Posted by: Richie Bernardo

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/21137/geochart.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://ift.tt/2qQfDPM;  

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	‘Youth Job-Market Outlook’ Rank	‘Social Environment & Affordability’ Rank
149	Tallahassee, FL	29.99	149	129
150	Columbus, GA	26.66	150	144

Ask the Experts < >

• Andrea Skimbo Senior Coordinator in the Arts & Sciences Career Services at Oklahoma State University
• Fred Burke Director of the Graduate Career Management Center in The Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College
• Patrick Roberts Assistant Director of Career Services at East Carolina University
• John Mountain Acting Director of the Career Development Center at Macalester College
• Melissa Hill Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at Heritage University
• Ron Delfine Director of Career Services at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College
• Donna J. Robertson Director of Career Development at Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Teresa K. Olsen Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Director of Career Services at Colgate University
• Sara Johnson Employer and Alumni Relations Program Manager at Concordia College Career Center
• Jeff Sackaroff Associate Director of Career Services at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Thom Rakes Director of the Career Center at University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• Chelsea Heidbrink Director of Career Success and Corporate Engagement at Stephen F. Austin State University
• Katie McCarville Career and Internship Counselor in the John P. Fahey Career Center at Creighton University
• Christy Hanson Director of the Career and Professional Development Center at Messiah College
• Bob Orndorff Senior Director of Career Services and Affiliate Associate Professor of Counselor Education at Pennsylvania State University
• Richard White Employer Relations Coordinator in the Center for Internships and Career Development at Drew University

Andrea Skimbo Senior Coordinator in the Arts & Sciences Career Services at Oklahoma State University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Internship seekers need to start the process early. Recruitment times lines vary by industry but begin as early as August. On campus career fairs are held in the early part of both the spring and fall semesters and offers can be sent out as early as October. That means undergraduates who wait till April or May to begin looking for an internship have already lost opportunities offered to early applicants. Another important step is to take advantage of career services from their college or university. Typical services include resume reviews, internship search help, on campus career fairs, and interview prep. This allows the student to learn the steps of the process and represent themselves in a polished, professional way. Employers will view resume mistakes as unacceptable and practicing interview questions makes a big difference. Using the assistance from career services can definitely impact the success of an internship search. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? While there is no one single internship that will earn a student a golden ticket to a full-time position, quality internships do allow them a few essential things. First is hands-on experience. Internships need to offer students valuable ways to explore the field, learn insight into the job and complete training and real work projects. An intern needs to leave the internship at the end of the summer having learned new skills that are relevant to their job interests and substantial enough to add value to their resume. The second is exposure to professionals in the field. Building relationships with individuals currently working in the industry allows the student to ask questions, learn from a professional with experience and perhaps most importantly, start building a network. Lastly, the most beneficial internships come from companies that pipeline interns into full-time positions. Interns should ask, at the completion of a successful internship, whether they would be considered for a full-time position after they graduate. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Some common mistakes are worrying about location. Often, short-term housing is included or available, but students fear moving too far outside their comfort zone. Internship searches should not be reduced to commutable distance from mom’s house. Take a chance and go after the internships that sound the most interesting and valuable for career exploration, regardless of location. Also, it would be a mistake to not ask lots of questions during the experience. As an intern, they need to learn as much as possible in the 8-12 weeks devoted to the internship. Interns should absorb as much possible and ask questions of the professionals around them. This will help them better understand the industry and help them better evaluate if this would be the type of work they would enjoy pursuing after graduation. Lastly, don’t worry about paid or unpaid. That detail does not define if the internship is worthwhile. Will they learn about the industry, grow a related skill set and build contacts in the field? If so, it has real value even if that doesn’t translate to dollars in your pocket. Think of the internship as a short term investment that pays out in rewards later by helping the intern decide if he or she wants to work long term in the industry and preparing them for a full-time job search. Fred Burke Director of the Graduate Career Management Center in The Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Before you start looking and applying – please talk to your career center. Have your resume and cover letter reviewed, set up a mock interview and talk with a career counselor so you know your interests and can share your skills. When you have clear goals you convey a nice clear message to a prospective employer. It is very competitive and many students are seeing internships and summer jobs. The best looking resumes and cover letters always float to the top of the list for consideration. Then utilize all of the resources available – career center at your college/university, professor, academic advisor, alumni contacts at your school, and other students that may have interned the year before. Listings come in a variety of ways so utilize all possible networks. Showing interest and enthusiasm as early as your first year of college is great! During your time in college, you want to keep adding to your resume relevant work experience – so internships (fall, spring and summer) and any part-time jobs you have in college are a huge help! What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? All summer jobs/internships help build your resume. These short term experiences allow students to try different careers out in a short period of time. If the experience is directly connected to the area of interest, that is huge! Often times, employers use internships and summer jobs to convert talent into a possible hire time. If you can’t break into the field of interest, work and talk with your career center so you can articulate skills on your resume using keywords. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? I think young people need to realize the different generations in the work place. Pay attention to the cultural norms. Be self-aware and off your phone (over texting) and meet people – ask professionals to meet for coffee/lunch, show initiative and motivation to help with other projects and larger company events. When you are done with the experience – keep in touch with people! How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? It takes time for a company to create a formal internship program. Someone needs to create the experience, train the students and track the students’ progress/learning and provide feedback. Internships should be developed with goals and objectives so students can walk away with a tangible, meaningful experience. Personally, I would very much like to see funding to defray the costs of summer internship – especially if an employer does not have the means to offer some compensation for their interns. Students are often attracted to paid experiences because summer is the best time to earn money to help pay for college. Patrick Roberts Assistant Director of Career Services at East Carolina University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? The first tip for a young person searching for a summer job or internship is to try and create long term career goals. This will help drive the job and internship search towards building experience that can be used later on when looking for full time employment. Another important step is to create a resume using online resources and if enrolled in a college or university, career services department staff for review of these documents. Most companies offering internships or part-time jobs utilize an online or paper application and this is what young professionals fill out to apply. Creating a well-constructed resume will help applicants stand out and seem more prepared to enter organization as a young professional. Finally, young people need to understand the limitations of the area they are seeking employment for the summer. A rural area will most likely have less opportunities for internships and part-time job opportunities than an urban area with more businesses. People should identify the possible employers and industries in their desired location to determine who to target and that organization’s common employment opportunities. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? The best summer jobs and internships that will equip young people relate to their long term career goals. A person interested in graphic design should try not to bag groceries or work at an amusement park operating rides. This person should try to seek out opportunities to surround themselves with professionals performing the tasks and applying the skills they hope to one day obtain. In addition, the National Association of Colleges and Employers annually release a list of common attributes employers seek in recent graduates. Among these, leadership, teamwork, communication, and problem solving seem to always be towards the top of this list. Therefore, any job or internship that provide opportunities to build these skills are best for young people to secure full-time careers after graduation. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? The most common mistake young people make when taking a summer job or internship is accepting an opportunity out of convenience or returning to a past job because of its familiarity. Young people need to be willing to commute or not return home for the summer if they want to secure valuable employment that will help them gain skills related to their long term career goals. Some young people will go an entire college experience without having gained any outside of the classroom experience that directly relates to their goals or will help make them competitive after graduation. Summer is a great time to gain these skills through internships and part time jobs. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? Government subsidies would be a great way to incentivize employers to offer more summer jobs and internships. Local chamber of commerce offices should also partner with local businesses to offer summer job and internship expos in partnership with community colleges and universities. Internships do not need to be paid to be valuable experiences. Local government agencies such as town halls, courthouses, and county parks departments do not receive enough funding to offer paid internships but do have valuable opportunities for young people. These local agencies should advertise and create more structured internships as a way to increase productivity and provide a service to their communities. John Mountain Acting Director of the Career Development Center at Macalester College What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? I would say focus on meeting and talking with people. While it may seem much more efficient to search online, find a position, and send your resume, many times, that approach is not very effective. It is hard to stand out when an organization receives hundreds of applications, and your resume is #78 in that stack. When I meet with students or alums, I will tell them it is people vs. postings. Not to say never apply to a position you find online, but try to find a connection to that organization. Maybe it is an alum from your college, maybe it is a family friend, but try to find a connector. Those conversations can allow you to move from the large stack of resumes to a much shorter one that includes candidates that have done the leg work before submitting their application. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? Finding a summer opportunity where you can demonstrate tangible accomplishments. How did you help this organization do something better, more efficiently, expand their community engagement, etc.? It is one thing to list your duties for that summer role, but it is much more impactful to show how you made a difference. Hopefully, those accomplishments will resonate with future organizations to make you a more competitive candidate. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? A common mistake is thinking they can only do what is listed on their job description. Many times, the organization would love them to do additional projects/analysis/research, but the student doesn't take the initiative to ask. The focus of a summer position may be flexible based on the student's skills and interests. By taking the initiative to make a true contribution to the organization, it can transform an OK summer experience to an extraordinary one. Melissa Hill Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at Heritage University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Be adventurous and try new things, or we willing to go to new places. Find a position that fits with your industry and major. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? First, ask yourself what type of experience do I need to learn a new skill that will look great on my resume or if you are looking to go on to graduate school, then you want to find a research internship at a university. If you are working in business, find a concentration like human resources, marketing or sales. If you want to gain more experience in education, look at summer programs for children at museum or summer camps. For the Arts consider a performing arts program. Psychology students should consider a law firm. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Not planning for the unanticipated costs like transportation or relocation. Finding a position that doesn’t challenge or expose one to hard skills, ending up doing administrative work. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? Yes, US Department of Education and Department of Labor grants can help support paid internships in high need areas and industries. Ron Delfine Director of Career Services at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? If you are in college, use your career services offices. They can provide career advice on the types of summer opportunities you might consider based on your skills and interests. Many of those opportunities might already be posted through the career services job posting system. If not, we can help you develop strategies to help you showcase your existing skills as well as connect you with opportunities outside of what is posted through the tradition job boards. Use your personal networks. Tell friends, family members, friend of friends, pretty much anyone and everyone you know, that you are looking for summer opportunities. Sometimes it’s about timing. Someone in your network of people might not know of (or hasn’t paid attention to) existing summer opportunities today, but they might become aware of them the day, week or month after the discussion. Don’t discount the big job boards. Look for summer opportunities on some of the national job posting systems. Narrow your search using key words that align with your interest and skills. You might get better results using the key word “Python” as opposed to searching on generic terms like “technology intern.” Once you see an opportunity that is of interest, revert back to your personal network to see who you might know at that organization who can give you advice and maybe even put in a good word to the hiring manager on your behalf. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? Just working in a summer job can help you to gain skills and assets that will help you down the road, plus help you build your resume. Learning how to interact with co-workers in a work environment, to be exposed to employees with good work ethic, to impress your boss and other influential members at the workplace who can provide recommendations in the future, all are great benefits. That being said, finding summer jobs that align with your long term career goals, are the best kinds of summer experiences. You can grow your existing skills and develop new ones that will give you an edge when you are ready to launch your full-time career. One student reports that he was able to secure his interview with a top consulting firm because of his summer job working in a steel mill. The recruiter told him anyone who had that experience must be a hard worker. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Young people might be attracted to big company names which can be excellent places to gain summer experience. In doing so, lesser known organizations might be overlooked. Regardless of organization size and name brand, you should investigate what the responsibilities of a summer job actually entail. Are you going to be given the opportunity to make a contribution to the organization? Are you going to be expanding your skill sets and knowledge? Will you have the opportunity to be recognized for good work and meet with key decision makers in the organization? Sometimes, better opportunities might exist within smaller, not-so-well-known organizations that allow summer workers to really make an impact on their operations and/or gain a multitude of skills and experiences across the different functions of the organizations. Don’t’ discount smaller name organizations that will allow summer employees to have a bigger impact on the organization, grow your skills, and possibly give you a competitive edge when seeking future opportunities. Another mistake is to view a summer experience as a less important temporary role rather than a pathway to a full-time opportunity. Over half of students I work with who are returning from a summer internship receive a full-time offer from their summer employer. You should view the opportunity not as a temporary role, but as a three month job interview. During that time, strive to build your personal brand as a hard worker willing to learn. There is no syllabus for the work world; an easy mistake to avoid is doing the minimum. In this long-term interview, you should work to become an essential part of the team, this sometime means longer hours and proposing new ideas, even as an intern. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? Many factors have to be examined but local authorities can make the case that hiring young people in summer jobs could provide a pipeline for full-time talent. The government currently offers funding support to students working at non-profit organizations through Federal Community Service Work Study. In some regions with a large retiring generation soon coming, training young people is essential to continue building a successful workforce. Donna J. Robertson Director of Career Development at Fairleigh Dickinson University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Every experience can be a valuable learning experience whether it’s a summer job or an internship. Students should try to use the opportunity to explore interests and gain new skills. Summer presents a chance to meet new people and build a professional network. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? According to NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers), employers have consistently listed the “soft skills” as the most important attributes they look for in a new grad. Any position that allows students to develop leadership, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills while demonstrating initiative and a strong work ethic is worth the time and effort. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Many students think that a job or internship has to be directly related to their majors. Most academic majors are broad and provide a foundation for a diverse range of careers. Students shouldn’t limit themselves to only jobs that are “in their major.” Another common mistake is that they think only paid experiences are worth putting on the resume. While I certainly advocate that all internships should be paid, volunteer and community service opportunities can provide valuable career experience. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? As I said, community service can be a great source of career development skills. Similar to FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps, perhaps local governments can assess the community’s greatest needs and companies could sponsor young people in these service activities. Teresa K. Olsen Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Director of Career Services at Colgate University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Start early and treat your internship search as if it was an academic class (that you care about). It’s going to take endurance, time, and persistence. In most cases, intern hiring has become a competitive process, so you need to put your best foot forward if you want results. Leverage your resources! If you are enrolled at a college, work with your career services team, faculty, and administrators to tap into their support. Talk with your family and members of your community. You still need to do the work and drive your success, but accept any help others can provide. Don’t wait until junior summer (or beyond) to gain professional experience. If you are just starting out, you may have to start with a position that will build your foundational knowledge, or demonstrate your interest. This is an iterative process where each step gets you closer to your end goal. This may sound obvious, but do the simple things, within your control, extraordinarily well. Don’t let avoidable errors be the reason you are not hired. Proofread all written materials. Do your research — if you can’t answer, ‘What does this employer do?’, ‘What differentiates them?’, and ‘Why are you a fit?’, you can’t write a good cover letter or do well in an interview. Clean up your social media presence and your voicemail message. Send gracious thank you notes directly after interviews. Be responsive and professional with communication. Every interaction an employer has with you leaves an impression that ultimately factors into their hiring decision. Don’t get stuck on only applying for positions with well-known employers or those who are listed on someone’s ‘Top Ten’. It’s a rookie mistake. Just because you haven’t heard of an employer does not make them a bad option. If it looks interesting, apply! The reality is that your knowledge base on the world around you is still growing. Don’t limit yourself to what you know; you will miss out on incredible opportunities. Be scrappy and think creatively about how to pull together a full summer experience. Apply to full-time, paid internships, but also consider different combinations -- multiple part-time internships, an unpaid internship and a high-paying service job, an internship and community service, an internship and studying for graduate school admissions exams, etc. – that may help you balance your financial needs with your desire to build out your experience and perspective. You may be surprised at how accommodating employers may be with schedules if you are communicative and proactive about fitting pieces together and not letting your plans have a negative impact on their goals. Pay attention to the people you meet during your search and how you treat them. Your supervisor and your colleagues will influence your experience as much, if not more so, than the content of your project. The people who will become your networking contacts will respect you far more if you listen to their advice. The decisions you make about how you treat people, and with whom you decide to interact, will have a huge influence over your opportunities. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? The ideal scenario for a college graduate is to be in a position to make an informed choice -- with conviction -- of which career path, type of employer, work place culture, and actual job responsibilities fit their interests, skills, and other preferences, and to have enough experience to be perceived as competitive by those hiring/admitting candidates. To reach this ideal place, I advise students to look for internship opportunities to gain as much exposure and experience to the working world as possible. For those who aren’t sure of their professional path, they should look for internships anchored in something they already know interests them, such as an academic area, or that amplifies their skill set. This will help to create a concept of what paths are intriguing, and start striking off what’s not. Often times, it is smart to look for positions within an organization that is used to hosting interns, has a structured project designated for an intern, or may be affiliated with an alumnus who is familiar (and has an affinity for ) the experience at a student’s alma mater. If a student’s professional interests are clear, their focus should switch to finding experiences to become as well-rounded as possible in that area, and to network as much as possible. Internships that can help deepen, broaden, or introduce them to skills or content knowledge, in an applied manner, are ideal. It’s often helpful to intern in the geographic location one wants to land in after graduation. At the point at which a student is applying for an entry-level job, they need to have examples from their work and extracurricular experiences that demonstrate their potential to contribute. The more concretely a student can make this argument, the easier and less risky it is for an employer to connect the dots and extend an offer. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Don’t ever accept an offer you don’t want, or that you intend to use as a placeholder until something better comes around. Once you accept an offer, your search is done. You should withdraw from other processes. It’s a small world, and you never know what connections people have. You are only as good as your word, and these days, word travels fast. Reneging on an offer may have extremely bad repercussions in the immediate and long-term future. If you are not sure whether to accept an offer, talk first with a career advisor, and do not commit to an employer verbally or in writing. Be sure you have the terms of the offer clarified before you sign on. You should know if there is compensation involved, your work hours, the location, and the types of tasks you will be asked to do. None of these should come as a surprise. Drive your own success. You are there to learn and to contribute, but that doesn’t mean that you also can’t ask to be involved in certain projects or learn a new skill. Colleagues will be far more amenable to these requests after you have proven yourself in your position and when you have completed what has already been assigned to you. Don’t let situations fester. If you hit a patch of dissonance, do the mature thing and talk it out with the people involved. Don’t be defensive, but seek to be part of the solution. Similarly, if you make a mistake, own it, don’t make excuses, and do your best to fix it. When you are in over your head, ask for help. Sometimes your supervisor may need to be reminded that you need a tutorial on the lingo or system, or a sense of who to ask. Make an honest effort to figure it out, but if you are stuck, make an effort to seek out guidance from a more seasoned colleague. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? I can tell you that Colgate has prioritized internship grants as one of our lead fundraising priorities for the past several years. Our grants are awarded through a competitive process to students pursuing unpaid and underpaid internships, research, or long-term community service opportunities. This funding covers the supplemental costs (travel, housing, food, supplies) of engaging in these experiences. Last year, we offered over $725,000 in grant funding to students (our process is still in motion for this cycle). Sara Johnson Employer and Alumni Relations Program Manager at Concordia College Career Center What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship?

• Leverage technology, but don’t rely exclusively on it. Remember that technology is your tool to make your personal connection.
• Job boards and college postings are a place to start, but also leverage other technology such as LinkedIn’s jobs tab. Students can also use the new mobile app “LinkedIn Student” that tailors job and alumni recommendations based on a student’s profile.
• In addition to leveraging technology, I highly recommended that students reach out to their campus career services. Often, the career services have employer connections and planned networking opportunities in which a student can participate and thereby take advantage of institutional relationships. Career services staff often partner with their alumni departments to help create a mentor connection. Mentors can introduce students to personnel well-positioned to offer helpful advice and open doors down the road.
• Technology and job boards are helpful, but it can be more useful to develop and nurture a personal network. Look for Chamber of Commerce events in your city of residence, as well as other professional organizations in your city as a way to meet people with similar interests. Continue to expand your network and create personal connections.

What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? The best positions have a supervisor that serves as a mentor or connects you to an experienced co-worker that can serve as a mentor to provide feedback and encouragement. Don’t be afraid to ask in an interview if there will be someone invested in giving feedback so that you can also grow professionally. This question also demonstrates the student’s interest in ensuring mutual benefit from the summer experience for the employer and the student. Also, seek positions that allow you to use your skills for communication and problem-solving, key skills employers report they value most often, regardless of the industry and job function. Those skills will serve you well in all career paths. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Commitment and time management. Some students take it for granted that they will be able to take a 1-2 week vacation from their summer job, but given there are limited number of weeks in a summer this can cause conflict between a summer worker and manager. Make sure you communicate and discuss any summer vacation plans up front and be realistic. You might realize that days off in the summer are limited and it’s possible the days selected to take time off may be at the company’s holiday policy and not at any time your family decides they want to head to Yellowstone Park. The other is time management. Summer has many temptations including getting out to enjoy the summer activities, but managing your time at work to be focused on projects and arriving consistently on-time are extremely important to your employer. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people?

• Local organizations such as chambers and business associations can help by sharing the benefits of internships and serve as point of contact to connect resources for employers. If a business wants to establish an internship, the employer should contact their local college and learn best strategies for recruiting talent from the campus and learn best times of year to recruit according the college’s academic calendar.
• Inquire with your city, state, and local colleges for financial incentives. There may already be tax incentives by your city or state to support hiring internships as it is often in the best interest economically to invest in the future workforce and keep them within the area. Colleges may have grants that can help support internships financially if you partner to recruit their students.

Jeff Sackaroff Associate Director of Career Services at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Internships and summer jobs are an excellent way for college students to try out different career fields, build their skillsets and resumes, and develop their professional network. Many students will often make the mistake of only going after the low-hanging fruit (i.e., the typical job postings they come across online). While this can certainly be an effective approach, students should not assume that employers wouldn’t consider them for an internship, regardless of whether or not they currently have a position posted. Many employers would love the services of a talented intern, but for whatever reason, they don’t take the steps to post an opening at our career office or online. So students need to be savvy, have initiative, and be able to articulate the skills and attributes they can add. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? Any position that helps students develop and apply both hard (writing, technical, research) and soft skills (communication, team work, presentation) are ideal. This, of course can come from many types of positions and industries. Employers want to hire students who can synthesize what they learn in the classroom into real world outcomes. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Probably not using the opportunity to network with people outside of their department. Most organizations are multi-functional, meaning that they have people who handle the finances, marketing, HR, public relations, accounting responsibilities. So it’s important that students try to maximize their exposure during their internships to get a panoramic view of the world of work, especially if they are uncertain about their career interests. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? In recent years, there has been a lot of attention paid to students completing internships without being paid. While the myth about unpaid interns being used to complete undesirable grunt work still exists, it’s extremely uncommon in the internships we see. We strongly encourage employers to compensate their interns, and the federal government has guidelines about this as well. The vast majority of employers who recruit at UNC pay their interns. Thom Rakes Director of the Career Center at University of North Carolina at Wilmington What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? While your motivation for seeking a summer job may be to earn some money for school, also consider what skills you would like to develop. What types of jobs or organizations might provide opportunities to develop skills that could help you in later job searches, or help you become clearer about your own career direction? Remember that some of the most sought after skills - teamwork, oral and written communication, problem solving, interpersonal skills - can be developed in a wide array of jobs and environments. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? Employers want to see that you can take what you learned in the classroom and apply it in a real world setting. Think about how you can develop stronger interpersonal skills in your job in an office setting, in a retail company, as a camp counselor or in a restaurant. Employers are not as concerned about how you learned and demonstrated you skills, but that you have real-world examples to describe on your resume and in your interviews. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? A big mistake some job seekers make is focusing on what they are looking for, rather than what the employer needs. Emphasize what you can bring to an employer rather than what they can do for you. Chelsea Heidbrink Director of Career Success and Corporate Engagement at Stephen F. Austin State University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Start early! It is never too early to begin looking for a summer job or internship, and if you wait too long, it’ll be too late. This is very much so an ‘early bird gets the worm’ scenario. In addition, keep your options open. Don’t narrow your search to something so specific you weed out other opportunities. All internships and work experience can be valuable. In addition, they can be also difficult to come by so keep your options open and always be thinking about what skills you are learning that can transfer to other jobs, industries, and areas you may be interested in. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? I’m a big believer in all jobs and internships are valuable. I’ve had several employers tell me they would rather hire somebody who worked at a fast food restaurant all through college with a decent GPA versus hiring somebody with a 4.0 who never worked a day in their life. All work experience is valuable. You learn time management, teamwork, multitasking, customer service, working with different types of people, the list goes on. Of course, the most valuable internships are those related in some way to your preferred industry — but don’t eliminate other opportunities. The most important thing is understanding how your learned skills are transferable to another industry and being able to communicate that to a potential employer. It’s one thing to say you worked as a waitress. It’s another thing to be able to say, “I can multi-task. I have worked in several challenging situations under high pressure. I have provided excellent customer service. I have worked with unhappy clients and helped solve their problems in a fast and efficient manner. I have worked in a team setting, etc.” These are all true of waitresses or waiters, but these are skills that all employers look for. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Summer jobs/internships need to be mutually beneficial. I feel like many students go into internships wanting to learn everything they can from a ‘me’ standpoint. They should also be thinking “What can I do for you?” Internships can lead to jobs within that company or even other industries or other companies. Networks are limitless. So you never know what can happen from even the smallest connection. Companies and employers are more likely to go the extra mile and offer a job, or help you find one, if you are in an internship not only to benefit yourself, but to benefit your employer, as well. Katie McCarville Career and Internship Counselor in the John P. Fahey Career Center at Creighton University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship?

• Start Early - Don’t stop applying until you have officially secured a position and an offer letter from a company. You can always withdraw your application for a position, but you can’t put your name in for it once the job has been taken down. From the time you apply, interview and receive a job offer, it can take anywhere from 3-6 months. You don’t want to lose out on an opportunity because you were banking on something and it doesn’t work out. You never know the applicant pool and internships and new grad friendly positions are extremely competitive.
• Netflix and Job Search – I tell my students and new grads that anytime you are sitting at home on the couch watching Netflix you should be searching and applying for jobs. You want to procrastinate a bit on that paper or test, apply for 3 jobs, write a cover letter. You get as much out of your job search as you put into it and companies hire and get approval or internships and new positions at all different times of the year.
• Utilize Technology – Work smarter not harder. Indeed has a great app for smart phones that allows you to save certain search criteria and show you the new jobs that have been posted since you last searched under that criteria. Make an account and save the job so you can apply to it as soon as you get home. LinkedIn has a great job search engine and try reaching out to contacts that work or have worked at the company you are interested in applying to. Try and find out any tips or advice you can get from your contacts or people that went to your school in order to find a commonality.
• Apply Early – Don’t wait until the posting is about to come down to send in your application. If you procrastinate and wait to apply you will be last on the list for them to review. The sooner you apply the higher you will be in the queue and available for a recruiter to review.
• Ring the Alarm – Network. Let your friends, family, church members, professors know that you are in the job hunt and what opportunities you are interested in. This way, if they hear of something in your interested field, they can hopefully think of you and let you know of the opportunity, or even better be a reference or referral.
• Informational Interviews – Find alumni or other professionals that are in a similar career field of interest and ask them questions. People love talking about themselves and how they got to where they are now. Consider asking them “What is one thing you wish you had known while in college?” or “How did you choose your major?”. These meetings plant seeds and allow other professionals to learn about you and your future interests and you never know when that could help you when applying for future positions.

What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? I firmly believe that you can major in anything that you want and still be able to have a strong career in a chosen occupation as long as you couple your experiences with related experiential learning opportunities. Studying the humanities and other related subjects provides such a real well rounded course of study that both develop and enhance the sharp critical thinking skills employers are looking for today. If you are interested in both Marketing and IT positions then work on securing internships in both during your college experience so that you can have options to apply for after graduation. Often times, there are year round internship opportunities at fortune 500 companies near your university and not as many students apply for these positions as the summer internship opportunities. These also often offer the opportunity to continue your employment into the summer time months, as well. At Creighton University we are currently introducing a new program called the EDGE Internship Program that allows undergraduates in all colleges and majors to explore and participate in on-campus internship opportunities that coach and develop the important professional skill sets needed to be successful in today’s workplace. This program allows students with an interest in specific areas such as theatre arts, human resources, information technology, marketing and graphic design, just to name a few; get hands on experience in a professional environment to make sure this is a career path that they would be interested in pursuing. It is vital that students gain hands on experience in an interested field so that you can actually see what the job would actually entail. So often students have an idea of what they think or hope a professional will be like and it isn’t until they get their feet wet in the actual industry that they realize that this is or is not the right area of focus for them, be it academically or professionally. The EDGE Internship Program focuses on five Learning Outcomes that we developed through surveying our employers about what skillsets they are looking for most in undergraduates. The skills they requested most were: communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork, professionalism, organizational and time management skills, and technical and analytical skills. In addition and perhaps one of the most important of these proficiencies is self-awareness: the ability to understand how one is perceived by others and how their actions are interpreted in the workplace. This coupled with a strong social and emotional intelligence are extremely important skillsets to achieve before entering the fulltime workforce. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Being the Career and Internship Counselor at Creighton University as well as the Program Supervisor for the EDGE Internship Program, I see a lot of successful behaviors and unsuccessful behaviors related to the job/internship search. My hope in meeting and having students participate in our program is that if they fall into the common job searching mistakes that we can address and positively correct, those unwanted behaviors or oversights can turn into strengths in the future.

• Not Responding - Some of the easiest mistakes that students make is to not respond back to an employer or hiring manager once they have made contact to move forward in the hiring process. This can be not replying to an email request or voicemail. Sometimes students or new graduates don’t even have a voicemail set up or it is full and this leaves a negative impression on potential or future employers. If you are applying to positions, expect call backs and be prepared. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot before you’ve even gotten a chance to the plate.
• Bad or No Cover Letters – When in doubt, write a cover letter. I know these can be painful and frustrating to write, but they are a great place to highlight and showcase the individual skills and experiences you will be able to bring to the position. The employer has a problem. They have a job opening and have listed all of the qualifications and duties you would be responsible for handling; your job is to use the space in your cover letter to show them how you are the solution.
• Even Effort – It is important to realize that hiring managers and recruiters all look at different aspects of the application differently and gravitate to certain areas, based on their own preferences. This is why it is important to place an even effort across all requirements of your application so as to appeal to the most people.
• Detail Oriented - Saying you are detail oriented and then having mistakes littered throughout your resume, cover letter and application. I once had a manager who would automatically throw out applications for people who stated they were thorough and detailed, but had mistakes in their submitted documents. If you say you are all about the details, prove it.
• Lack of Preparation - Other common mistakes are not being properly prepared for the interview. It is important to do your homework not only on the company you are interviewing with, but also on yourself. Utilize your career services professionals at your university and do personality tests so that you can have solid information to relate to during interview questions. There is a great free Myers-Briggs test online and for a small fee you can take the Gallup StrengthsQuest, which will give you your top 5 behaviors or strengths that are specific to you. This can greatly assist with the “tell me about yourself” and “strengths and weakness” questions you often hear in job interviews. The employer is trying to gain a better understanding of who you are and the better understanding you have of yourself, the better off you will be in not only your interview, but your job search as a whole.
• No Thank You - An additional thing students are now often time forgetting is to send individual thank you notes to the people that they interviewed with. This is a big mistake and a chance to really set yourself apart from the other applicants. Thank you’s can be sent electronically or through the mail and should be 90% about the conversation you had with the interviewer and then 10% selling yourself back as to why you would be a great fit for the position and organization.
• Too Many Follow-Ups – Don’t follow up with the hiring team or recruiter until either it has been past 2 weeks since you applied and you have not received word back or until after the job posting has been taken down. If the job posting is still up that indicates they are still looking for potential applicants and might not have started the interview process yet. Do not be rude or entitled in your email language to the hiring team. Often times these professional have multiple positions and candidates they are working with and you don’t want to show impatience. I know the process can be frustrating, but when they say they will reach out to you, they mean it. It’s kind of like dating, if they are interested they will let you know.
• Sloppy Dress – I know that you may be in college and dry cleaning and laundry are not the most popular chores on your list, but it is imperative that you look and dress the professional part. Don’t have an un-ironed shirt or stains on your blazer. If you could wear that dress or those shoes to a night on the town, don’t wear it. Trust me. Same goes for shoes. Wear proper and professional footwear.

Christy Hanson Director of the Career and Professional Development Center at Messiah College What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Summer jobs/internships can be a fantastic opportunity to explore areas of interest while developing transferable skills that employers desire. Start searching for the types of opportunities in early spring, as popular opportunities are often scooped up quickly. Individuals should use their network to identify potential contacts and openings. Be open to opportunities that could stretch you or take you out of your comfort zone – that’s where personal and professional growth happen! What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? You should first take time to consider what your future goals are – even if they aren’t firm at this point, think about industries or job functions that appeal to you and that you’d like to learn more about. Look for opportunities that would provide substantive experiences – not just making copies and serving coffee! A good experience with balance, challenging you with tasks from which you can learn but also support from good supervision and mentoring. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Passing up experiences because they are unpaid. Sometimes, the quality and value of the experience is worth a sacrifice in pay. There are several companies who can offer great experiences, but unfortunately don’t have the resources to offer compensation. If making money is a priority, try to find a part-time job that will work around the hours of your experience. Also, be sure to approach summer experiences with the same level of professionalism and commitment as a full-time position. This is an opportunity to put your best foot forward and make a strong impression that can result in a lasting professional connection and reference. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? Showcase companies who have hired young people for these opportunities and found success doing it. How does it serve the company? How does it serve the community? Bob Orndorff Senior Director of Career Services and Affiliate Associate Professor of Counselor Education at Pennsylvania State University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? Personalize the Job Search: Network, Network, Network When coaching students, I like to make them aware of something I call “the rule of 70.” Most employment studies show that roughly 70% of jobs and internships are obtained through networking, yet roughly 70% of the time students spend searching for a job is applying to online job notices since it’s quick and straight forward. The problem is that searching for jobs online is impersonal by nature, especially with so many applications to scan through. Think about it. The recruiter’s first impression or assessment of you is usually based on the words on your resume, which they scanned for about 10 – 15 seconds. Your resume is being analyzed - not your enthusiasm, communication skills, positive attitude, self-confidence, interpersonal skills, or sense of humor. Remember that a resume speaks to what you’ve done, but can’t really speak to who you are! In short, create situations where you, the whole person, are assessed and evaluated; in other words, personalize the job search through networking! Adopt the Baseball-Hitter Mindset The process of a typical job search goes something like this: no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no-way, no, no, no, no, not really, no, no, no, no, no, no, forget-it, no, no, no, no, YES! And that one yes is all you need. You just need to get through the no’s! To cope with this kind of adversity, it’s important to adopt the right mind-set. Think about softball or baseball hitters. When they get one hit out of three times at bat, it’s been a good day. Even though they’ve failed two out of three times at bat, they go home with a smile on their face, because they’ve accepted the nature of the game. Getting one hit out of three times at bat (a .333 batting average) is universally accepted in the baseball and softball world as a "good average." You, as a job searcher, must accept the fact that the failure rate is intensified many more times than it is for the softball or baseball hitter – especially in a competitive job market. Receiving feedback from one out of fifty companies that you’ve sent your resume to is a good day! Don’t take rejections personally! Everyone experiences plenty of rejections in a job search. Structure Your Job Search There are three major areas where structure is needed. First, it’s critical that you develop and implement a task-oriented, deadline-oriented, personalized job search plan that will guide your actions. The second area structure needed is tracking your job search activity and progress. With all of your meetings and phone calls with recruiters and networking contacts, it’ll be important to stay organized and track your progress. You don’t want to miss out on a job opportunity simply because you forgot to write down the date and time. Finally, you need to carve out job search time each week, and don’t let anything else interfere with these weekly time slots. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? Simply put, the best types of summer jobs/internships are those that are most substantive and relevant to the full-time jobs students plan on pursuing. Employers want to hire entry-level candidates with relevant experience so that they have a shorter learning curve and are able to make significant contributions immediately. Students also need to consider the type of organization that’s offering the job/internship. Increasingly, companies are converting their interns to full-time hires. Therefore, students should strategically identify relevant companies in their chosen field that have the highest intern-to-full-time conversion rates. It’s becoming more likely that when you choose a company for your internship, you just might be choosing the company where you’ll hold your first full-time job; so choose wisely! What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? Probably the biggest mistake that someone can make is forgetting that they’re being “interviewed” every day on the job/internship. A summer job or internship is like a three-month interview. If you frequently are late to work or leave work early, or don’t get your projects in on time, the employer will most likely not offer you a full-time job when the summer ends. Another common mistake is coming on too strong and too blunt. Yes, organizations like to see that you are confident enough in yourself to offer suggestions for improving the way they do business, but you need to be tactful and respectful in how you frame your suggestions. For example, it might be true that the company’s web site needs a complete overhaul. However, without knowing who was involved in the creation of the web site, you better be careful on how you bring it up, where you bring it up, and when you bring it up. Richard White Employer Relations Coordinator in the Center for Internships and Career Development at Drew University What tips do you have for a young person searching for a summer job / internship? It is best to start early in February or March to get a jump on the competition, but in reality it is never too late. Even in early June, some employers are still looking for students for summer jobs or internships. Develop your one-page resume, even if you do not have prior work experience. Have it reviewed by a career counselor. What types of summer jobs / internships will best equip young people with the skills and experience they need to secure a full-time career after graduation? All work has value, so I would not necessarily rate any work experience above any other. Finding out something you don't want to do is in some ways as valuable as finding out what you do want to do. Obviously, if there is a pre-professional focus such as finance, sales, HR, communications, etc., an internship or part-time job in that field would boost one's future chances of landing a subsequent internship or full-time job. What are the most common mistakes young people make when taking a summer job/internship? The biggest mistake may be to not take the job or internship seriously enough. Be sure to dress appropriately, be punctual, focus on the job when on the job (skip the Facebook), ask a lot of questions, and ask if there is something else you can do when you have finished your current assignment. Also, build you professional network and get a solid recommendation from your supervisor. How can local authorities encourage companies to provide summer jobs/internships for young people? Should government subsidize the cost of summer employment for young people? I would support government subsidies for summer employment similar to the college work/study model, whereby the federal government pays half the minimum wage salary and the employer (either off campus or on campus) pays the other half. Developing young people's work ethic and work-related skills while at the same time contributing to organizations' productivity may be one of the best and most cost-effective investments governments -- federal, state, county, and local -- can make.

Methodology

from Wallet HubWallet Hub


via Finance Xpress