it taught me skills that are still relevant to me today. Whether it was learning how to solve problems without supervision, developing empathy with diverse groups of people, or figuring out how to motivate or influence others when you don’t have formal power, I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was developing critical skills that to this day are critical to my every day work as a consultant, MBA graduate, and future business leader. Furthermore, when it finally came time to interview for full-time jobs, no company seemed perplexed that I had 0 internship experience.

Since I passed on that internship, I’ve worked for a large consulting firm, Fortune’s most innovative company, and graduated from business school. So while not having an internship deviated from my life plan at 20, I feel fortunate and to be where I am right now seven years later.

Sometimes, opportunities arise, and they can be easy to dismiss. From what I’ve learned from my #interning experience, having a plan is great, but going off the plan can open your aperture to experiences that you never thought were possible. Furthermore, it’s important to listen and balance the head (logic, reasoning) and the heart (feeling, emotion.) Both are needed to help you guide your life choices and decisions. Today, I still have a plan, but I’d like to think that I’m more open and comfortable when an opportunity comes up that deviates from it. It can be stressful, but I think my life is richer for it.

That summer, my decision to not take that internship changed my life, and I’m forever grateful for that experience. And the next time I take a job that includes playing dodgeball, I know I’ll be prepared.

This post was written as part of the #Interning series, which is tied to LinkedIn’s new student editorial calendar. Follow the stories here or write your own.