Tag Archives: NACE International

It Pays to Intern

Although wage should not be as important as experience when determining which internships to pursue, the idea of making a good chunk of change is always appealing. 

When I was still an undergraduate student, I would ask my fraternity brothers if anyone else planned on interning in the summer.  I remember asking a younger guy in the house if he planned on applying for any internships.  He replied, “No, I plan on working at a factory like I do every summer where I can make $15/hr, so that’s way better.”

He, like many other students today, didn’t realize that internships pay fairly well:

On average, bachelor’s degree students taking part in internships in 2011 will earn an average of $16.68 an hour, according to results of NACE’s 2011 Internship & Co-op Survey. 

At the master’s degree level, the average hourly rate is $24.21.

Aside from the possibility of making a …

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Internships Prove More Valuable Than Ever for Companies and Students

From Inside INdiana Business

It’s easy to list specific reasons why an organization should start an internship program: increased productivity, enhanced creativity, effective recruitment – to name a few. But it’s the coveted notion of saving time and money while getting quality results that’s music to the ears of any employer.

In fact, these days when hiring for a full-time position, some organizations may not have the time or financial resources to recruit a seasoned individual. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) 2010 Internship and Co-op Survey (based on 235 employer responses), 83% of employers said that they use internship programs as a tool for recruiting entry-level talent, an increase of approximately 5% from 2009.

NACE’s survey also indicated that 44.6% of respondents’ full-time entry level hires from the class of ’08-’09 were from their internship programs, an increase of approximately 10% from the prior year.

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Employers: Are You Ready?

Entry by Pat Patterson

Career fairs are fast-approaching – are you prepared to market your organization?  Regardless of whether you are a large or small organization, career fairs are a great opportunity to recruit new talent:

“Think about all the money AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Ford Motor Company put into national advertising and promotional campaigns,” explains Keever-Watts, president of The Keever Group. “In the arena of college recruiting, however, any company can be a ‘big fish’ on campus.”

She points out that this is due to employers dealing in a much smaller, more confined market. In addition, Keever-Watts adds, the target audience—which is composed of students—is buying what the employer is selling.

“To make things even more favorable, it’s an employers’ market, which means that students are casting a wider net when it comes to finding a job,” she notes. “While the economic downturn hurts us …

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Students: What Employers Want

Entry by Pat Patterson

Before an internship or job interview, it is important to learn as much as you can about the particular opportunity and organization.  The more you know about an opportunity and organization, the more you can understand an employer’s needs, and how you may address such needs if hired.  However, in general, employers will look for certain skills/qualities in potential hires.  According to NACE’s Job Outlook 2011 survey, employers listed verbal communication skills as the top quality they look for:

Survey respondents indicate that verbal communication skills topped the list of “soft” skills they seek in new college graduates looking to join their organizations, followed by strong work ethic, teamwork skills, analytical skills, and initiative.

Employers Rank Top 5 Candidate Skills/Qualities

Verbal Communication Skills Strong Work Ethic Teamwork Skills Analytical Skills Initiative

Read more. 

To hone your verbal communication skills, make sure you practice your elevator …

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Students: Looking for Something to do this Weekend?

Entry by Pat Patterson

Are you looking for something to do this weekend?  Why not polish up your resume?  Now, I bet you’re all thinking, “Yeah, right…I thought this blog entry was going to be about some fun event or promotion.”  Just keep reading…

I’m not suggesting you spend all weekend working on your resume, but it may be a good idea to add recent internships that you have not yet added.  The more time that elapses after your internship, the more you will forget important details.  You never know when an opportunity may arise when you will need to submit your resume, especially given the fact that college hiring and recruiting is expected to increase:  

NACE’s current hiring index shows college hiring at 126.4, compared with 86.8 last year at this time. The October poll also found that nearly half of responding employers expect to increase …

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Employers: Are You Effectively Branding Your Organization?

Entry by Pat Patterson

Your organization’s brand determines its reputation, which will in turn determine how well your organization will perform.  Therefore, it is important to periodically ask yourself if you are effectively doing all you can to take charge of your brand.  Even if you are not hiring interns or employees for the fall, consider attending campus career fairs to spread awareness of your organization and its future work opportunities.

Consider these results from NACE’s 2010 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey, citing career fairs as the most effective branding tool:

More than 90 percent of employers taking part in NACE’s 2010 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey cited branding to the campus as very important to their program. In addition, more than 90 percent cited career/job fairs, the corporate web site, and building relationships with key faculty as the tools and activities they use to build their brand. Nearly two-thirds of those using career/job …

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