What's an intern?

What's an intern? Silly question, right? Not so. It really means something different to everyone you talk to. The "traditional" internship is 8 weeks, over the summer, at a big firm, and the intern is typically in between their junior and senior year of college. But we can tell you as the owners of a site with the word "intern" in the name, that we haven't seen a single job like that posted, so something must have changed. The economy has put a lot of people not only out of work, but in career transition, as well as in limbo after college or grad school. In addition, the growth in online universities has made higher education accessible to the masses, enabling people of all ages and backgrounds to gain additional skill sets.  Social media has made it possible to build an entire business based on free online marketing, and it doesn't take an advanced degree to execute on that strategy. And non-Fortune 500 businesses need help more than ever. Essentially, it's the perfect time for small busineses to find part-time, flexible help. Call them interns or call them George, but they're multiplying, and not in the ways we saw 10 years ago when this girl interned at Arthur Andersen (aka happy hour every day! Should have known the place was doomed.)

Today, interns can be anything from apprentices, to admins, to research analysts, to PR people, to sales people.  They can be in college, post-graduation, or experienced professionals with years under their belt. They can work on site, virtually, or somewhere in between (i.e., once a week in-person check-ins with the rest of the time being solo.)  They can have set hours or a flexible schedule. They can work at a sole proprietorship, a mid-sized firm, or a large public company.  The rules have changed.  Thousands of Urban Interns await you.

Lauren Porat

Co-Founder

Urban Interns