Finding An Internship
By Michael P. Griffin, CPA, CMA, ChFC, Accounting Instructor
and Internship Director, Charlton College of Business, University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth
(Author's comment: This
was written a few years ago but still offers some good tips and ideas)
In my role as internship director at the Charlton College of
Business, I act as a go-between – a link between internship employers and our
student interns. Companies and nonprofit
organizations contact me with intern opportunities. In turn, I investigate these opportunities
and if I think they are worthy of academic credit, I promote these internships
to our students via emails and postings to my blog. In addition, I search the internet for
internship postings using Indeed.com’s search capabilities and email
alerts. I also keep my eye on
Experience.com and its internship postings and when I attend local meetings and
dinners I am often approached by business people looking for talented students.
As a result of my “pounding the pavement”, “shaking the bushes”,
and surfing the net looking for internships, I am able to generate lists of
internship postings for each semester.
In addition to my hunting for opportunities, I encourage
students to do their own searches. For
some reason, I find that our accounting majors are most successful in landing
great internships. It could be because
accountants are in such great demand and it could also be that apprenticeships
have long been a part of the accounting profession. In any event, I think it might be instructive
to learn where accounting students find their internships. I have also included in the appendix, a list
CPA firms – both large and small – with which our students have interned.
Most of our students have found accounting internships in
three places:
- In the accounting or
auditing departments of profit-seeking companies such as local
manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and distribution companies. These are usually staff accountant or
internal audit positions.
- In the accounting and
finance functions of nonprofits such as hospitals, museums, and community
service organizations. We have also
had accounting majors who have completed internships in the IRS sponsored
VITA program, a tax preparation assistance program that helps low income
tax payers.
- In public accounting
firms, particularly during high demand times such as during the tax season
(spring semester). Our students have also completed summer internships
with the big 4 accounting firms
Not all accounting internships are in accounting firms so if
you are an accounting major, don’t restrict your search to just public
accounting firms.
One company that has
hired our accounting majors as interns is Hasbro - a major toy manufacturer
located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
With
brands such as Mr. Potato Head, G.I. Joe, Transformers, My Little Pony, Milton
Bradley, Parker Brothers, Monopoly, and Scrabble. For a few years now, we
(Charlton College of Business) have had students work in excellent paid
internships at Hasbro.
Hasbro offers
internships in a variety of areas.
Our
students have interned in accounting and auditing but I have also seen
internships posted for communications and IT.
You can check on current internship openings by going to:
www.hasbro.com/corporate/careers/internship.cfm
Another corporation that likes our interns is Textron. Textron
hires accounting and finance interns at their Providence, RI headquarters.
These are paid internships and they expose students to the culture, policies,
and procedures of a large, diversified, public corporation. Textron contacts us as openings are
anticipated and they keep us in mind for two reasons: our students do good work
and we have alumni working in the accounting and finance function. Alumni are very valuable ambassadors for a
college’s internship program. So I believe the lesson here is that large
corporations can be a source of good business internships but it also helps to
have alumni on the inside and it helps to find someone within a functional area
of the business who not only believes in internships but is willing to work to
establish a program.
Finance internships can take a variety of forms. Finance intern positions can be found in
banks and other financial services firms and tend to be focused on the
marketing of financial services. However, we have also had students complete
internships at small portfolio management firms in Boston and Providence and as
assistants to financial consultants who are providing advisory services to
clients.
For the last few years, we (Charlton College of Business) have
had a number of students complete the internship offered by Northwestern Mutual
Financial Network (NMFN) - a nationally recognized program. According to the company, since 1967, more
than 25,000 students have participated in the Northwestern Mutual Financial
Representative Intern program.
Financial representative interns have an opportunity to test
drive the same career as the full-time representatives working for NMFN.
Financial representative interns gain necessary skills and knowledge of the
financial services industry, define their own target markets and establish
client relationships. In addition to that experience, interns can gain a
performance-based income based on sales closed.
To be accepted by NMFN into the internship, a college
student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 college credits; strong
interpersonal skills; self-motivated; community service; history of personal
success. Ideal candidates will demonstrate dedication, discipline, balance and
a competitive nature. (Author's comment - be ready to have to perform cold calls and client presentations)
We have also had a number of student interns working at Putnam
Investments in Franklin, Massachusetts. Putnam offers internships in their
customer service area (investor services) and accounting. Although these positions are not strictly
finance but are more customer service and clerical in nature, they do introduce
students to a corporate environment and build their investment vocabulary. (Author's comment: The Franklin operation moved to Andover a few years ago and we have had very little involvement since then.)
Marketing and management students sometimes have trouble
focusing on internship possibilities.
Unlike accounting, finance, and IT majors who often have a clear focus
when they begin to search for an internship, marketing and management majors
often need some help identifying appropriate internship opportunities.
One suggestion I have if you are trying to think of an
internship possibility but are having trouble coming up with solid leads, think
about the products and services that you use every day. What do you buy? Where do you shop? What
services do you utilize? Are any of the
providers of these goods and services located within your region and could they
be possibilities for internships?
Another important tip is to understand that whatever your
major, there are many possibilities within the discipline to explore. There are niches within all areas of
business. Let me explain. One of the more popular internships in our
college is the marketing one. Marketing
is one of our largest majors and we also find that many companies and
nonprofits want marketing interns. In most marketing internships, students are
helping the organization promote their products and services, generate sales
leads, and communicate to the public. In recent years we have seen more
opportunities for students who are strong in marketing but also have a
background in information services.
Database marketing, social marketing, and search engine optimization are
hot internship areas. Students who can
use the internet to identify potential customers and gather strategic marketing
information are also more in demand.
Then there is the idea that many internships are not focused
tightly or categorized distinctly within one business discipline or major. The lines between accounting and finance are
often blurred. The same is true with marketing and IT. Some marketing
internships cross over into management as is the case with retail-oriented
internships. For example, students who
have interned with Enterprise or Sherwin Williams have noted how they not only
utilize marketing skills and knowledge but also learn about how to manage
people, coordinate resources, and operate a store.
Sometimes finding an internship involves contacting the
local offices or branches of a major corporation. Enterprise Rent-a-Car is a
good example. Enterprise runs a national internship program. Our students have
worked in the local offices after having contacted the local office about
internship openings as opposed to sending a resume to headquarters.
If you think you might want to do an internship in a
retail/customer service setting, then Enterprise might be the answer. But I
suggest that you call or send your resume to a local office where you might
want to work. You can also visit their web site (www.erac.com) and search in
their career sections and perhaps find an office near you that wants to take on
a new intern. An internship with
Enterprise is a good example of a very practical internship because it involves
lots of on the job training and real world orientation. It may not be for everyone but such an
internship is paid internship and involves all the issues of running a local
rent-a-car office. It is also an internship
that has criteria that is beyond the resume.
To work for Enterprise as an intern you must have a valid driver's
license with no more than 2 moving violations and/or at-fault accidents within
the past 3 years and no drug or alcohol related conviction (DWI/DUI) on driving
record 3 years.
Many students in the marketing and management areas want an
internship that shows them how a store is run. An internship provider that
offers a “store-based” internship is Sherwin-Williams. This paint retailer
offers a summer paid internship program that is geared toward individuals who want
to learn about store management in one of more than 2,200 company-operated
specialty paint stores in the US or Canada. The internship allows students to
learn basic store operations, management skills, sales techniques, and customer
service. Some interns are asked to
complete special business projects while handling in-store responsibilities. Students
can work in a store near their college or summer residence. For more information, go to:
Larger employers offer more possibilities. For example,
students who live close to the Boston area in the summer should consider
Staples, the large office supply retailer, as a possible internship provider.
Staples offers paid internships in the following areas:
- Marketing/Advertising
- Accounting/Finance
- Information Systems and
Technology
- Supply Chain
- Corporate Strategy
- Customer Service
- Merchandising/Brand
Management
- Sales
Students often have no idea what type of company they would
like to intern with. Again, I tell students to think about the stores they shop
at and the products and services that they purchase as a way of brainstorming
towards a viable internship. For example, Shaw's Supermarkets is a chain that
is quite prevalent in our area. If you have ever bought groceries in New
England, there’s a good chance you have shopped at Shaw’s. The company is
headquartered in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, which is not too far from our
campus. Shaw’s has stores in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
Connecticut and Vermont.
The company (Shaw’s) hires summer interns in the area of
finance, marketing, merchandising and supply chain. I have sent students to
Shaw’s to apply for summer internships and they have worked well. Again, this type of internship is not for
everyone but if you haven’t set a clear focus on what you want to do for your
first internship, learning how a familiar business is run might be a good first
step.
Below is contact information for Shaw’s.
Shaw’s Division Office
750 West Center St.
Bridgewater, MA 02324
Website: www.shaws.com
On the idea of using the products that you use or consume as
a way of brainstorming for solid internship possibility, what about hot
dogs? We have had student interns at Kayem
Foods, a major hot dog and sausage manufacturer in the Boston area. Student
interns perform the roles of brand ambassadors for Kayem’s products and learn
not only promotional skills but the principles of event marketing.
Responsibilities include driving The Kayem Holy Grill Event
Vehicle to and from events, setting up and taking down event signage and equipment
and preparing, grilling and sampling Kayem products. As a Kayem Crewsader you
will be one of Kayem’s “brand ambassadors” and will answer consumer questions,
execute marketing promotions, give-aways and market research surveys at events.
For this type of internship, the student must enjoy working
with the public and be energetic, outgoing, personable, flexible, professional,
organized and reliable.
Kayem Foods, Inc.
75 Arlington Street
Chelsea, MA 02150:
Internship ideas are everywhere. Do you see those brown
trucks on the highways? Charlton College
of Business students have done a variety of UPS internships at their Norwood,
Massachusetts location. Founded in 1907
as a messenger company in the United States, UPS has grown into a gigantic
corporation by clearly focusing on the goal of enabling commerce around the
globe. Today UPS is a global company with one of the most recognized and
admired brands in the world. We have become the world's largest package
delivery company and a leading global provider of specialized transportation
and logistics services. Every day, we manage the flow of goods, funds, and
information in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. More information can be found at: www.ups.com
. Our interns (paid) have worked in such areas as procure management, capital
budgeting, profitability management, accounting, and customer behavior. As soon
as I receive an announcement from UPS, I post the position descriptions to our
internship blog and alert business majors by email.
Nonprofit organizations have a great need for business
interns. Most of these internships are
unpaid as finance and cash flow are major issues with nonprofits. However, nonprofit organizations offer great
learning possibilities in all functional business areas including accounting,
finance, IT, marketing, human resources, and operations management. A number of
nonprofit organizations on the south coast of Massachusetts have utilized
student interns including such as the Southcoast Hospital Group (the largest
employer in the region), New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, New Bedford
Whaling Museum, and the Fall River Chamber of Commerce. A local town planning
board (Fairhaven) has hired an intern for each of the last three years to help
with a variety of office related tasks. We have also had students work in the
auditing departments of cities and in the treasurer’s office of a municipality.
Many students are interested in sports management careers or
careers in the business side of the entertainment industry. Breaking into these
fields usually involves taking no pay or low paying internship. Below is some
information about internship possibilities in this field that a few of our
(CCB) students have experienced.
(Author's note: Be ready for long hours and no pay!)
Kraft Sports Group
The New England Patriots and the New England Revolution are
two of the best run sports franchises in the United States. Each year, the Kraft Sports Group (owners of
these teams and Gillette Stadium, host a sports and entertainment career fair
at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
The career fair is usually held in April and involves round
table discussions with senior executives from the Kraft Sports Group and then a
career fair for graduate and undergraduate that is looking to make the first
step into the Sports and Entertainment industries. Attendees have the
opportunity to meet with representatives from many of the industry’s top
professional teams, minor league teams, sports apparel companies, media
companies, and public relations or advertising agencies.
Companies participating in this past year's (2009) event
were:
- New England Patriots
- New England Revolution
- Boston Celtics
- WEEI
- Big Fish Promotions, LLC
- Boston Lobster's Tennis
Team
- Central Connecticut State
University
- Bay State Banner
- Lowell All-Americans
Baseball
- Sports Management
Worldwide
- Worcester Tornadoes
- Connecticut Sun
- Bay Sox (New Bedford)
- Cape Cod Baseball League
- Brockton Rox
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins offer unpaid internships at the TD Bank
Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The
particular Bruins internship that I am most familiar with is the Communications
Internship, a marketing/communications oriented engagement. The Interns gain experience working in the
Public Relations, Media Relations, and Communications aspects of the Bruins
operation. Good writing skills are the
key and we have had marketing majors perform this internship with excellent
feedback. The Bruins accept internship applications on a rolling basis but you
should specify which internship you are applying for in your cover letter
(spring, summer, and fall). The Bruins (and many other NHL teams) post their
internship openings on a web site called NHL Hockey Jobs (hockeyjobs.nhl.com). You must apply for Bruin’s intern positions
online. Most NHL internships tend to be
focused in the following areas: community relations, marketing, game day
operations, corporate partnerships, sales and service, database marketing,
premium club sales, arena marketing, and ticket operations.
Cape Cod Baseball
League
The best amateur baseball league is run every year on Cape
Cod – with many of the teams located less than an hour from our campus. These
teams utilize student interns (unpaid) for a variety of tasks including
publicity, baseball operations, and broadcasting.
Prospective interns need to contact
individual teams.
For more information
about the Cape Cod Baseball League visit:
www.capecodbaseball.org
Cooperstown Dream
Park
In the summer of 2008, I visited an amazing place (and a big money maker) called
Cooperstown Dream Park. It is almost hard to describe this place. Here's some
information provided by the park:
"Located in the home of baseball, Cooperstown Dreams Park
is a premier 22 field youth baseball tournament facility. The Cooperstown
Dreams Park Experience, since 1996, offers more than baseball. This cultural
and life enriching experience for team and family members will create memories
to last a lifetime. Cooperstown Dreams Park offers our players a chance to
succeed, to savor their moment in the spotlight and to feel the excitement of
success. We promote a healthy spirit of competition, while at the same time
always maintaining traditional values and integrity of the game. Many coaches
and parents have described their week at Dreams Park as the highlight of their
child's life. It is that spirit that has made Cooperstown Dreams Park the
"Crown Jewel of Youth Baseball." We take pride in keeping the
tradition of American's game, baseball, in its purest form."
Cooperstown, New York is a wonderful place and the Dream
Park is an interesting internship possibility for a student who wants to work
in the sports/hospitality field. The internships at Cooperstown Dream Park are full-time,
paid position for the summer and include living accommodations. If you love
sports, particularly baseball, look into this. The founder and operator of the
park is a very successful entrepreneur. His story is very interesting and this
facility is like the Disney World of youth baseball operations. If you are
interested, visit their web site:
Our contact at Cooperstown Dream Park is: Linda Davis in the
HR department.
Linda's email is: lindad@cooperstowndreamspark.com
This internship fits well for students interested in sports
management, hospitality management, management of events, and management of
sports venues. This internship is not for everyone. It will involve living in
Cooperstown, New York on the site for most of the summer. Food and laundry
services will be provided and you will live with other interns in the campus
dorms (bunk houses). In the summer of
2009, one of our (CCB) students interned at the park.
The Washington Center
The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars
is an independent, nonprofit organization serving hundreds of colleges and
universities in the United States and other countries by providing selected
students challenging opportunities to work and learn in Washington, D.C. for
academic credit. The largest program of its kind, The Washington Center has 70
full-time staff and over 40,000 alumni. The Washington Center places interns in
hundreds of organizations in government, business and the non-profit
sector.
A few years ago, I spent several
days at the Washington Center and visited an intern that was working for the
White House and another who was interning at a Merrill Lynch branch office in
downtown Washington.
TWC runs a very
impressive program and I wholeheartedly endorse it. For more information on TWC
go to
www.twc.edu
In recent years, college students have become increasingly
interested in international internships. Many colleges and universities have
international programs office or a coordinator of study-abroad programs that
oversee international internships. I have provided information on three
programs that help set up international internships for college students.
The Washington Center’s Intern Abroad programs provide an
opportunity to combine study abroad with a valuable internship experience. Each program integrates academic and work
experience in a comparative and international context.
In the summer of 2009, TWC offered four ten-week programs in
cities including London, England; Oxford, England; Quebec City, Canada and
Sydney, Australia.
Visit
www.twc.edu/internabroad or contact
your campus TWC liaison.
Accounting Internships
All the large accounting firms have many internship
opportunities. The CPA firms have long been strong believers in internship
programs as a feeder system.
Deloitte & Touche offers internship opportunities to
qualified students in offices around the country, which provide participants
work experiences with clients ranging from Fortune 500 multinationals to small
businesses. Internships are offered in the spring (January - March) and summer
(June - August) and are open to college students who have strong academic
credentials. Participants get on-the-job training as well as technical and
business-oriented education in the classroom. Interns are hired in all
functions of the firm: Assurance, Financial Advisory Services (FAS), Enterprise
Risk Services (ERS), Human Capital, Solutions, or Tax Services.
For more information about internship opportunities with
Deloitte & Touche, contact your campus career center or visit the firm's
website at
www.deloitte.com/careers.
Deloitte & Touche
National Campus Recruiting
Ten Westport Road
P.O. Box 820
Wilton, CT 06897-0820
Tel: (203) 761-3000
Ernst & Young (EY) hires over 1,500 interns each
year.
These are paid internships in
offices nationwide and overseas. If you are interested in an EY internship,
contact your Career Resource center at your college or university early in the
fall semester to learn about when EY will be on campus for interviews.
You can also visit the EY website for more
details at:
www.ey.com/US/en/Careers/Students/Programs/Internships
KPMG
has been recognized
by FORTUNE as one of the Best Companies to Work For and by BusinessWeek as a
Best Place to Launch a Career.
This firm
offers excellent internships.
If you go
to
www.kpmgcampus.com/job/interning.shtml
you can get more information about their internship program and watch several
videos on this global program.
To
inquire about applying for an internship, contact a regional KPMG recruiter.
You can go to:
www.kpmgcampus.com/whereweare/index.shtml
to find the name and contact information for a campus recruiter near you.
Here’s some for the New
KPMG Providence, RI office
50 Kennedy Plaza
6th Floor
Providence, RI 02903
KPMG Boston, MA office
99 High Street
23rd Floor
Boston, MA 02110
KPMG Hartford, CT Office
One Financial Plaza
755 Main Street, 11th Floor
Hartford, CT 06103-2608
KPMG Stamford, CT Office
Stamford Square
3001 Summer Street
3rd Floor
Stamford, CT 06905
KPMG Burlington, VT Office
356 Mountain View Drive, Suite 400
Colchester, VT 05446
—or—
P.O. Box 564
Burlington, VT 05402
PwC has a very good internship program that is run in the
summer.
Several of my accounting
students have completed the internship and have been very satisfied with the
experience.
Students interested in
applying candidates can complete an online career profile located at:
www.pwc.com/ocp.
The following description was taken from the PwC web site
regarding its internship program:
The first 1-2 weeks of
your internship will be dedicated to comprehensive training. You will attend a
local market orientation course designed to help you become familiar with the
people, clients and procedures of the Firm as well as provide you with an
understanding of the Firm’s culture, behaviors and values. You will also
participate in technical and line of service training that is geared to bridge
the gap between your academic education and your initial assignments and
responsibilities as an intern. Through case studies, practice exercises,
communications modules and technology-enabled study, you will learn to identify
and solve common problems in business transactions.
At the end of this training program, you will be equipped to join a client
engagement team as a contributing member. And, you will have begun building a
network that will help you for the rest of your career.
In your final week as a PwC intern, students experience an
innovative training program held at Walt Disney World. During the week at
Disney, students build on the classroom and on-the-job training that they received
during their internship.
|
PricewaterhouseCoopers
|
Recruiting
1301 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
Tel: (646) 394-1000
Website: www.pwc.com/uscareers |
We (Charlton College of Business) are fortunate to have
several area CPA firms that have hired our accounting majors, usually during
tax season (Spring semester) as paid interns. The size of these firms range
from as many as 50 staff accountants to one person shops (sole practitioners.)
If you are not from our region and would like to pursue a
local CPA internship, I advise you to talk to your accounting professors for
leads and contacts. Also, investigate
which local firms recruit seniors for permanent positions, as they may also be
willing hire a junior or even a sophomore for help during tax season. Most smaller CPA firms will not hire summer
interns as the summer tends to be a slower time for their firms and therefore
they don’t need the extra help nor do they have enough meaningful work to keep
an intern busy.
Also keep in mind that alumni who have gone on to be
successful in the accounting field are an excellent source of internships. Both in the public accounting field and in
management accounting, we have alumni who are very open to taking on an
intern. We have had CPA partners,
corporate controllers, and accounting managers who have approached us with paid
internship opportunities. In addition,
many business schools have advisory boards that are populated with accounting
and finance professionals that can have ties to CPA firms or know someone who
could utilized an accounting intern. I know several students who have sent
unsolicited cover letters and resumes to CPA firms and have been fortunate to
land excellent internships.
Kahn, Litwin, Renza
and Company Ltd.
KLR is a proven leader in the accounting profession. The
firm is comprised of over 150 team members serving a diverse client base from
three offices, Providence, RI, Newport, RI and Natick, MA. KLR serves public
and privately held clients throughout the United States. KLR offer a wide array
of corporate and individual financial advisory services that will help you gain
real business experience as you grow within the accounting profession.
Position Overview:
An intern generally works for a period of up to four months
and participates in various accounting and auditing engagements and tax
assignments under the supervision and guidance of firm personnel. The intern
develops a basic understanding of public accounting and the firm.
Contact:
Kahn, Litwin, Renza and Company Ltd.
Mr. Steve Loffredo, Human Resource Manager
951 North Main Street
Providence, RI 02904
401.274.2001
401.831.4018 (Fax)
Burke and Lamb CPA
300 Union St
New Bedford, MA 02740
(508) 984-4800
Fernandes and Charest
CPA
1140 State Rd
Westport, MA 02790
(508) 636-6556
Hague and Sahady CPA
126 President Avenue
Fall River, MA 02720.
(508) 675-7889
James F. Driscoll CPA
638 Adamsville Rd
Westport, MA
508-636-0415.
