Internships - Sorting the Good From the Bad
Sometimes, you just need an internship. You're trying to meet a class requirement, your resume is pathetic, or you're going slowly mad with nothing to do. In those situations, any internship that looks good on paper will suffice. Other times, you are really looking for a good experience, where you can learn and grow and make useful connections. Then you need a good internship. Good internships are harder to find, but they're worth the effort. You've got two chances to winnow a good internship from a useless one. First, in the job vacancy, and then later in the interview.
In the vacancy, you are looking for specifics. You want to see an internship with well defined responsibilities, ideally one that is responsible for a single project or initiative. Phrasings like "contributes to" or "team member" are a bad sign. Too often, managers request - or are assigned - interns because they feel like they need more hands but have no clear sense of what they want their interns to do. Sometimes, this is a great chance to define your own job and take on tons of interesting responsibly. Often, it means you end up editing powerpoint presentations or reading cracked.com and hoping not to get caught.
The interview is your last shot at weeding out the bad internships. You should ask who you'll be working for; if they can give you a specific name, that's a good sign. (Ideally, that person should be the one interviewing you.) Working for a whole team is a recipe for boredom or misery. Ask what a typical day will be like for the intern, and why they have decided they need an intern right now. You are looking for answers that are detailed and specific.
You may decide at the end of all this that you want the bad internship anyway. But you can at least go into it with your eyes open.
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