CareerBuilder on Internships
One of the most successful ways to guarantee one’s self a quality job after graduating college is by taking an internship while still in school. Individuals who have decided to take this route are now finding that they are having a much easier time finding post-graduation employment than those who did participate in internships.
According to a survey taken by CareerBuilder, 61 percent of hiring managers plan on hiring interns this fall. The survey also found that nearly half of those polled would be willing to hire college interns as full-time, permanent employees. Nathan Lippe, senior career advisor for Cbcampus.com, the college recruitment department of CareerBuilder, says that internships are “a great way to break into a company.” He went on to say that “the managers we spoke to want to hire interns for full-time jobs. Basically, it’s one long job interview with an extensive background check. If you perform well, in most cases, the job is yours.”
CareerBuilder also gathered data on what a college student might do that would cause them to lose the job that was potentially being offered by the company they were interning with. According to the survey, 35 percent of hiring managers believed that the worst thing an intern could do was not show that they were enthusiastic about the job. If a student does not show interest in the job search, then an employer worries that the individual would not take the position seriously or put forth enough effort. One-fifth of those polled stated that they would not want to hire individuals who only completed the basics they were assigned. This shows that many hiring managers are looking for individuals who are willing to take on responsibilities that may not be listed explicitly in their job descriptions. Individuals who are capable of this are usually more flexible and therefore are more beneficial to the company that hires them. Excessive tardiness also made the list of reasons not to offer an intern a position after they were done with their education.
Many students make these mistakes because they do not see an internship as a real job. In order to take a summer of experience and turn it into a career, one has to treat their temporary position seriously. By behaving as if one already has a job to possibly lose, one will themselves more likely to be offered full-time employment later on.