Degree Space

For college graduates, a roster of impressive summer internships, excellent grades and countless scholarships awards are not enough to get them into entry level jobs. Many students graduate burdened with hefty college loans, which puts even more pressure on them to have the right promotional package required to land a job right away. If you’ve already missed the window of opportunity to receive college assistance at the career center, don’t despair, as you can still find free resume help online!

“You have to be really good at discerning what they’re asking for in the job posting, and then give them back what they want,” explains Carrie Kahn from the ECC Workforce Development One Stop Center. This community college career center in Buffalo New York provides job counselors who work one-on-one with job seekers to customize resumes and cover letters. They can also search job and summer internship listings on computers, take workshops in resume writing and interview techniques, receive referrals to local employers and take GED classes, and all free of charge! “We’ve increased traffic, the number of customers by 56% from September through December of this year comparatively to last year,” Kahn admits, saying that more people are recognizing that they can get free help with resume writing within their own local community centers.

Another free resume source is the online job boards like www.careerbuilder.com, www.monster.com, www.hotjobs.yahoo.com, www.vault.com and www.idealist.org. These one-stop-shops let you post your resume, receive feedback and search entry level jobs and advanced level jobs all in one portal. If you have time to read, then you will find that there is a treasure trove of information on these sites. If you’re interested in government jobs, you can find advice and job listings at www.usajobs.gov. Why pay for insider contacts when you can gain so much free advice online?

“Don’t write a resume that just recites your career history and responsibilities,” warns author of free resume advice, Louise Fletcher. “Instead, focus on the impact you have made in each position. How have you added value? How is the company better off because they hired you? What have they done that they wouldn’t have done without you?” She says your resume needs to demonstrate the value that you added to the company and plan to add in the future. She offers a wide range of assistance at www.freeresumehelp.net, including a free e-course and numerous articles. Entry level jobs aren’t impossible to get, you just need to make sure you’re focusing on the right things in your presentation.

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College admissions time can be stressful for both students and parents. It seems almost impossible to get all these ends to meet. Between tracking down letters of recommendation from your teachers to getting the office to send over your grade transcripts, you’re ready to lose your mind. Half of the requirements to get into your college depend upon assistance from offices, clerks, teachers and administrators. Then, of course, you have to pay your fees, get your physical, write your essay, fill out your application and meet all the deadlines. By the end of this grueling process, you’re probably wondering, “Is it even worth it?” Little do you realize that this is just the beginning of a never-ending sea of financial aid forms, internship opportunity applications and resume writing.

As soon as the college admissions process is finished, you should immediately set your sights on funding college. Be sure to have an honest discussion with your parents and see if they’re willing to throw in anything to help you out. Look at your current job situation and your prospective job situation. If you’re keeping your current job, how many hours a week can you realistically work? If you’re going away to school, you need to begin applying in the town you’re moving to immediately before the late summer rush of applicants flood every possible job opportunity. Work won’t necessarily cover everything, though. You may also need to look for student financial aid to scrape together short-term cash to cover tuition and board. The last thing you want is to be de-registered from all your classes because you were late with your payment!

Most college admissions offices have special financial aid offices, where you can find forms to facilitate this application process. Your first college assistance search should be for grants or scholarships, which do not need to be repaid. The best place to start is with scholarship databases; apply for everything! Visit www.scholarships.com, www.finaid.org, www.supercollege.com, www.fastweb.com, www.apps.collegeboard.com. Also check www.grants.gov, www.collegescholarships.com/grants and www.gocollege.com. Scholarships awards are given to a number of different students with various requirements, so even if you don’t think you’re the smartest, most athletic or most talented individual, do not sell yourself short. Most students who apply receive something, so give it your best shot! Make it your goal to apply for a certain number of scholarships for school each week all summer long.

After the madness of filling out college admissions and financial aid forms has died down, you will need to start thinking about your summer internship prospects. Half of all internships are unpaid, offering school credit and training experience only. However, a number of student intern opportunities have turned into job offers upon completion. Your school guidance counselor should be able to direct you to the college’s career center where you will find binders or databases of internship opportunities available to students in your school. You might also want to check out Business Week’s list of “Top 50 internships” to find some promising paid internship options that may appeal to you.

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For college graduates, a roster of impressive summer internships, excellent grades and countless scholarships awards are not enough to get them into entry level jobs. Many students graduate burdened with hefty college loans, which puts even more pressure on them to have the right promotional package required to land a job right away. If you’ve already missed the window of opportunity to receive college assistance at the career center, don’t despair, as you can still find free resume help online!

“You have to be really good at discerning what they’re asking for in the job posting, and then give them back what they want,” explains Carrie Kahn from the ECC Workforce Development One Stop Center. This community college career center in Buffalo New York provides job counselors who work one-on-one with job seekers to customize resumes and cover letters. They can also search job and summer internship listings on computers, take workshops in resume writing and interview techniques, receive referrals to local employers and take GED classes, and all free of charge! “We’ve increased traffic, the number of customers by 56% from September through December of this year comparatively to last year,” Kahn admits, saying that more people are recognizing that they can get free help with resume writing within their own local community centers.

Another resource for free resume help is with a good old headhunter. Battalia Winston says they help job seekers for free and list profiles with their executive search firm and employment agency contacts for no charge to the job seeker. The employers pay temp agencies and headhunter service fees in exchange for qualified employees who are ready to start working immediately. Douglas Arms, a headhunter at Ajilon Professional Staffing, says his firm provides free career counseling, job interview workshops and resume writing advice. Manpower adds that it’s in their best interests to put as many qualified, prepared people to work as they can, which is why they discuss everything from hygiene and interviewing etiquette, to resume writing and presentation skills.

With so many places to get free resume help, it seems crazy that people would pay thousands for nothing. Most times, all it takes is a trip down to your library to use the career resources there. Additionally, you can check Goodwill Industries programs, which include a Job Readiness Program, Job Placement Program and Online Learning Program (which includes resume writing assistance). Lastly, community colleges and local temp job agencies are in business to help job seekers just like you. Remember that it’s better to apply to many places and cast a wide net to avoid discouragement. You’re more likely to get an employer to bite that way, rather than if you had focused solely on one or two opportunities.

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The summer before you attend college will be a busy one. You’ll be dashing from graduation party to graduation party and trying your best to “live it up” back home before you go away to school, where the “real work” begins. You’ll probably also be working to save money for some of your expenses. Another task to add to your agenda this summer is to search for college scholarships in your field of interest. If you were a good athlete in high school, then you may be eligible for an athletic scholarship. If you were a straight-A student, then there are many scholarships grants for you. Even if you weren’t the best at anything, some organizations may feel you deserve financial assistance based on demonstrated need; perhaps you are a struggling minority or you come from a poor household. Maybe you are a community player who donates your precious time to helping others. Here are some types of scholarships to consider.

Athletic scholarships are some of the most desirable college scholarships available because they usually offer athletes a “full ride” to college. This year, $1 billion was given out to competent athletes. In rare instances, college offers come pouring in for top players; however, in most cases, you will need to send letters to coaches at your universities of choice and market yourself. Many students start applying in their junior year of high school, including a resume, high school experience, grades, field of interest, relevant statistics and sports experience, athletic or service awards won and coach contact information. If possible, it’s best to include game footage videos, statistics, a recommendation letter from a current coach and a list of upcoming games or meets. For more information, visit the National Collegiate Athletic Association at www.ncaa.org.

A college scholarship can also be given out by a private organization, some of which offer from $50 to $20,000 to aspiring students. A scholarship can come from a corporation who wants to attract new employees and support their community. Businesses like Best Buy, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Intel, Wegmans, Sunoco, Target, Dell, Toyota, General Motors and Sallie Mae offer awards to local students. A good place to start your scholarship search is with your own employer or your parents’ employers. The Chamber of Commerce will also have details on community players with scholarships for local students. Indirectly, students may also seek paid internship opportunities, which provide real world experience and training in exchange for a decent wage. The best fields for internships are accounting, hospitality, manufacturing, engineering, consulting, insurance and consumer goods. Some of these jobs pay as much as $25/hour and typically 80 to 100% of all interns are offered full-time jobs after their intern session is over.

Additionally, religious scholarships and grants may be given out to affiliates of a particular group. For instance, Catholics can check with the Catholic Aid Foundation or the Knights of Columbus for college scholarships. Baptists can check with the WMU Foundation or the American Baptist Financial Aid program. Episcopalians can try the ECF Fellowship Partners program or the Estelle Beaumont Ellison Scholarship Fund. Lutheran scholarships are available from the Lutheran Community Foundation or Scholarships for Lutheran Women. Presbyterian congregation members may find aid through the Lydia Scholarship Fund, National Presbyterian College Scholarship, Native American Education Grant or Samuel Robinson Scholarships. Methodists have the UMHEF Scholarships or the United Methodist Scholarship program. The Islamic Scholarship Fund covers Muslims, and the Barakat Foundation Grants are for Jewish students, who can seek financial aid through the Jewish Community Center, the JVS Jewish Community Scholarship or the Posen Foundation Program for the Study of Secular Jewish History and Cultures.

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Are you wondering who has the best internship program? Frankly, it can be hard to weed through the duds. There are a number of companies out there who are capitalizing off of free student labor in exchange for credits, yet they really couldn’t care less about providing job skills or recruiting new prospects. Some students will feel insignificant and will find themselves faxing, answering phones and pouring coffee more than learning. Unfortunately, nearly half of internships are unpaid. Even so, anyone in academia will tell you that internship programs are essential to your career path. The good news is that there are many corporations out there who value their student intern applicants and hope to mold them into wonderful employees one day. Here are a few of Campus Grotto’s top 10 internships of 2009.

Gen-Y workers expect more from their internship programs and work environments than previous generations. They’ll give it their all if they feel satisfied with perks and work atmosphere, in essence. The Southwest Airlines internship program certainly has plenty of benefits, including a casual dress code, social functions like parties and luncheons, informal networking opportunities and career development classes on personality style, resume building and interviewing skills. Perhaps the best perk of all is the FREE UNLIMITED air travel anywhere Southwest flies! Their internship co op provides hands-on training experience in many different fields, such as Business/Finance, Flight/Ground Operations, Graphic Design/Creative Services, Legislative Communications, Marketing/Public Relations, Safety/Maintenance, Leadership Development/HR, Purchasing and Technology.

For the creative filmmaker/animator minds, nothing beats the internship program at Pixar. You’ll have to spend your first two years assembling a demo reel to submit to the company, but in your junior year of college you’ll be eligible to apply for the internship opportunity to assist in the production of a feature film! Pixar’s interns work with technical directors and contribute as full members of their technical team! Students work in developing programs, modeling sets and props, shading and illustrating, manipulating lighting effects, dressing sets, storyboard layout, rigging characters for animation and rendering the final digital shots to scan onto film. Interested applicants must have some experience using Linux or UNIX, programming languages like C, C++ or scripting languages like Tcl, Sh, Python or Perl. They should have some familiarity using 3D graphic programs like Maya, XSI or Lightwave and education in computer science, math, engineering and art. If you make the cut, Pixar has an unforgettable and meaningful job internship for you.

Genentech, one of Fortune’s “Best Companies to Work For,” offers an intensive internship program that runs for 10-12 weeks during the summer. Students will be placed into project teams related to research, development, manufacturing or business. Juniors majoring in physical sciences or chemical engineering are preferred. You will participate in an internship in San Francisco, Vacaville or Oceanside, California and you will also be paid. Eligible interns will even receive relocation assistance and jobs upon graduation. You will work on projects, career developing and networking in the field of your choice, such as Science, Medicine, Engineering, Computer Science, Law or Business. If biomarkers, genotypes, immune mediated diseases, molecules and cells are your thing, then Genentech is the place for you!

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When most people think of internships, they think of college students working their butts off all summer long to gain job experience. However, many internship opportunities offer year-long internships in finance, journalism, TV/film, advertising, engineering, technology and other fields. If students are considering waiting until they finish college to snap up these opportunities, they may find themselves out of luck, as most internship positions are only open to current students. With everyone touting the value of an internship and such fierce competition among current students, some kids are driven to extremes to make their dreams a reality.

There are many different kinds of internships for those who will work for free, but some wonder if the paying types have gone extinct. “We used to pay, but we’re not doing that anymore,” explained Tom Triozzi, senior VP of BellAtlantic. “We ask them to work for free for a great work experience.” In this economy, even the competition for unpaid student intern positions has become so fierce that the NY Times reported some students are actually paying for their unpaid internship positions! “It’s kind of crazy,” said David Gaston, director of the University of Kansas career center. “The demand for internships in the past 5, 10 years has opened up this huge market.” One student’s parents paid $8,000 to get him an unpaid internship at Ford Models this summer, which was an opportunity, his parents say, he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

Some students wonder, “Is it really worth paying for unpaid internships?” Well, positions are sparse. The National Association of Colleges and Employers says that overall, summer internships have decreased by 21% since last year as companies trim their budgets. Competition is so fierce that 9,000 applicants paid the “University of Dreams” up to $8,000 to get a guaranteed internship position this year (which is up 30% from 2008). Even so, students who have to work for economic hardship reasons are finding it nearly impossible to compete in such a market.

Yet the news is not all gloomy, experts suggest. Target, for instance, has held onto their paid internship programs to help them find the best and the brightest workers. “We get a lot of great talent,” comments Target recruiter Victor Rota. “Seventy to eighty percent of them come back to work for us, so the return on the investment is there.” Additionally, the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that companies that do offer paid internships are increasing the hourly wage by 5% on average, which takes the national average to $17.13/hour.

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Students heading to college this year will likely receive some form of financial aid if they apply. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 66% of undergrads received student financial aid in the 2007-2008 school year, with an average of $9,100 awarded. More than half of the students received grants that did not need to be repaid and another 47% received federal student aid and college loans. Just over a third of students received Pell Grants. With so many types of aid, it can be hard knowing where to start. Here is a brief overview of the types of aid available to new and existing students.

FAFSA is one of the most common types of student financial aid. According to the US Department of Education, nearly 70% of this financial aid comes from their programs, like the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. By filling out an application form, students can receive one of the following; Federal Stafford Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, Federal Direct Loans or Federal Perkins Loans. The awards of this program are based on demonstrated financial need. Students should apply for these loans well ahead of the semester. If approved, they will receive an award letter stating how much they’ll get and when. They then submit the check to their school office to cover tuition fees and dorm expenses and the rest of the money is returned to them in cash. For most loans, students will be expected to pay this money back gradually upon graduation.

Another type of financial aid is the Federal Work-Study program, which awards cash to students based on part-time work. To receive this type of college assistance, students must demonstrate financial need, but they also will not be expected to pay this money back. Sometimes jobs are off-campus but they are usually on-campus at places like the library, science laboratories, peer mentoring centers, in administrative offices, at the health center, in theaters, at radio stations, at publishing offices or in the computer lab. These jobs are not usually very demanding, but for this reason, they are very competitive. Compared to a traditional part-time job, students can only work a specified number of hours, depending upon what they are awarded.

Fellowships are a third type of financial aid similar to student scholarships, but they are awarded to students who are committed to a particular field. Private donors and non-profit organizations will put up as much as $5,000/year for students pursuing careers in science and technology, journalism, health care, librarian, fine arts, engineering, mathematics, community service and more. Like a scholarship, this money does not need to be repaid by recipients. Students can find these opportunities at www.idealist.org, www.finaid.org, www.whitehouse.gov/fellows and www.ssrc.org.

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Now that your college admissions paperwork has been completed and you’ve been accepted to the college of your dreams, you’ll find that your work has just begun. In just three short months, a lot of ground needs to be covered. You will need to start thinking about how you’re going to pay for your education. Will you need to secure a loan? Can you get any grants, scholarships, fellowships that you won’t need to pay back upon graduation. Are there any work study opportunities? You may be tempted to just forget about school for awhile and enjoy all the summer parties, but you should spend a little bit of time planning for your future and the many tasks ahead.

As soon as the college admissions process is finished, you should immediately set your sights on funding college. Be sure to have an honest discussion with your parents and see if they’re willing to throw in anything to help you out. Look at your current job situation and your prospective job situation. If you’re keeping your current job, how many hours a week can you realistically work? If you’re going away to school, you need to begin applying in the town you’re moving to immediately before the late summer rush of applicants flood every possible job opportunity. Work won’t necessarily cover everything, though. You may also need to look for student financial aid to scrape together short-term cash to cover tuition and board. The last thing you want is to be de-registered from all your classes because you were late with your payment!

The college admissions process should be mostly finished in the winter of your senior, high school year. Then you must wait for their final decision if you’ve been accepted or not. Once you finish filing your taxes for the year (April), you will be able to fill out your FAFSA student financial aid forms. It may seem a bit premature, but the earlier you fill out these forms, the better. In this case, the early bird gets the worm and you can be awarded more money if you apply early. You can apply online at www.fafsa.edu.gov. If you get approved for a college loan, you will receive a check to cover your tuition, room and board and fees. Once these expenses have been deducted at the financial aid office, you will receive the remainder of the money in cash, which you may use on books or whatever you please. Just be aware that you will need to pay this money back upon graduation and interest will begin to accrue then too.

Once you have finished dealing with college admissions and financial aid, you will have a little break. Yet near the end of your sophomore year, you will need to focus on internship opportunities. Ideally, you will look carefully at work environments you may see yourself staying at. Often times a student intern is offered a lasting position with the company upon graduation, which will make the transition into the working world much easier, as you can skip over that period of painful indecisiveness and that void that opens up once you’re finished with school. To apply for internships, you will need to craft a resume, a cover letter and possibly create a portfolio of your work (if you are in the creative fields). The campus career center can help you prepare these documents with ease.

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