Top 5 Reasons to Intern at a Small Start Up

This blog was written by Amanda Gallucci, campus ambassador at Providence College. She is a Junior English major and Business minor. Follow her on Twitter @agalluch.

This summer I interned at a small start up company in New York City and I quickly learned that it was a great environment for interns to be in for several reasons.

1. Personal Attention: When you are the only intern or one of just a few interns, each one of you are going to get to work closely with the employers. Unlike large companies that can have a dozen interns to one supervisor, you are likely to have a great deal of one on one time. The smaller the company, the greater the chance that this one on one time will be with upper level staff because when there aren’t many employees, there are far fewer positions between intern and manager.
2. Significant Responsibility: At a small company you will be sharing work with less people. You are more likely to be treated as an employee with important tasks because they will need the help. You probably won’t be getting coffee or sitting around waiting for a task to be given to you, and you will have a chance to shine by carrying your major tasks through to completion.
3. Great Work Environment: Many start up companies are full of young employees just starting out in their careers. There is a good chance that you will experience a more relaxed, laidback atmosphere. Younger people like to work hard and play hard, so be prepared to dress more casually and have a thriving social environment while you are still working to your fullest capacity and learning a lot about the whole process of growing as a business.
4. New Technology: Emerging companies are typically using the newest, best technology in their fields. Partnering this fact with the personal attention you will be getting, you can learn a lot about the latest software and websites in your field. Such specific new skills will look awesome on your resume.
5. Growth Potential: Nowadays internships have become so popular and important that students intern simply for the internship experience, without much hope that the internship will lead to a job at that specific company. With startups however, you have a much better chance of turning your internship into a full time job. Small companies that find success will soon be looking to grow, so if you do well as an intern you will give them a reason to consider taking you on as a full time employee after. Since you will be spending time with the upper level employees and producing relevant work, you can make a great impression on the hiring managers. If you show tremendous potential and already know the people and ways of the office, what reason would they have to look any further?

If you are still looking to land a Fall internship, definitely give start ups a try!