You want to add internship experience to your résumé, but you don’t want to wait until summer to do it. You have a 12-month lease and don’t want to try to find a sublessee, let alone lose money on the deal (trust me, you will), so you’re stuck in East Lansing for the next year. You need internship credit in order to graduate and your off-campus job isn’t career-related—or you may have an on-campus job that is career-related, but isn’t officially an internship. Do any of these dilemmas sound familiar? Problem solved: with the new(ish) Internships@State program, you can get valuable experience and learn what it’s like to work in your field of choice without leaving campus. Or, if you really do want to leave campus, you can work with one of the 240 MSU departments worldwide.

This program sounds just fine and dandy in theory, but does it actually work? Can you really get career-related experience by working for MSU? Antonius Tran, a human resources major from the class of 2010 and intern with the MSU human resources department since September 2008, thinks you can. Read on to see what his experience has been like so far.

Antonius Tran

Antonius Tran

CSN: What prompted you to do an internship?
AT: I was interested in learning more about my major (Human Resources). I really wanted to see the discrepancies between what they teach you in class and what really happens in the professional world.

CSN: How did you find out about the Intern @ State program?
AT: MySpartanCareer

CSN: What was the application process like? How long did it take to obtain an internship?
AT: I had to create a résumé, cover letter, and obtain references. It was a professional screening process, which showed me they were looking for quality candidates, not just a student to fill a job. It was not a long process because my supervisor planned the interviews accordingly and notified me of her decision within a few days.

CSN: What are your responsibilities at your internship? How many hours a week do you work and what is a typical day like for you?
AT: My main responsibility is assisting with the selection process for different departments within the division. I am also responsible for helping with the creation of training materials for training classes.

I work approximately 20–25 hours a week. There is no typical day because I work on various projects with different team members in the division. I may be working with upper management to design the selection process one day, and the next day I may be working on an HR intervention to improve employee performance.

CSN: What have been the strong points/highlights of your experience so far?
AT: The best part of my internship is being able to work with so many great people that always take the time to answer my questions no matter how busy they are. I’ve always felt a part of the team even though I’m just an intern. Another highlight of the internship is that I’ve learned so many things about human resources that aren’t in the textbooks.

CSN: What has been the most significant thing that you have learned on the job so far?
AT: The most significant thing I have learned on the job is that a willingness to learn and ask questions is what will help you get the most out of an internship. Staff members are always willing to help you develop. It’s your responsibility to make the most out of the internship.

CSN: In what ways were you able to incorporate knowledge gained from your classes into the workplace?
AT: I found that I incorporate knowledge gained from the workplace being transferred to the class more often. The things I learn in the workplace helped me to contribute to class discussions and to my classmates on a deeper level.

CSN: How has your internship affected your career goals?
AT: My internship helped me understand where I want to go specifically in my career. In human resources, there are many career paths to choose from. After going through my internship, I have a clearer sense of the direction I want to take.

CSN: Do you have any general advice for students who are interested in the Internships @ State program?
AT: An internship is a great way to determine whether or not your major is suitable for you. Through my internship, I have confirmed the fact that I want to stay in human resources. Others may find that after going through an internship, their major is not what they want to do after all. Either way, an internship helps you to really know what field you fit into.

Interested in applying to the Internships@State program yourself? Just go to the website and fill out the interest form. It helps the program director, Wendy Coduti, figure out what you are looking for and potentially help create an internship that would be beneficial to you. For more information on the program itself, check out this article.