Turn Co-Ops or Internships into Full-Time Jobs

If you want to land an entry-level job at a specific company after graduation, the best way to do it is to first prove yourself at that company through an internship or co-op.

But you can't expect to turn an internship into a full-time job just by showing up for your assignment with a pulse and a clock to watch the time go by.

"As an intern, you are in competition with other interns for full-time openings," says Christi Lehner, director of college relations for Abbott Laboratories, where 53 percent of the company's eligible interns were hired for full-time jobs in 2003. "You need to set yourself apart and show your value to the organization."

Here's how.


Take Your Role Seriously -- Very Seriously
"Treat your internship as if it was a real job," says Megan Elias, a 2003 public relations graduate from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Elias interned with Animal Friends, an animal shelter in Pittsburgh, before landing a full-time job there last summer.

"...Something else. Whether it's a full or part-time internship -- paid, unpaid or for college credits -- take it seriously," Elias says. "Work hard. Just because you're an intern doesn't mean you shouldn't take your duties seriously."

Elias knows whereof she speaks. During her special-events planning internship at Animal Friends, she coordinated a "Bark ‘n' Brew" social event, handling everything from making contacts and developing a budget to publicizing the event and even working with the participating dogs.

"Be proactive," says Jessica Eichner, special events coordinator for Animal Friends, and the person who closely observed Elias during her internship. "If you see something that needs to be started or can be improved, ask your supervisor if you can take on the job -- and then start working."

Go Above and Beyond the Minimum
Anne Bennett, a 2004 chemistry graduate from the University of Colorado at Denver, is now in a full-time psychiatric research position at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. But she says she wouldn't have gotten the job without first demonstrating her commitment to the Center's work through her internship there.

"First and foremost, I showed interest in the subject matter and offered all of my spare time to doing projects around the office," she says. "I tried to get involved in everything, and I was here as much as I could be. I was only scheduled to work 20 hours a week, but I worked, on average, approximately 30 hours per week."

Build Strong Relationships by Listening and Learning
It's critical for you to understand that, as an intern, you don't know everything, says Cory Otto, a 2004 industrial engineering graduate from the University of Minnesota at Duluth who interned at the Fridley, Minnesota, site of weapons manufacturer United Defense.

"Listening ties in to the ability to comprehend the tasks assigned to you," says Otto, who is now an associate operations engineer for the company. "It's important that you never assume you know what your boss wants. If you have any questions, ask."

"Interns need to be willing to learn something new every day," adds Kate Marzinske, an accountant with McGladrey & Pullen in Minneapolis who interned with the firm before landing a permanent position there after graduation. "If someone asks you to do something, don't be afraid to say, ‘I've never done that before, but I'm certainly willing to give it a try.'"

Tell Colleagues You Want to Stick Around
If you want a full-time job at the organization where you're interning, make sure the people there are aware of it. Never assume, stresses Bennett.

"When I knew I was graduating, I approached one of my superiors -- specifically, the administrative person who handles the money -- and asked if there was extra money to hire me as a full-time employee," Bennett says. "She made the balls roll and talked to my boss -- and I was hired."

Now it's your turn.

© 2007 Monster - All Rights Reserved  By Peter Vogt

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Internet Resources for Internships

-General Summer Job-Internship	-Environment	-Science, Engineering, & Health
-Arts & Museums	-Law & Government	-Sports
-Communications, Publishing & Entertainment	-Nonprofit & Volunteer	-Summer Camps-Seasonal Employment

General Summer Job-Internship
Internship Programs.com- An internship search engine, sponsored by Wetfeet.com.
Rising Star Internships - An online collection of internships from accounting to zoology.
BackDoorJobs - Lists perennially unique internships, seasonal and summer jobs, overseas work, volunteer vacations and other extraordinary short-term job opportunities (from a few days on up to a few years!).
Doors of Opportunity - Compendium of over 130 summer opportunities for undergraduate students of color in a variety of industries and locations.
Big Apple Head - Provides listings of internships in NYC and NJ. Arts & Museums

Smithsonian Internships - Opportunities with the various museums and institutes of the Smithsonian.
PreserveNet - Internships in preservation, architecture, education and museums.
ArtistResource - Internship and volunteer opportunities for artists, writers, photographers and musicians. Mainly in the SF Bay area.
ArtSearch - National Employment Bulletin for the Arts, including part-time and internships in theatre, museums, dance. To access listings, click on Advanced Search where you can select Apprentice/Intern. Students and alumni must call 258-3325 for User ID and Password.
Museum employment - Site with internship opportunities in U.S. museums and other cultural resource institutions. Communications, Publishing & Entertainment

BookJobs - Provides internships and job listings as well as information about types of publishing, degree programs, and company profiles. Try putting "Internship" into the keyword search.
Random House - Internships in book publishing.
National Association of Broadcasters - Professional association which includes an index of TV and Radio stations as well as information about internships in the field.
American Society of Newspaper Editors - Find internships in newsrooms by state or function.
Dow Jones Newspaper Fund - Offers a highly competitive summer internship program.
New York Women in Communications, Inc. - A professional association with internship, scholarship, and career information for women preparing for communications careers. They also sponsor an annual Career Conference.
Magazine Publishers of America - Find internships by location or function.
New York New Media Association - Silicon Alley internships in the New York Tri-State area. Put "Intern" in for the Job Level.
TV Jobs - Lists internship programs at TV stations, networks and cable companies.
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism - Search for internships in newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, new media, and photojournalism.
EntertainmentCareers.net - Find internships in TV, Film, PR, and more using this search engine.
Entertainment Employment Journal - Career Services subscribes to this job newsletter. Follow the link and click "Subscribers Login " then "Internships" to access internships in major entertainment companies. Includes company profiles and some industry information. Students and alumni must call 258-3325 for User ID and Password.
Women in Film - Has an internship program and a mentoring program. 

Environment
Environmental Careers Organization - Places over 750 students each year in paid environmental internships.
Student Conservation Association - Live and work with resource management professionals at natural and cultural sites nationwide. Internships available throughout the year in all fields; terms from three to twelve months. Expenses paid, plus living allowance, travel grant.
Environmental Protection Agency - Internships are available in Washington, DC laboratories, and at regional EPA locations nationwide.Law & Government

Studentjobs.gov - Summer job opportunities in Federal Agencies.
U.S. State Department - Application deadline of November 1 each year. Apply early!
FBI - A wide range of internship programs including the Summer Honors Internship and the FBI Academy Internships.
White House - Internships available in the fall, spring and summer.
DC Internship in Politics and Government - A directory with links for internships with think tanks, Congress, political parties, and more!
Internship Opportunities within the Federal Government - A directory with links to various internship program website.
The Washington Center Internship Program - A structured DC internship program that also incorporates academic coursework and a speaker series. Fee-based program. University of Toledo liaison is Linda Smith, Honors Program (419-530-6039).
Washington Internship Institute - Washington, DC internships in a wide range of areas. Fee-based program.
Public Leadership Education Network - Their "Women and Public Policy Internship Semester" places students in challenging internships in research, government and advocacy organizations. Fee-based program.
Live, Learn, Intern - Washington, DC internships in Political Systems, Political Journalism, and Government Affairs. Fee-based program.
Amenican Bar Association - Law internship with the ABA in Chicago and Washington, DC.
City of New York - Intern with one of more than 15 city agencies.

Non-Profit and Volunteer
Idealist (Action Without Borders) - A global clearinghouse of nonprofit resources, including jobs, internships, mailing lists, and career fairs. Search for worldwide internships opportunities by location, dates, and required skills.
Orion Grassroots Network - Internships with grassroots organizations in areas such as conservation, education, restoration, agriculture, and activism.
Volunteer Match - Thousands of voluntary opportunities online.
International Volunteers Programs Association - An up-to-date search site for international volunteer and internship opportunities.
Feminist Majority Foundation - Internships in women's organizations. Also, National Internship Program in Feminism & Public Policy.
Carter Center - International relations internships to work on issues related to peace, health, and human rights.
Everett Public Service Internships - Place paid interns in over 55 organizations that are dedicated to improving the world.
Graduation Pledge Alliance - Links to websites providing social responsible jobs, internships and volunteer programs.

Science, Engineering & Health 
Tech-Interns.com - NASA and ASEE have launched this website, that offers internships and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Companies, university research programs, non-profit organizations, and government organizations all have listings.
Math and Computer Science - List maintained by Purdue University of internships and summer programs.
Extramural Research Opportunities - Compiled by Yale, this site links to many summer research opportunities in the sciences and engineering.
Government Labs - A concise list of the government laboratories that provide summer internships.
IAESTE - The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience is an organization that places science and engineering students in internships abroad. They can also help with work permits if you've found your own international internship.
NSF's REU Program - The National Science Foundation funds a large number of research opportunities for undergraduate students at various universities through its REU program.
Program for Women in Science and Engineering - Eight-week paid program at Iowa State.
Science Internship Opportunities - Compiled by Barnard College, this site links to summer and academic year internships.
WISE - The Washington Internships for Students of Engineering program sends outstanding engineering students to spend ten weeks in Washington, D.C. to learn how government officials make decisions on complex technological issues.
RISE - Sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service, RISE offers paid summer research experiences in Germany working with PhD students in biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences and engineering. German language skill is not required for most positions.
NIH - Summer internships in Biomedical Research.
Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology - Ten-week research programs in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics and Biomedical Optics.
Department of Health & Human Services - There are both paid and volunteer positions in the agenices of the HHS Department.
Sports

InternSearch.com - Search by region for internships in health/wellness/fitness or resort/recreation/sports management.
National Football League Internships
NFL Team Internships
Major League Baseball Internships - Also has links to all the team sites to search for internships with each team.
National Basketball Association Internships
NBA Team Internships
National Hocky League Internships - Can also search by team name to find internships with each team.

Summer Camps-Seasonal Employment
SummerJobs.com - Employment in camps, resorts, National Parks and companies worldwide.
Cool Works - Lists job opportunities with resorts, cruises, ranches, National Parks, etc. Linking to 75,000 jobs in great places.
CampDepot.com - Search for summer camp jobs in the United States and Canada.
Allen's Guide - Seasonal job board with mostly summer camp jobs but also listings for resorts, kitchen help, tour guides, etc. No charge to search or post positions.
JoltCamps - Summer camp positions available from Maine to Hawaii in everything from life guarding to nursing to arts and crafts. Search by state or keyword.
Peterson's Guide to Summer Jobs - Search database of 3,000 summer camps and academic programs that could be potential summer job employers.