Future employers are looking for undergraduates who gain meaningful experience while at college. The current trend is for undergraduate students to find an internship the summer before they graduate from college. Internships are becoming more important for both employers and students.

From the employer’s perspective, a student who applies for a job with their company with little or no experience is a risk. This student has not had a taste of the real world experiences within their desired industry. Employers are looking more and more for those students who have gained this experience while at college. Employers see students with internships on their resumes as assets as well as top-notch candidates. Since Internships are becoming more and more competitive between students, only the top students will be the ones who gain this experience.

As a student, there are many benefits to having an Internship while at school. Will you ever really know something unless you try it? This question is why internships were developed. Students have the opportunity to test out a future career path while gaining valuable experience and possible income at the same time. Another great advantage of having an Internship is to network with other professionals in the Industry that may be able to assist you in the future. One last benefit of an Internship is that your school may give you credit for the work you do outside of school. Most schools offer an internship/externship program.

Planning for an internship starts early. The first step is to create a resume. Draw on experiences that you’ve found in the classroom and elaborate on them to fit the employers’ needs. Next, research potential employers and their internship requirements. Be sure to follow up with employers, the greater the persistence the better the response. Internships are a valuable tool to start your career off running. Students who have had these opportunities are the best ones to ask for advice.

-- Article courtesy of Beyond.com

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 29, 2007 at 7:36 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Although internships appear to be the most popular choice among college students looking for work experience, a professional co-op experience could actually provide a better opportunity for many students. But what exactly is a co-op? What’s the difference between a co-op and an internship? The answer isn’t always clear.

Internships and co-ops share many similarities, but can differ overall in work experience gained and outcomes achieved. Cooperative education, commonly known as co-op, allows college and university students to split their time between taking classes and working full-time with an employer related to their field of study. This experience is usually integrated directly into a college or university’s school structure meaning entire semesters are devoted to co-oping.

Internships, on the other hand, are not automatically built into a school’s academic schedule and must be coordinated independently by the student. Internships can be completed while students are also taking classes and are usually part time during the semester and full time in the summer. Like co-op students, interns work in positions related to their major.

While internships are usually short-term work experiences, co-op partners tend to employ the same student throughout a student’s college career. This means that while most internships often start a student at the ground level regardless of how many other internships the student completed. On the other hand, co-op participants build on their skills from previous work experiences rather than practicing the same lower-level skills over again.

At both internships and co-ops, students must often complete related school work during their experience. However, unlike short-term internship assignments, co-op projects can be very complex. For example, at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., students must complete a senior thesis based on solving a challenge provided from their employer. Both parties benefit as employers receive cost-effective solutions to problems while students get to showcase their skills from their coursework and past work experience.

Additionally, because they spend so much time with their students, co-op employers often become invested in the growing relationship, thus increasing the likelihood a student will be hired upon graduation. Considering they may have trained a student for up to four years, the employers find it doesn’t make sense for them to lose that investment by letting the student go to another company.

About 50,000 employers nationwide participate in co-op programs, including about 80 percent of Fortune 500’s top 100 companies. Co-op employers and the partnering colleges and universities create reciprocal relationships: the employers provide excellent opportunities for students and the school becomes the perfect recruitment source.

Nationally, more than 60 percent of co-op participants accept permanent jobs from their employers, while about 95 percent of co-op participants overall obtain employment immediately following graduation.

Students can cheer that many co-ops are paid, especially in the math and science fields. Students can make above-average salaries while also going to school, and the payouts continue to increase during a student’s time with an employer.

Back to the question of should you co-op. If you want real-world experience now and a competitive edge, consider looking into a college or university offering a qualified co-op program.

About the Author
Jared Bird is a senior Mechanical Engineering major at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., home to the nation’s most advanced cooperative education program. After completing a co-op for four years with LuK USA, LLC in Wooster, Ohio, Jared will begin work at LuK as a test equipment design engineer after graduating this June. While at Kettering, Jared spent one semester working at LuK’s headquarters in Bühl, Germany. To learn more about Kettering University’s co-op program, please visit www.kettering.edu.

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 4, 2007 at 8:40 AM | Leave a Comment (0)