Interns: Take it one at a time

An intern came to me last week with an interesting question: She wanted to know if she could do two internships simultaneously during the coming fall semester.

Only in rare circumstances would I suggest that this is a good idea.

When an internship is unpaid and part-time, and an intern has to work at a paid job to pay the rent, or just plain bring in income, that's a different story – and a common one.

An internship is a time during which one can explore a field, learn the tricks of the trade, so to speak, decide if this is a career path that works for them, and try to persuade a supervisor to either hire them eventually or at least be a reference for future employers. If you're splitting your time in two different endeavors, your attention is diluted, as is the impression you leave. How can you sink your teeth into a project and show your boss that you're willing to work past your "quitting time'' when you've got another internship to attend to?