1. Internal Internships

In internal consulting, students may work on generating selection, training, and performance feedback systems. 

Key Considerations: 

  • Interns may interface with various roles within the organization. 
  • Internal roles require creating relationships with various organizational stakeholders to collaborate with staff members from different teams within the organization.
  • Students may engage in less “typical I-O” activities (e.g. business activities, communications planning). 
  • Interns may be asked to present to company executives.
  • There are often strong mentoring opportunities given the small numbers of interns and the small size of the department. 

2. External Internships

External consulting firms offer expertise, advice, and/or staff augmentation to outside organizations, typically for Human Capital or Management consulting. There are a variety of tasks and topics depending on clients’ needs at any given time.

Key Considerations:

  • Students gain experience in a breadth of areas.
  • Once a project ends, it’s hard to see the full impact of the project’s implementation.
  • Interns may be asked to balance project work for multiple clients at one time, making prioritization and time management very important.
  • External consulting firms have varying billable hour targets that affect work-life balance.
  • Consultants can be placed on-site or can be assigned to multiple projects and only go to the client site for meetings. Experiences will vary depending on this difference and the amount of travel required.
  • Interns can potentially be involved in business development opportunities.

3. Government Internships

The “Pathways Internship Program” offers paid opportunities for students to explore federal careers. Students who complete the program may be eligible for conversion to a permanent job in the civil service.

Key Considerations:

  • Internships in the federal space will vary depending on the hiring agency.
  • Federal agencies are held to more regulations than private companies (e.g., Merit System Principles, Prohibited Personnel Practices). Policies and processes may be less flexible than those in the private space.
  • Internships may require extensive lead time depending on the background information and investigation required before an intern can start working.
  • Students may be asked to communicate with individuals outside of the agency or department and complete high-visibility assignments, requiring excellent communication and presentation skills.

4. Research-Oriented Internships

Research-focused or academically-oriented opportunities will use behavioral and social science research as the foundation for implementation. Empirical research will likely drive the approach to providing solutions to clients and methodological rigor will be of high importance.

Key Considerations:

  • Classroom knowledge will (often) directly translate to projects and activities, with a strong emphasis on methods and quantitative skills.
  • Conference and peer-reviewed publications are encouraged and perhaps rewarded.
  • Interns will have access to data with expectations for large-scale data management.
  • Students may be asked to manage research projects for multiple clients.
  • The internship will often provide access to analytic software (e.g., SPSS, SAS, R) with the expectation that interns are proficient with the software and possess the ability to interpret results.

5. International Internships

Students interested in developing an international consulting career may work in an international branch of a multinational firm, internal, external, research-based (e.g., Fulbright Fellowship), or government-based. For students interested in working abroad after graduation, these types of internships may be a useful means of networking and learning about the lifestyles in other countries.

Key Considerations:

  • Strong networking skills are important to finding these opportunities.
  • Traveling abroad requires interns to manage adjusting to a new culture, managing language barriers, managing insurance, housing, and general cost of living.
  • Interns may need to learn about the ethical and regulatory concerns within their host company and country.
  • Communication within a multicultural setting may require interpersonal flexibility.
  • Interns may need to check their health insurance policies to ensure healthcare is available while abroad.
  • Interns may wish to verify the language requirements meet their abilities.