The Relation of Career-Related Work or Internship Experiences to the Career Development of College Seniors

Experiências de Estágio: Contribuições para a Transição Universidade-Trabalho

“…The work framework, tasks related to the profession and variety, the cooperative work sphere, responsibility and autonomy, overcoming challenges and the relation with supervisors and feedback were the main aspects mapped. In other studies, the importance of autonomy (Angot et al, 2008), socialization (Wendlandt & Rochlen, 2008), task variety and feedback (Brooks et al, 1995) were also highlighted in the internship experience to promote career development, mainly referent to a clearer self-concept and increased self-effi cacy.…”

“…Then, they will be able to translate their self-concept more easily in occupational terms (Super et al, 1996). Brooks et al (1995) observe that task variety in internship environments is one of the characteristics associated with self-knowledge.…”

“…Some studies appoint that students who engage in activities beyond their presence in the classroom, such as internships, tutorships and research, show positive career development indicators (Bardagi et al, 2006;Brooks, Cornelius, Greenfi eld, & Joseph, 1995;Fior & Mecuri, 2003;Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005;Teixeira & Gomes, 2004). Internship experiences particularly stand out among relevant activities for professional education and development.…”

“…In that sense, internships permit refi ning the vocational self-concept, as they help individuals to better acknowledge their interests and skills, putting to proof this self-image translated into their occupation, whether by reinforcing or questioning it (Angot et al, 2008;Brooks et al, 1995;Caires & Almeida, 2001;Mihail, 2006). Internships largely remain privileged spaces for vocational exploratory behavior, during which students can experiment with a view to gaining further knowledge, as much about the profession as about themselves (Super et al, 1996;Taveira, 2000).…”

“…Finally, by permitting practical skills tests, internships also enhance the development of professional self-effi cacy, that is, the feeling of competence to accomplish professional tasks (Brooks et al, 1995;Caires & Almeida, 2001;Teixeira & Gomes, 2004). Not all internship experiences necessarily contribute to students' professional development though.…”