My Advice to Incoming College First-Year Students - Week #6 – Internships (Part 2)

We have a lot to get to this week, but before revealing the results of last week's LinkedIn poll about skill development during internships, I want to share a personal note from my alma mater, #MontclairState. A few hours before sitting down to write this article, the #ProFootballHallOfFame inducted #SamMills. Mills was a 5'9 inside linebacker who received no scholarship offers from Division 1 programs. He played high school ball (and wrestled!) at Long Branch High School in NJ, and then went on to play at Montclair State University where HE WAS A WALK-ON! Mills overcame the odds and still owns many Montclair State football records, and was signed - UNDRAFTED - to the Cleveland Browns, who subsequently CUT HIM. Being told he was too short to play in the NFL, Mills bounced around the CFL and USFL until his USFL coach Jim Mora became the coach of the New Orleans Saints and asked Mills to be brought in.

All Mills did - all 5'9, walk-on, undrafted, cut of him - was become one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the National Football League (NFL) He is now one of the all-time greats to be enshrined in Canton, OH. His mantra, #KeepPounding, is an inspiration to everyone, especially those who have ever been told or made to think that they aren't good enough to achieve their goals.

Why do I share this story? Each year I hold internal career fairs for my company's interns to help them explore different career paths and meet with managers from throughout the organization. A few of my interns expressed surprise by how interested these managers were in their resumes and in the fact that they wanted to consider them for their teams. Many of them are first-generation college students, and they come from several different backgrounds. I reminded them that our company hired 111 interns this year from an applicant pool of nearly 12,000, making them part of the less-than-one-percent of the pool to earn a spot in the program. "YOU DESERVE TO BE HERE," I had to tell them, "AND YOU DESERVE THIS ATTENTION." Whether they knew it or not, they were living the words of Sam Mills - they kept pounding. And am I ever glad that I met each and every one of them.

So to you, the reader, regardless of whether you are a high school student, an incoming college student, a college graduate, an experienced professional, a career center advisor, or a hiring manager, please keep Sam Mills' words in mind - KEEP POUNDING. Work towards your goals, and stop to help others achieve theirs. Let's all find a way to our own personal Hall of Fame.

Last week, I launched a poll on LinkedIn asking readers who have had internships if they felt they developed more technical/hard skills or non-technical/soft/human skills during those experiences. The results didn't surprise me too much - with 103 votes, #SoftSkills took the victory by a two-to-one margin. There is surely some nuance to the industry and type of internship - I'm sure STEM-related internships are likely more tilted to Technical Skills whereas Business and Liberal Arts related roles are more Soft Skill centric.

The really interesting part of the poll was some of the comments about the specific skills or the concept of skill development overall. Amelia Vrabel listed Time Management, working with a diverse group of people, and Communication as skills she was able to develop during her internships. Julie B. highlighted Customer Service and Communication. And Stevie Eberle captured the sentiment of many in the most direct way possible saying "both." Barry Grossman echoed this idea by saying that both are critical, and that when honed properly, an internship can provide the intern with both technical skills and life lessons.

"...the answer is YES! A blend of technical skills and life lessons if you observe and listen."

Barry Grossman

Perhaps the most powerful part of Barry's statement, however, is the last 5 words: "IF YOU OBSERVE AND LISTEN."

One of my most popular On-Campus seminars deals with what I call "The Four Types of Communication." Since Communication is usually at the top of most lists of critical soft skills and skills desired by employers, the talk tends to resonate with the students who are trying to stand out amongst their peers. When I ask the students what they think the four types of communication are, the first three come pretty quickly: #VerbalCommunication, #NonVerbalCommunication, and #WrittenCommunication. I usually get a long pause as the students try to think of the fourth, and when the answer is revealed to be Listening, there is a sense of "of course!" in the room. Those first three types of communication involved how we communicate outwardly, but we often don't consider how we receive communication. That is why Barry's comment is so powerful - it is incumbent on the intern to employ their skills of listening and observation to take in new information, suggesting that #CommunicationSkills are the most important - and most developed - during an internship experience.

"...as an intern you want to be working on something that was meaningful and allowed you to contribute and learn. But what carried over the most in my life were the soft skills."

- Amelia Vrabel

That is my advice this week to incoming first-year students - or any students or professionals, for that matter. Take advantage of everything that will enable you to develop your skills, and expect that many of your experiences will sharpen non-technical, human skills such as #Communication, #Leadership, #WorkEthic, #TimeManagement, #Teamwork, #CustomerService, #Sales, #Persuasiveness, #Diversity, #ProblemSolving, #Professionalism, #EmotionalIntelligence, and so many more. These skills are in high demand by nearly all employers and will differentiate you in so many ways, especially if your technical skills are on par with or not as developed as others. Impressing someone with your soft skills may be just what you need to successfully navigate through - and beyond - your education.

Chris W. Fitzpatrick, PHR, SHRM-CP, is the Manager, University Relations and DEI at?Crestron Electronics?and has spent 15+ years in the Talent Acquisition and DEI spaces. Chris is a Professional Speaker, aspiring game show host, and below-average charity golfer. Some of Chris’s presentations can be found on his?YouTube Channel?and can also be found on Instagram as?ChrisFitzpatrickSpeaks.