The Sophian

Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Features

Desperate to avoid another summer helping customers decide between deep dish and thin crust? Concerned that your long history of delivering newspapers and folding sweaters won't land you an office on Wall Street?

Consider an internship.

Career Development Office Director Stacie Hagenbaugh notes that internships offer students indispensible chances to explore career paths and build solid résumés. "Paid jobs are great," she said, but "unpaid internships ensure experience."

CDO Associate Director David Machowski added that "there's great realization in seeing something first hand."

However, with the economy in flux, internship opportunities can be elusive. Machowski explained that in a job market where a four-year college education is the norm, internships offer candidates a "competitive advantage."

"It's a virtual game of leap frog," he said.

In many ways, an internship search is a precursor to a contemporary post-college job search. As dire as that might sound, many people fail to realize that there are, according to Hagenbaugh, "more internships than there are students."

Learning to navigate through the myriad possibilities is key, and the CDO exists to provide students with the necessary guidance. Hagenbaugh explained that the office's efforts to engage students directly with organizations and industries set it apart from those of other colleges and universities.

Representatives from various industries and well-established alumnae frequent campus, offering one-on-one counseling to interested students. Even more essential is the office's effort to engage students directly with their peers. The Peer Advisor Program consists of a select group of specially trained and dedicated Smith students ready to assist everyone from the aimless to the career-driven.

Peer advisers provide a wealth of frank, personal advice for motivated students and do so in an environment conducive to just that.

Peer Adviser Helene Parker '10 noted that one of the more common errors college students make is taking a generic approach to résumé and cover letter writing, something she says is easily fixed "with a bit of thought." Tailoring your resume and cover letter in order to communicate to a particular organization "reflects your excitement" for what they stand for, leaving an indelible impression on employers.

Specializing your résumé entails research into the particular organization. This could also include contacting a company that does not normally offer internships, allowing a candidate to both demonstrate enthusiasm and potentially create a specialized internship opportunity.

Continued...

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