Getting Your First Job: Use your internship experience

In a recent article on Boston.com by Devin Cole, The secret to getting your first job as a college graduate, even more reasons to be an intern are shared, even if you don't get a job as a direct result of your internship with a given company.  Devin shares the below advice on how to use internships to your advantage, and how to learn from your experiences.  To read the full article, click here.

"Here are the secrets, based on my research, which will help you win in this job market (even if you aren’t a recent grad):

1. Think like an entrepreneur instead of an employee. Our research found that almost one third of employers are looking for entrepreneurship experience when recruiting for entry-level positions. If you can’t get an internship, start your own business. Whether it succeeds or fails, you will learn something and present yourself to employers as a risk taker, salesperson and self-starter. I’ve recently been asking executives who would they rather hire, an entrepreneur or a student with five internships. They immediately took the entrepreneur. Businesses can only thrive based on new ideas and innovation – so they are desperate for entrepreneurial minded students. GE, for instance, will look for their next executives during college recruitment. Some students have been able to start successful companies and it becomes their job upon graduation.
2. Put more emphasis on developing soft skills. For the most part, it’s easy for companies to find individuals who have hard skills, such as basic computer proficiency. You can’t compete based on what you know as much as you used to. Our study found that employers are looking for communication skills (98 percent), a positive attitude (97 percent), and teamwork skills (92 percent). How do you develop these skills? You have to be as social as possible by joining student organizations, volunteering, and attending networking events. You will naturally become a better communicator by being around people constantly. Interviews are a measure of your soft skills, not hard skills. Also, it’s important to spend more time searching for jobs that you’re genuinely passionate about because it will ensure that you have a positive attitude during your interviews. If you’re trying to fake your attitude because you need a paycheck, you will be passed over.
3. Use all of your resources. Let people know that you’re searching for a job or they won’t be able to help you. Meet with your career services contact at your school to see if they will introduce you to relevant alumni contacts. Get introductions through family, friends and acquaintances. If your father is a VP at a company, try working there if you can – even if it doesn’t make you feel accomplished. Our research shows that only 16 percent of employers recruit on social networks all of the time or most of the time, while 48 percent use job boards and 44 percent use employee referrals. Other studies show that most employers are using social networks for recruiting. What matters is that you use everything at your disposal in order to get a job. Do everything! Just because one of your friends got a job after a Twitter posting doesn’t mean you’ll be just as lucky. Being everywhere will increase your odds of getting a job."