Job Out of College

College Internship: Why it's a great idea

It's the beginning of spring. Spring break has past and there are only a few more months of school before freedom of the summer. You and your friends are all talking about plans for the upcoming months. Maybe you will be renting a beach house or traveling for a few weeks around Europe then bumming around the house getting a nice tan.

And why not? You have definitely deserved it after all the hard work you have done this year!

I completely agree that you need a break from your stressful lives. However, one of the best ways you can set yourself up for a great career while you are still in college is working an internship or co-op in the summer. Because internships are generally about 8 weeks long, this still gives you plenty of opportunity to relax and have a good summer vacation.

Here are a few reasons why it's a good idea:

1. Experience - talk to some of your friends who have recently graduated and currently seeking employment. Most of the time, the reason they can't find a job because employers want to see experience. So you have a Bachelors or Masters degree, but you have not been able to put it to practice yet. Get some experience - whether it's a paid or non-paid internship, you will still be able to put it down on your resume.
2. Networking - in working an internship or co-op, you are able to align yourself to people in your field. It gives you the perfect opportunity to be able to talk to people, establish relationships and learn as much as you can. Who knows, when you graduate, they might even have a job opening for you. That's how I got my first job out of college!
3. Speak the Language - college may teach you the "technical" skills and knowledge you need to know in your career, but they don't teach you much of the "practical" skills that are required. If you are able to understand the lingo, you will sound much more qualified during your interviews when you graduate.
4. Money - depending obviously on the internship, you can make a lot more money as an intern at a corporation than painting houses or working at a bar. As a freshmen college intern, I made an equivalent to $38,000/yr. Not a bad deal for someone with no degree and no experience.
   
5. Decisions about a career track - you have thousands of dollars in student loans, your parents are scrounging for  cash to pay for your tuition, and your not even sure if you like what you are studying! In working an internship in your career, you will be able to tell first hand whether or not you like the career you are aiming to reach.

So there are 5 really good reasons why you should work an internship or co-op this summer. What are some of your success stories?

Doing "BS work"

So you graduated college with a Master's degree and you are ready to work! If you are lucky enough to find a job you are qualified for, you may find that small menial tasks are delegated to you - you know, "BS work". If you are like me, it can sometimes get you disgruntled.

My advice - do it and do it well!

In a career interview with one of my mentors, I asked how he got to be in an executive level position. His answer - leadership and doing everything that no one else wanted to do. He told me about his entry-level position, where there were certain jobs or projects that no one else in the company wanted to work on because they were boring and uninteresting - so he volunteered.

After a while, people started recognizing the fact that my mentor worked on many projects (regardless of size) and he would always get everything done on time, on budget, and with great results. He established a very positive reputation & credibility in the company and before he knew it, he was managing larger and much bigger projects. The rest... is history.

So next time your boss asks you work on something seemingly insignificant, try to figure out how doing that task will benefit you and your career. There must be something you can learn from doing the task. Here are a  few:

1. Exposure - maybe you will have to work with someone outside your team or department with whom you will have to work for again
2. Education - maybe you will actually learn something! Managing people, time lines, budget, new MS Excel skills, communication skills, presentation skills, knowledge of the business?
3. Credibility - just like my mentor, maybe you will do such a great job, that you will get more projects to work on.
4. Responsibility - because the task may be small and seemingly meaningless, you will be solely responsible for following it through. On larger, more "interesting" projects, you will most likely have to work under someone.
5. Credit - hey, it may not be the most important thing in the world, but you still did it and did it well

So next time you are asked to do some "BS work", instead of grumbling about it, think about how you can benefit!

Taking Criticism

A few days ago, I had a meeting with 2 team leads for a project I'm managing. The meeting was a project issues meeting, where the 3 of us reviewed how the project was progressing and how we could modify our approach to accomplish our project goals more effectively. One team lead and I arrived on the subject of delegating more tasks to certain team members who were not as actively involved as the others. We felt that in order to get their dedication to the project, we needed to make them feel like they have a role in the project and to make them want to succeed. The other team lead stayed quiet during this conversation and for the rest of the meeting. I did not think anything of it at the time.

A few minutes after the meeting, the quiet team lead approached me and asked why I criticized his management style in front of the other team lead. Although it seemed like this comment came out of left field, I quickly asked some clarifying questions to get to the root of the issue. I explained that I realized there are different management styles that work for different people, but stated that delegating tasks to other team members has helped make my projects successful. This comment was not taken well. Although I further "sweet-talked" my way through the conversation to make him realize the benefit to my approach, getting so emotionally attached to the criticism the way the quiet team lead did is not an effective way to grow as an individual.

One of the most difficult and rewarding parts of the learning experience is being able to take criticism. I always try to take criticism lightly, no matter how much it annoys me at the time. I will argue until I'm blue in the face, but when I leave the conversation I think about the other side of the argument critically and see if there is any value. Using this approach, I am able to emotionally segregate myself from the argument and not necessarily lose face to the person I'm arguing with. It's always good to get other people's opinions - because who knows, they might teach you something!

My experience shows that the most important lessons I learn which make me a better person, come from people who are not afraid to give me criticism. As soon as you begin getting criticism, take your emotions out of the situation and try to understand what is being said and why its being said. Whether you accept or reject it in the end, you will at least know that it is a possibility and other people might feel the same way as your critiquer.  This goes for your career, education, and even your personal life. 

Not only should you take criticism, but you should ask for it! After an interview, feel free to ask how the interviewer felt you did. Ask how you could improve for next time. Although it may be difficult at times, it's one of the most valuable approaches to personal growth.

Education vs. Experience

I have two good friends who constantly argue about the importance of a Masters of Business and Administration (MBA). Eugene, a web marketing entrepreneur from Rochester, NY, argues that learning how to be a successful businessman is all about experience and learning from your mistakes and that paying for a piece of paper is unnecessary. Roman, a financial expert with a MBA, argues that a MBA education will teach you the knowledge you need to avoid making mistakes when you're in business and therefore is a valuable piece of paper to earn. They both recognize and agree that both experience and education are necessary but what does the job market value more?

Getting a job out of college is just like applying for college, in that you are competing to appear more worthy or qualified than your competition. Just like colleges use SAT or ACT scores to baseline your abilities nationally, hiring managers use education qualifications while searching for prospective applicants. It gives hiring managers a way to measure your ability. Whether or not you feel like your degree is representative of your knowledge or experiences, your degree is one of the best ways to measure you against your competition because our society highly regards education.

On the flip side, a degree could be an extremely costly investment. It can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans and decades to pay back. Most people learn better from experiencing something first hand anyway. Besides, there are  other ways to educate yourself besides pursuing a degree (Read about other forms of education at 1st Pillar of Success - Education). Unfortunately, it is much harder to prove this to prospective hiring managers.

So what's the bottom line? As always, it depends. But here are a few factors to consider when making a decision:

1. Figure out your career goals
2. Research the degree to see if it aligns with your goals
3. Talk to people in your profession that are in your desired positions, and ask them if a degree would help
4. Ask yourself if you are looking for an education or a degree
5. Is the degree a good investment?
6. Will the degree get me the job I want

No one can argue that both education and experience are extremely important in the future of your career. Just make sure you think about all factors that are involved for today and tomorrow.

Additional Resources: 1st Pillar of Success - Education