In the heat of career fair season, we understand that many of you are faced with the decision to either return to the company you worked for this summer or pursue a new opportunity. Today, as part 1 of our 2 part saga, we’re hoping to teach you about some of the benefits of following a second-year internship at the same company.

Benefits of Returning . . .

1. Sense of Role-ownership: One great aspect of returning to the same company you’ve worked at before is the relationships you’ve already built. Utilizing those connections, especially with hiring managers or internal recruiters, may allow you to gain some freedom in choosing which role you pursue in your second year. Whether this means transitioning to another team, project, or an entirely new subset of a company, taking advantage of internal resources will prove highly valuable.
2. New Mentors: Another way to make use of your experience is by beginning to envision the type of mentor, or mentors you can pursue upon your return. Building additional connections to expand your internal, and potentially external, network is a great way to continue to gauge your own career interests and desires.
3. Even Larger Network: While you have likely already built a sturdy network within the company you worked for, returning will allow you to build an even larger number of connections by surrounding yourself with employees of all different backgrounds, job functions, and teams. While this is especially useful for interns or graduates returning to larger companies which offer a greater and larger variety of employees, deepening connections will always prove useful. You never know if the connection you built may find themselves in a leadership role and in need of a new employee on their team. Better yet, mentors often transition into higher roles where they may then recommend you to take their previous spot!
4. Opportunity to Relocate: If you work for an organization which houses several locations across the United States, returning to your previous position as an intern may allow you to internally “build your roots” within the company and, later on, have a greater say in where you are placed permanently. This is a huge component of your future and definitely important to continue to keep in mind! If you are happy where you live, you are much more likely to enjoy what you do!

Now that you’ve seen some leading factors in the benefits of returning to a company for a second-year internship, we’ll introduce you to a few reasons that may lead you to decide to explore elsewhere. While we don’t have the right answer for you, we’re hoping that you can lead feeling educated, well-versed, and with multiple different perspectives!

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