Job Search News

Unemployment rates throughout the nation have been rising steadily. Jobs are becoming harder to find for professionals at all stages of their careers. Now many experts say that internships programs are beginning to suffer the effects of the national recession.

One company that recently had to do away with some of their internship positions is Caterpillar, Inc. Those in charge of the business recently announced that they would be decreasing the size of their workforce by around 20 percent, due to the economic strain. As part of this effort, 14 students lost their internship positions with the company.

Sadly, just as these positions become even more important to students they’re becoming scarcer. Now that it’s even harder for those entering the job market to find work, having the competitive edge that participating in an internship program gives an applicant is much needed.

Students who decide to intern and are lucky enough to find a program are more desirable to hiring managers. These individuals are seen as more responsible and as having at least some real work experience under their belts. In addition to this, interns who don’t find a job with the company they worked for before entering the employment market usually at least find themselves with several letters of recommendation. These come in particularly handy for those who have not held jobs while in college.

Although companies may be decreasing the number of internships they provide, only one style of program will likely be effected in a big way; paid internships. Since many of these businesses are having to scale back the size of their professional workforces, they don’t exactly have the money to pour into programs that train students.

Despite this, there should still be plenty of non-paid internships to go around. With offices having to cut the amount of money they spend on workers, many businesses will have a lot of over worked staff members. College students who are willing to work for the experience alone will be in high demand, if for no other reason than to help handle some of the excess work caused by vacant positions.

Those interested in finding an internship should first talk to their advisors, other college professors, or even their campus’ career center. These individuals usually know which businesses are looking for new interns.
If this doesn’t yield any results, social networking may come in handy. Make a list of all the professionals that you know who work in a field you may be interested in and then contact them. They may very well know about companies that are stilling hiring interns. Looking for positions on online internship search sites may also show you some possibilities you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.

With the economy unstable, many students are worried about how the job market will be after they graduate. In order to be more competitive in the workforce, internships are now a must. Many employers use their internship programs to recruit future hires, which means that those who participate may get to avoid the post-graduation job search altogether.

After finding an internship, you should do everything they can to get to know the people that they will be working with. Since the old cliché of “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” holds true, this can be a way to find more than one opportunity. The people met during an internship may go on to work elsewhere, meaning that if the program does not lead to a job with that business, then other doors will be open to you.

Networking has other benefits. Older employees have more work experience than students, which means they can be a wealth of knowledge. These individuals can help you adjust to being a part of the workforce. They can also help you avoid making certain mistakes.

After finding someone at the business you’re interning with that you feel can teach you a lot, find out if they would be willing to mentor you. This person should be someone who has experience in the field that you’re interested in and should have a certain level of success. If possible, they should either be a manger or someone who is in good standing with their immediate supervisor.

Be up front with this individual. Let them know that you want to learn from them. Many in the workforce will be happy to help you become a better worker. This way, when you have a question about how to handle a situation, you have someone to go to.

Even if you do not secure employment through your internship, networking can help you by providing references for when you begin your job search. Employers usually prefer references from others in the field who have worked with an applicant. Just make sure to ask before using someone as a reference. No one wants to find out after the fact that what they thought would be a great reference, didn’t have a favorable opinion about the work done during an internship.

Although spending a semester working for little to no money is not most people’s idea of the best way to spend their time, internships pay off in the long run. As more companies begin to hire full-time employees from their past interns, obtaining a position in one of these programs can put a student on the fast track to success. The real problem comes in trying to determine if one can afford this experience without skipping on paying the rent.

Because of this financial conundrum, summer time is the most popular part of the year for internships. If a student forgoes taking classes for the season, many find that they have time needed to work both a part time job and handle the extra load of an internship. By devoting the time they would spend on their studies to an internship, most students do not experience as much stress as they would if they participated in such a program at a different time during the year.

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Do you like what you’re doing in your career today? Was there a career path that you wish you would have chosen but now that its twenty years down the road, the dream seems almost impossible? Many students within today’s society have taken full advantage of internship programs. As the cost of college tuition rises, making a career mistake can cost thousands and students are becoming more careful in what paths they have taken to become a career oriented individual.

Tricia is a senior at the University of Toledo, her major is marketing. In 2003, she made the decision to attend Kent State University and enrolled in the fashion merchandising program. After a year of college, Tricia, analyzed the current economic situation and put reality into play, switching her major to marketing and transferring to the University of Toledo. By making this change early, she was able to transfer credits towards a degree that was practical. Therefore, she was able to take full advantage of internship programs and decided what form of marketing she wanted to focus in, while keeping her dream in becoming a famous designer in the back of her head. With the experience she had obtained, she decided to fulfill her dream and secured a position with a local department store.

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