After Staci got me waxing nostalgic about the winter breaks I had during college, I thought I should share a break experience that might benefit you.

While I did take a generous portion of my break to sleep, eat Christmas leftovers  and catch up on my guilty pleasures (namely NBC soaps ), a lot of my time was spent thinking about how I'd be spending my next summer.

Specifically, I was looking for internships , researching them, and preparing my applications. And my time was well spent—each summer during my college career I was able to complete a paid internship.

Why? Because pretty much any professor, adviser or employer will tell you that a completed internship bumps your resume up in the pile—or at least keeps it out of the trash. (Sorry to be Debbie Downer , but you should know what you're getting yourself into. It's a competitive job market, and internships distinguish you from the pack.)

There are a lot of different types of internships  out there. For me, it was important to have some cash flow in addition to an intensive educational experience. So the only internships I looked at seriously were paid internships.

As a college newspaper geek, it was pretty much a given that I'd look for internships at a print news publication. When you start your own internship search, know that there may be an internship search or list tailored to your area of interest. Here's what I used to get started: The Detroit Free Press jobs page , The American Society of Newspaper Editors , and The Associated Collegiate Press Internship Guide . Obviously, they're focused on newspaper internships.

Here are a few ideas to jump-start your internship search:

• Visit with your school's career development center about possible opportunities in your field.
  
  
• Check out popular job search engines to see if they offer a filter to sort out internship opportunities versus full-time positions.
  
  
• See if your department has a list of internships in your field.
  
  
• If there's a specific place where you're interested in completing an internship, call them and see if one is offered.

And if you're not quite sold on the internship idea quite yet, think of it this way: Internships lead to experience; experience leads to better job opportunities; better job opportunities can lead to better pay and benefits; better pay and benefits are a good start to a successful financial future (I've got your back on this one).

Have questions or advice about internships? Leave it here.