7 Tips For Getting the Most Out of Your Internship

29% of Retailers Plan to Hire Extra Employees for the Holidays

Employers expect seasonal hiring in 2011 to be on par with 2010, according to a new, nationwide survey. Companies across industries expect to hire a similar number of seasonal workers for key areas such as sales, customer service, shipping, administrative support and other positions. Nearly three-in-ten retailers (29 percent) plan to have extra hands on deck around the holidays, a moderate decline from 2010. One-in-ten (10 percent) hospitality companies will add seasonal staff, the same as last year. The survey was conducted among more than 2,600 employers between August 16 and September 8, 2011.

Matt Ferguson of Careerbuilder

When looking at functional areas within an office or store, popular areas for recruitment this holiday season include: Continue Reading

Tips for a Successful Internship

Photo of walking uphill through snow courtesy of Shutterstock

I graduated from college way, way back in 1988. Yup, I’m 42 years old. That makes me ancient to virtually every student on a college campus. Back in my day, we walked 12 miles to school, through eight feet of snow, with no shoes, it was uphill in both directions, and we loved it. Oops. That was in the days of my grandparents. But I digress.

Very few Gen X’ers like me had internships. Those of us who graduated with any work experience tended to have jobs that had little to nothing to do with our career aspirations. Those going into accounting waited tables or stocked shelves, for example. Gen Y’ers are completely different. They understand that in order to have a reasonable chance of finding a good job upon graduation that they must complete at least one and preferably multiple internships. And employers are catching on too. Some 50 percent of employers expect a college graduate to have completed at least one internship. Indeed, 20 percent of employers expect a college graduate to have completed two internships. How times change.

So what should a college student to ensure a successful internship? Continue Reading

Leading Businesses Launch Training Initiative to Prepare U.S. College Students and Young Professionals for the Workforce

Today, Business Roundtable and HR Policy Association announced the release of JobSTART101: Smart Tips and Real-World Training, an online course for college students and recent graduates that introduces the professional skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Even in a time of soaring unemployment, a survey revealed that 61 percent of U.S. employers report difficulty in finding qualified workers to fill vacancies at their companies. JobSTART101 addresses the gap between employers’ needs and workers’ skills by helping students understand the real-life challenges and expectations of the workplace.

The United States needs a well-equipped workforce that is prepared for the challenges of today’s job market. However, many college graduates do not have an opportunity to learn what employers expect and have not developed the professional skills that will help them succeed after they are hired.

“While our nation remains focused on job creation, it’s equally important to focus on ensuring that our workforce has the skills and training needed to succeed in today’s economy. Business leaders are concerned that many entry-level employees lack the communication and analytical skills that are necessary for sustained job success,” said William D. Green, Chairman and CEO of Accenture and Chairman of Business Roundtable’s Education, Innovation and Workforce Initiative. “JobSTART101 helps prepare new employees meet the challenges of the job market which is essential to building a competitive workforce.”

JobSTART101 is a first-of-its-kind course that’s free and available to college students and recent graduates nationwide. The course includes interactive components such as videos and course workbooks that cover topics ranging from how to communicate and solve problems to how to develop a professional persona that helps drive a career for long-term success. It is designed to be engaging and fast-paced, with the option for students to complete the entire course in approximately 90 minutes or tackle the six topical modules one at a time.

“A student or young professional who spends 90 minutes with this course will be a more productive employee and experience greater satisfaction in his/her first job without having to undergo extensive – and expensive – coursework or training,” says Alexandra Levit, an expert on business and workplace issues and the online instructor for JobSTART101.

Prior to today’s release, a group of college students provided feedback on the course. Six institutions participated in the pilot evaluation: California State University at East Bay, Coppin State University, DeVry University, Duke University, Northern Virginia Community College and University of Michigan. The majority of students reported that the course engaged their interest and included useful information and relevant examples that would help prepare them for situations they would face at work.

The need for JobSTART101 was identified by The Springboard Project – an independent commission of thought leaders convened by Business Roundtable – who recommended specific actions that would help Americans get the education and training they need to succeed in the evolving economy. The experts urged employers to better communicate workforce needs and expectations to students and increase American’s workplace readiness and competitiveness.

What Employers Want in Students and Recent Graduates

Top 10 Training Don’ts From Someone Who Knows

I have participated in quite a few training programs over the years. I have been fortunate enough not to have any that I found disappointing. Not everyone is so lucky. Starting on a new entry level job is always scary, and training classes can be stressful, especially when they’re poorly managed. Maneeza Aminy, client support manager of training for Advent Software, in her article, Your Top 10 Training Mistakes, says that often the culprit in disappointing training programs is none other than the trainer himself.
Aminy lists the primary reasons many training programs fall short of the intended mark from the lowest to the highest – a la David Letterman.
10. If I can’t hear you, I will stop listening.
9. Don’t set the expectation of failure. In other words, don’t walk in the door making excuses if you know you’ll be teaching under less than ideal conditions. “If things are not going great, but you’re doing great with what you have, that speaks very loudly,” Aminy says.
8. Who is in charge? YOU are! There’s usually at least one person in every training class who tries to steal the show. A strong, confident trainer will know how to nip this in the bud in a way that earns the respect and cooperation of the entire class.

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Don’t Lose the Best Candidates Before They’ve Even Started

In a previous post, I wrote about how important it is to engage new hires the moment they walk in to start their new jobs. Lee Salz of SalesArchitecture.com wrote an article for ERE – “The New Employee’s First Day” – that illustrates that point beautifully.
Salz created a composite character, Steve Harmon, and sent him to work for a company -probably also a composite – called Newman Industries. Newman Industries did everything right when they recruited Steve, a much sought after candidate. Sadly, Newman Industries made the mistake that many employers, according to Salz, make when recruiting top candidates – they didn’t follow through.
Like a lot of employers, Newman Industries put all of their time, money and effort into wooing Steve away from the job he already had and completely forgot about making preparations for his first day at work. As a result, Steve introduced himself to a receptionist who had never heard of him, got assigned to a cubicle that still contained the belongings of the previous occupant – which he was asked to throw away – and spent all day trying to meet with his elusive mananager, Jamie. And those are just a few of the indignities Steve suffered.
By the end of the day, Steve was thoroughly disillusioned. Newman Industries wasn’t what he thought it would be when he first accepted their offer. When his wife asked him how his first day of work went, Steve replied, “‘I’m really happy that I didn’t pull my resume off the job boards or tell the recruiters that I was off the market, because I don’t know if this is going to work out. We’ll have to see.’”
“The company thought they had Steve when he accepted the offer. That was their error. They failed to recognize that they had only completed the next step of the process,” Salz explains. What Newman Industries lacks is a program that will preserve the positive impression made during the recruiting and interviewing process once the new employee arrives on his first day, he concludes.
Although Salz’s scenario was specifically about recruiting and hiring salespeople, I believe his advice applies to any employer trying to recruit and hire the best college students looking for internships and recent college graduates looking for entry level jobs.
It should also be noted that Steve was a “passive candidate,” which probably made Newman Industries feel even more proud of their accomplishment. Unfortunately for them, all that time and money was in danger of going down the drain before Steve had even been given a company email address. In this economy, it’s safe to say that companies can ill afford to make such a costly mistake when hiring new employees.

Mending mistakes when you start a new job

Reprinted courtesy of TheCareerNews.com
SPRING LAKE, MI –When you start a new job chances are you may make a mistake. If you do, the best thing to do is take responsibility for the mistake and report it immediately! Most employers understand that accidents happen, but lying or covering-up the mistake will never work and could cost the company as well as you. If you make a mistake at your job, you can recover well by doing the following:

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Best Bet For A Job Right Out Of College

As graduation approaches the stress of finding a job builds and worry and fear tends to consume the days and nights of students. If there was a way to banish this worry, wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity? Many students would and they are realizing that they can avoid all the fears and worries by taking part in internships while still in school. And, on the flip side employers are also starting to realize that student interns can be the answer to filling their open positions. This topic was discussed on College Recruiting in A Great Internship is a Great Path to a Great Entry Level Job.

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Starting a job on the right foot

Reprinted courtesy of TheCareerNews.com
NEWARK, NJ — You’ve got a great new job. Now what? How do you parlay the wonderful impression you created in your interviews into success during the first few weeks on your new job? Here are a few tips on how to do that:

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