 Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining me. I'm Kathleen Bergman, Director of Career Leadership and Professional Development as part of the Academic and Career Development Center here at Fairfield University. Today's session is going to explore the realities of internships and what you can do to encourage your student through the process. So you might ask yourself, are internships important? Yes, they are very important. However, keep in mind that it is challenging for younger students to always get the best internships because they're competing against a lot of older students as well. The point is they really need to be at least trying or in the game. Students need at least one or several relevant experiences before graduating from Fairfield. Even if an experience is not a true internship or related to career goals, it says a lot when the resume shows someone has been industrious throughout their time in college. More and more organizations and grad programs have the expectation that students are out doing things within the workforce. This tells an employer that they have been in professional settings, have gained experiences outside of the classroom, and their minds are really in the game. They want to learn. They want to be doing things. It shows that they've been proactive. Unfortunately, gone are the days when a student could just be a lifeguard the whole four years they're in college. That's my memory of college, but it doesn't work anymore. The good news is 75% of interns receive a full-time offer after interning. The actual conversion rate to full-time is closer to around 50%. Oftentimes, students will be in positions that are great positions, but they realize they don't want to work for that organization. They change their mind, decide they don't want to go into that profession. That's why it's so important to take an internship. This is like an extended interview for the companies, and that's why they oftentimes will make offers to students during the summer. You might ask yourself, where are the jobs and the internships? The reality is the advertised positions only take about 20% of what's out there. There's an actual hidden job market, and that consists of 80% of the opportunities. That's why it's very important for people to network and use the internet and search. The networking is key because that's actually where that hidden job market is located. What should your students be doing? They should be doing all of this. They should be working on the internet, actually taking it on as a job, maybe an extra class, consider it an extra class, and every day spend 45 minutes looking and trying to meet as many people as possible. Networking is a step closer to that hidden job market. It's all about relationship building, collecting information about different careers, about people. It's about developing contacts and access to those people, maybe not right now, but down the road when maybe the time is for a full-time position. Networking is not asking contacts if they have a job or an internship for your child. It's absolutely not easy. It takes time. You need to really build relationships and maintain them, and it's something that's not going to happen overnight. Students really need to understand this. Actually understand all three points because in an age when everyone is looking for immediate results, this isn't going to happen with networking. Slow and steady does win the race. So, why network? Well, the reality is here employers typically hire through referrals. So that's why it's important if you want to get into that hidden job market. The positions never really make it out into the public sector. Think about it, they're hit with thousands and thousands of applications, and if they hear from someone that an individual is a good worker, smart, really in the game, that might help them weed out some of those applications. Of course, they have to do a good job in the interview, but at least you get noticed. Overall, the most influential attributes for internship positions are a student's major, leadership experiences, and the grade point average. It all is factored in. If your child is having a great time at Fairfield, but not really focusing on classes, getting involved, or figuring out what they ultimately might want to do post-grad, they're definitely going to have a more difficult time down the road trying to secure opportunities. It's possible. It's just a little bit more difficult. This is another way things have changed over the years. No longer can someone just hand a slip and say, you go call Mr. Smith, he has an opportunity for you. You really have got to do everything by the book. So where should your child start? Speaking with family members, friends, friends, parents, professors, former school teachers, neighbors, coaches, coworkers, alumni, career services, and LinkedIn. All of these areas should be explored. As I said, times really have changed. If you remember using the want ads in the paper or looking at signs in a window during the summer, you probably looked through binders in your career center to find an internship or a job. Well, those binders are now online and everyone is using some sort of digital device. Finding opportunities really has changed over the years, especially with the technology that's currently in place. And as I said, recruiters get hundreds and hundreds of applications. So it is way more competitive. Our online jobs database where employers who want to hire Fairfield students is stags for hire. It's the first stop for online internship and job posting here at Fairfield. Last year, 2,200 jobs were posted and over 1,700 internships. So there are a significant number of opportunities right there for the taking. Here are some of the general databases that students should look at. They also have a significant number of opportunities. Remember, no one should rely on one job search database. The more you're looking at, the better off you'll be. Because of the technology behind them, it's even more critical to have resumes written for the position your student is going after. Many of these organizations and company sites as well use software that coals out key words so that those resumes that have those words get pushed up to the top. That only increases the importance of working closely with a career counselor. Here are some industry specific databases that they also might want to explore. Students should also look at individual companies. Notice I said companies, multiple companies. They should go to their career or jobs pages regularly because they too post. They should follow companies on LinkedIn. Look at the career site on LinkedIn. Follow companies on Twitter. They need to do all these things. Yes, it's gotten a lot more complicated. So applications submitted at the company websites are actually have a bit of a better odd being seen, but they should be looking at all and applying to all. Other strategies that students can take would be to attend the career fair, which actually occurred here in February, but there are local fairs within their towns and areas. We also have reciprocity with other Jesuit schools. They can get that reciprocity by coming to their career counselor and asking for it. They should follow us at Fairfield AC DC. They should pay attention to notices for career related events, such as alumni panels, industry speakers, company visits. They should be doing all of these different things. Maybe they can't leverage those contacts right away, but if they make those contacts now, remember, networking. Maintain the relationships. Continue the conversation. They actually need to engage in live conversations. That's important. Now, the topic of internships for credit. Why should you consider it? Some companies actually require that students get credit if they are not being paid. This is for legal reasons. So students should actually go and speak with their internship advisor to get this accomplished. They're also important because they can replace traditional elective classes so that students can get credit while they're actually in the job and doing what they think they want to do for a career. Get credit for it. Find out if that's really what they love. And it allows for a little bit more flexibility. Students who do this will get faculty guidance. They will have onsite mentors. And they will be preparing papers. So they really have to think through what they've been doing and be thoughtful about the process. As I said, they should meet with their director of internships or internship coordinator in order to figure out what will best work for them. It's important that they do this before starting an internship in order to get credit. And as you can see, there are specific hour requirements that must be completed and some actual paperwork as well. Students can also do internships for credit. Keep in mind that if your child does this, they will have to pay for the credits. Again, this is something to be discussed with the internship coordinator for their major or their school. It is not included in the academic year tuition. Now, your student has gotten the call. Everyone's excited. You're doing the happy dance. Now what? You want to encourage your child to prepare for the interview. Have them research the company and the position. Make sure they go through some of the most common questions asked in an interview. All of those are located on the academic and career development website. They can meet with a counselor. A counselor can do a mock interview with them. They can use interview stream 24-7 so they can practice online and see what they actually look like in an interview. That too is located on the website free of charge. You want to tell your student and remind them that they need to come up with questions as well. Questions that can't be answered just by looking at the website. Have them print several copies of the resume on actual resume paper so that if in fact people who are interviewing them love them so much, they move them to other people to meet, you want to be able to extend the offer of a fresh copy of the resume. How should students dress? Yes, your student does need a suit. There are industries where people don't wear suits on a daily basis. However, for that initial interview, most of the time they will be required to have one. This even holds true for nursing majors. Occasionally in some of the funkier organizations, maybe a very edgy marketing firm, they won't necessarily need to have a suit, the traditional matching outfit, but they want to have something that is very professional and perhaps somewhat trendy. It amazes me how many students are shocked when I tell them they need to get a suit. They don't need a Brooks Brothers suit to play the part. Nothing's wrong with going to Marshall's or even Goodwill. Goodwill has lots of suits and outfits with the price tags from Nordstrom still on them. Our office actually has started a career closet. So if you find that your child doesn't have a suit or is in a pinch, let the career counselor know. Have them come to our offices and perhaps we have something that might save the day. So your child goes to the interview, they get the position, remind them that when they go to work, they need to dress appropriately at all times. You can look around and see how other people are dressed, but you want to make sure that they're somewhat snappy and remind them of that because they're actually setting a brand. They are establishing a relationship with people and they want everyone to see that they really are top notch. They're there to work and they're taking things seriously. They should pay attention at all times to what they're doing. This is not the time to be on the cell phone, check for texts, listen to headphones, be on Facebook, using Instagram or whatnot. People pay attention to how often students are looking at these things and it's best just to stay focused on the work at hand. If someone provides your student with feedback, be it positive or perhaps negative, they should realize that this is a gift. This is an opportunity for them to correct behavior and actually strengthen their skills. It's not something to really get upset about, they should be thankful. They should always meet deadlines and continuously update their resume at all times. They need to be contributing. Students should be contributing because those that do are actually the ones that are seen as being a great asset. These are the qualities that will turn a summer internship into a full-time hire. Tell them they need to be out there meeting with people, making a name for themselves, not in a bad way, but very quietly go out, introduce yourself, meet people, find out what they do, how they got the positions. They want to establish themselves as being a professional. Remind your child after the internship is over to send a thank you note to the supervisors and anyone else that helped them along the way. Encourage them periodically during the school year to drop them a note, maybe send an email, stop by when they're home for breaks to continue that relationship. Remember, networking, it's critical. Now, we all want to do it. We all have advice. So let me give you a little advice on parental dos and don'ts. Remind your child once again to thank the supervisor at the end of the internship. Encourage them to periodically keep in touch. Advise them to visit the career counselors to update their resumes and any cover letters that they might be doing after the internship. Share information about internship leads that you might have for your student or maybe their friends. Talk to your student about professionalism and how to conduct themselves, workplace, just even the way, you know, gossip's not a positive thing. Things you shouldn't do. Practice asking interview questions with your child. The more they practice, the easier it is. Practice having small talk. It's amazing how many people can go through a meal with their families and not really engage in conversation. This is a perfect way to get used to just having conversations. Offer support during what is a very frustrating time. People get very nervous. They're stressed out. Support knowing somebody's there that has their back. That is significant. Parent don'ts. Do not write your resume or cover letter for your child. Don't make calls on their behalf. Give them the information and let them make the connection. This shows a sign of maturity and somewhat respect on the other end when people hear from them. Do not apply to internships or jobs. In other words, don't go on stags for hire for them. Don't go with your child to career fairs and please don't represent your child at a career fair. That is one way to get them branded for sure. Don't go on interviews with your student and don't think that Fairfield is going to find these opportunities. We provide the resources. We provide connections, but it is up to your children to actually make things happen. Most of all, don't forget that this is a learning process which will help teach your child down the road. It's something we all went through as painful as it was and we all need to support our children as they learn how to do this as well. Now, this is kind of a crash course on internships and the do's and the don'ts, but if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them at this point. We do have some questions. Our first question is, can a first-year student get an internship opportunity? Absolutely. First-year students can get on to stacks for hire from the day that they step foot in September on campus. Many times, however, companies are looking for students who've had a little bit more education, but there are companies that are more than willing to entertain first-year students and they need to get out there. Every year, I'm surprised at the types of opportunities that first-year students have secured. Keep in mind from one of my previous slides that they're also competing against upperclassmen, but that doesn't mean that they can't do it, so you've got to be in it to win it. Our next question is, if my student does not have a hire than a 3.0 GPA, should they still put their GPA on their resume? Good question. We advise students not to put their GPAs on if it's below a 3.0, but that doesn't mean that they cannot apply for jobs, and we can work with them to make sure that all of their bullet points are robust and showing the skills that they have. We can also work with them on their elevator pitch and also their responses so that if someone were to question their GPA, they can respond in a very upbeat, positive way that shows that maybe I did have a few hurdles, but I'm extremely capable and interested in the position, so don't let that stop anyone. When should my child start going to the career fair? We encourage students to start going to the career fair as early as possible. It might be in the first year where they're just walking around and getting a feel for things, but this is a very intimidating situation where you may have 100 companies in one room all very eager to speak with everyone, and when students walk through the door the first time, they're sort of taken aback because even though they've heard that they were all going to be there, they really are not necessarily prepared. So this gives them an opportunity to see the lay of the land, but it also gives them a chance to start to network. There's that word again. With organizations, practice their elevator pitch, learn what they should be saying, get a better understanding of what companies are looking for. So I say the earlier, the better. And our last question is, when should my child have their high school involvements removed from their resumes? We suggest that all high school involvements should be removed by the end of sophomore year. All of those things help to get them into Fairfield. Now it's important for them to really be as involved as possible, to show what they've done during the four years that they're in college. We also tell students right from day one with their resumes that under the education section, you really have to remove all of your high school information. So you may have gone to a fabulous high school, but you just put Fairfield University and all of your information regarding your college experience. If it's a school that you have a lot of alums and you know that you're going to be circulating that resume to some of them and you want that on, put that down at the additional information portion of the resume. So that sums it up, I guess. We've completed all of our questions and I hope this helped to answer some of what you've been wondering about for a while. If you do have any further questions, please feel free to email us at acdcatfairfield.edu and I'd be happy to respond. Have a great day.