Internships: How To Get Your Foot In The Door And Stay There
Experience can increase the number of job opportunities available to you exponentially. More than 30 percent of hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder.com said relevant experience is the most influential factor in hiring a new college graduate. One of the best ways to build up your resume and test-drive a career is to land an internship.
Here are a few tips to help you find the right one for you:
1. Job boards aren’t just for full-time professionals. Many employers advertise internship opportunities as they would a regular job. At sites like CareerBuilder.com, you can type “internship” in the keyword search and look for opportunities in your own backyard or across the country. You can also access CareerBuilder.com’s internship listings through the popular scholarship search site www.FindTuition.com.
2. Network, network, network. Talk to friends, family, neighbors, prior employers, instructors, etc., and let them know you’re in the market for an internship. It all goes back to six degrees of separation, and chances are you know someone who knows someone who is working for a company that may be of interest to you.
3. Do you admire a company and hope to work there someday? Visit the careers section on its Web site. Chances are the site will list internships and give instructions for applying. If not, call the human resources department to inquire about upcoming opportunities.
4. College career centers and alumni associations can provide you with internship listings, resources for where to look, and tips for marketing your skills to potential employers.
5. Employers often use job fairs to identity students for internships and full-time employment. They make you memorable by putting a face with your application.
Tips for Transitioning an Internship into a Job
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2004 Experiential Education Survey, employers on average extend offers for full-time work to nearly 58 percent of students who served in internships with their firms. Remember an internship is an extended job interview and should be treated as such.
DO'S
* Keep a positive attitude. Employers want enthusiastic employees.
* Get there on time, if not early.
* Prioritize and complete assignments on time.
* Show initiative. Seek out additional responsibilities.
* Think out of the box. Suggest ideas for different projects.
DON'TS
* Use e-mail, the Internet, the copier or the phone for personal use.
* Hunt for jobs while interning.
* Get caught up in water cooler gossip. You never know who is listening.
* Dress Down. Wearing wrinkled clothes, jeans, or club wear shows that you feel casual about the opportunity.
www.CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job network with more than 600,000 jobs, including a variety of internships. More than 15 million unique visitors go to the site every month to search for jobs by industry, field, location and company, sign up for automatic e-mail job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. The company powers the online career centers for more than 400 partners including America Online and MSN.
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