Internships vs Co-op Programs

An internship can be defined as “a period of apprenticeship when students work off-campus, under supervision, in a school, factory, hospital, business, laboratory, or government agency or program. It also allows students to learn practical applications of classroom material.” (CollegeInColorado.org) A co-op program, which most people would regard as being different, can be defined as a “college sponsored work/internship program.” (College Counseling Guidebook) So what’s the difference?
Even though you can’t readily tell from those definitions, internships are generally short-term relationships. They often last just weeks or perhaps a few months. Co-op relationships often last for years and are typically long-term relationships during which the student attends classes, takes a break for weeks or months to get practical training, goes back to classes for weeks or months, back to practical training, etc.
In the May 2006 issue of Campus Career Counselor, Co-Editor Peter Vogt asks why aren’t all schools co-op schools by requiring their students to participate in several full-fledged co-op experiences in order to graduate. He adds that he can’t find any downside to co-op programs other than they sometimes extend the period of time during which the student is enrolled in school, but that downside is easily offset by the phenomenal and vital practical experience that participating students accumulate by the time they graduate, contacts, and more. Employers love co-op programs because they lead to great hires (60 percent of co-op students accept jobs with their co-op employers). The same questions could be asked about why schools don’t require students to have fulfilled several full-fledged internships in order to graduate. Co-op or internship, I can see more and more schools requiring students to obtain such experience before they graduate. But would it be a good thing for schools to require that?

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Resume May Lead To Higher Salary

How does everyone feel about their current resume? Have you ever thought that your current salary may depend on the quality of your resume? Many people, like myself, may not realize that prospective employers start negotiating your salary once they review your resume, not once they make you a job offer. Employers believe resumes make their first impression of you and decide how soon they should contact you before someone else. A prospective employee may have all the skills in the world, but sell them short on a resume. I certainly don’t want to miss out on the big money for this reason. I recently updated my resume and will keep everyone posted on any new developments.

Internships: Paid or Unpaid?

When you’re in college your professors always tell you take an internship, whether it’s paid or unpaid. But how many students really want to take an unpaid internship? Some people say that there are really good benefits to taking an unpaid internship versus a paid internship. I have had both and the benefits were similar but yet different. During one of my unpaid internships at a local television station I learned a lot about how the entire station works and how each department interacts with the other. Since the internship was unpaid I was able to work more hours and really get some hands on experience in the field of communications. The next semester I ended up with a paid internship at another television station, in which I learned even more about the industry. On occasion, there would be stories and events that would take place after my scheduled work time and I was unable to attend because I was considered a paid employee and every hour I worked was recorded. If I went over my allotted hours before the semester ended, I would have to explain why my internship didn’t last as long as it was supposed to. But those were just two of my experiences. There are some companies that will offer unpaid internships to students who can receive college credit for their internship. While other companies do not give students college credit but will in return issue them a stipend. Every once in a while you will come across a company/organization will give you college credit and a stipend for being their intern. Do you see any differences in taking a paid internship versus an unpaid internship? Does the amount of money help you determine whether or not you will take an internship?

Signing On…Maybe

It would seem that unless something goes horribly wrong over the next few days that I will be an actual employee of the company I have been working at since February. I am also pleased to say that this temp job has gone much smoother than the last one….
Months ago, it seemed like there would be so much to write about toda. Tthat just is not the case. I get a small pay increase, some new benefits and a different name on my paycheck. That is better than nothing, to be sure, but the exitement just died down over time. Speaking of time, the is a downside to the new employment-overtime. The temp agency would hear nothing of it. The client, soon to be my bosses, require it weekly. Some might smile and say “well, that means overtime pay, right?” True. But I do not need the money that bad. Six to twelve hours of free time sounds far more appealing than the same amount of time spent in a cubicle punching data into a machine almost as old as I am. It may not be so bad as I make it out to be, though. Optimism is not my thing when I get off work.
I almost forgot about the little problem that may or may not have an impact on the above. It appears that whoever does their background checks can, for whatever reason, find no dicernable evidence of my existance. That was my wording, not theirs. Their wording was something to the effect of “we can’t match you to the social security number that you have been using your entire life up until this point. You know, the one you have been filing taxes with, getting previous jobs with? The number that was on the card you brought in that also had your name on it? Yep…can’t find you.” Okay, I added words. My bosses, the actual Earth humans who I come into contact with everday at the office and not the background checkers who have the impression that I am a non-existing entity, are trying to see if this can be overlooked and I can get the job anyway. This could be fun.
Signing off

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Holding on Too Tight — The Best Way to Kill a Relationship

One of the things I do is provide career development advice and coaching to job seekers and those who are employed. One of the other things I do is provide evaluation and then advice on various internal business issues that need a solution or a better way of getting the work done. Yet another thing that I do is network. Actually, it’s simply chatting with people about this, about that, and just getting to know them.
So it was that I had an interesting opportunity to do some organizational development as well as career coaching.

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It’s Time to Turn the Tables

So many times, I’ve reviewed the Interns’ posts and heard just about the same thing at any time. The post is about how they’ve been contacted by a recruiter for a job opening. The trouble is, the job doesn’t seem to be open any more. In the alternative, they go on the interview and the job seems to have vanished. Interesting, that.

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Employment Guides

I don’t know if the employment guide is a national paper or if it is only local. What I do know is this, if you aren’t interested in being a trucker, some type of health care professional or working in customer service, don’t pick up an employment guide; however, if you are interested in going to business school, pick up an employment guide.
I don’t want to disparage the publication because it is very helpful. I have actually found jobs by using it. It is a wonderful source of information when trying to locate area job fairs. I like the employment guide, I simply think its information is too limited.
Ironically, customer service is something I do better than anything else. Even as a secretary I was the “hostess with the mostest.” I love helping people and making them smile; however, now that I have had a taste of the writing life, customer service jobs make me yawn. This is not to say that I won’t take one until my freelance writing career takes off. It only means that the experiences are anti-climactic these days.
Anyway, I have well heeded the advice of Ms. La Rose and I have no intention of giving up on my dream. Until that dream comes true to the point where writing is all I do, I will suck-it-up, take-it-like-a-man and love every minute of suffering through the mudane on my way to my idea of success.

Graphic Designer Resume

TITLE
graphic artist/designer -> 5 yrs exp
OBJECTIVE
Position as graphic artist/designer working with multimedia
projects. Five years of experience. Diverse software skills,
including HTML.
KEYWORDS
graphics, design, graphic artist, graphic arts, graphic design, graphic designer, multimedia designer, multimedia artist, visual communications, designing, publishing,
HIGHLIGHTS
* Special expertise includes pen and ink, watercolor,
prismacolor pencil and graphic design software; able to learn
and teach new software skills.
* With other artists, won Cox Award for Turner Field Graphic
(1997).
* Software skills include PhotoShop 4.0, Freehand 7.0,
Illustrator 6.0, QuarkXPress, Adobe Acrobat 3.0, Dimensions,
Fetch 1.2, PageMill 2.0, and Streamline 3.0; BBEdit 4.5,
Deltagraph Pro 3, GIFbuilder, Satellite 3D and Typestyler.
* Experienced meeting quotas and deadlines consistently.
* Assistant Managing Editor for News Art and Photography
noted my skills, citing my knowledge of computers and
technology.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Graphic Artist/Designer: The XYZ Journal-Constitution,
Any City, Any State (1993-present).
Create informational graphics, charts, sigs/logos and illustrations
for various departments.
* Work closely with editors, reporters and managers in fast-
paced, deadline-driven atmosphere. Position demands effective
verbal, written and electronic communication throughout
complex organization.
* Provided coaching and on-the-job training for more than 10 co-
workers on multimedia and graphic software.
* Immediately hired as full-time employee after 10-week
internship (beating out more than 12 applicants nationwide).
* News Arts Graphics Editor noted my dedication and reliability
on the job.
Paste-up Artist: XYZ Corp, Any City,Any State (1993).
Handled paste-ups and four-color separations. Worked closely with
other department members in preparing color advertisements for
print in local telephone directories.
* Required working with advertising managers in high-output
environment.
EDUCATION
AA: Visual Communications, Art Institute of XYZ, Any City, Any State (1992).
OTHER FACTS
* Budgeted resources to financially assist brother attending
university (five years).
* Volunteer to illustrate church bulletin (two years).
* Enjoy finding more efficient ways to do the job, without
sacrificing quality.

Contacts

Yesterday I took the subway downtown and had a meeting with the Communication director of an art gallery in the city. It was helpful because the woman I had breakfast with was very informative and knows everyone and everything about the art industry in my area. I’m not sure I want to work in it, but it’s good to know about, and no I have a contact int hat area. I never realized how connected everything is. There are a bunch of small art museums on one or two streets downtown and they’re like a little commuity. They help each other with possible ideas and call each other when jobs open up. I like that. I like the idea of an industry that’s not so cut-throat. The director told me that their competition is not each other, it is movie theaters and bookstores, etc, which makes sense. If you come to see art, you’ll probably eventually get to all of the museums. I think this is a very mature way of looking at business.
Anyway, I highly recommend meetings that are not specifically for a job. They’re very informative and helpful. I walked away with names, websites and other local galleries that are hiring (this one is not right now). Besides myself, I have friends specifically looking into working in the museum industry, and I have the opportunity to help them out a little bit.

Cheesy Analogy or Profound Words of Wisdom?

Indulge me for a few minutes. Some of my colleagues often compare the process of choosing a career/job with that of buying a car. While it might be a little cheesy, it can be actually quite accurate.
When you buy a car, one of the first things most people do is read about different cars. You can find tons of information online, in magazines, or in the newspaper. What kind of mileage does it get? What are some of the features included? How many doors? And so on. Then, you learn more about it by asking other people. You might talk to your friend who has the same car; what do they like about it? You might ask your mechanic about how reliable it is. You might even ask the car salesman questions about options, financing, and some final technical questions. But the last step is usually test-driving it. You want to actually take it out on the road, see how it handles, and get a feel for how comfortable it is. So as a whole, you read about the car, talk to others about the car, and finally test-drive the car.
The same goes with exploring different careers. One of the first things you should do when deciding on different career options is to read about various occupations. What are the work tasks like? What are the hours like? What is the job outlook? Who does this type of work? There are many great resources for finding out this information. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a great starting point, as are professional associations and libraries. And of course, there are tons of websites detailing different careers.
Once you’ve read a bit about different careers to narrow down what seems like a good fit, it’s often great to talk to people about the job and career field. That’s where networking and informational interviewing come in. Actually ask people who are doing what you want to do about their experience. What do they like and dislike about the position? What are the common entry-points, and what are the options for advancement? Let’s get first-hand expert advice.
But even after reading about options and talking to people, you still aren’t going to know for sure what careers would be the best fit. The last step is to actually try them out. Take an internship, volunteer, or work part-time in the field. These are all great ways to “try out” the career field and experience it. And even your first, second, and maybe third full-time positions will be a sort of trial experience for you. Often you won’t know for sure if it’s a good fit until you’re doing it day in, day out, with the same people.
Cheesy analogy? Maybe. But if you approach a career decision in a similar manner, you will hopefully lessen the probability of getting “stuck” in a career you absolutely hate. You will have already done enough research to avoid a job you hate.