Internships were originally intended for students in the medical field. Doctors knew medical students needed hands-on experience working with patients before they were qualified to work on their own patients. Today, internships have spread beyond the medical field and become an important part of many jobseekers’ resumes in education, technology, writing, marketing, and more.
College graduates generally are more employable, have higher lifetime income, and have more opportunities for promotion over the course of their lives. Â Many of today’s students go into college for increased professional opportunities, but not all of them make the connection between their college education and the professional life they dream for themselves. The college schedule is dense and doesn’t leave much extra room or energy for career exploration (let alone anything else). That’s why it’s especially important that a career mindset is incorporated into an outlook of planning beginning the summer before freshmen year. By talking about careers early and encouraging real-world experiences, students are much more likely to land a job straight out of college.
We all have to start somewhere; and many of us have to start at the beginning.
Some of the world’s most famous tech billionaires started at the bottom of their entrepreneurial ladder, as a dishwasher (founder of Dell), technician (founder of Oracle), and a salesman (CEO of Microsoft).1Â In the early 1980s, Martin Davis reinvented the company Gulf & Western “from ragtag agglutination of about 100 businesses to a thriving corporation.”2Â Davis started in the mailroom and worked his way up the company to CEO.
For kids, the long summer days pose many opportunities for having fun with friends, relaxing, and watching TV. Unwinding from the stresses of the school year is an important use of summer time, but so is providing kids with learning opportunities to keep their brains engaged and ready to enter the next school year strong.
Read the rest of this entry »
College students notoriously have overwhelming schedules. Many balance going to school full time, having part-or full-time employment, living on their own, and maintaining relationships. In the whirlwind of the college lifestyle, students can lose sight of how college should support and propel their career, and instead become only focused on grades and graduation day.
The Class of 2012 has reason to celebrate. They’re among the 56% of college students who stuck it out and finished a college degree in under 6 years,1Â they found their calling, and they are prepared to make an impact on the world. However, with rising student debt, a volatile job market, and an overall uncertain economic future, many students may also be leaving with anxiety about entering the workforce.
Read the rest of this entry »
Many college students are lining up internships for the summer months or the coming semester. Some college graduates are also getting internships to further their professional experience after college and possibly get their foot in the door in careers and fields they have recently narrowed to match their interests and abilities.
Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a harsh reality: average workers will have a much harder time in today’s economic climate. The competition is heating up and those who are exceptional will have traction, gratification and fulfillment in the workforce.
Average workers don’t put in the extra that sets them apart from other members of the team, whereas exceptional workers draw energy from harnessing  their unique abilities. It may sound like becoming an exceptional worker will be much more depleting than putting in average effort, but, in fact, it’s the opposite. People who feel “very successful” and “completely successful” at work are twice as likely to say they are happy than those who only feel “somewhat successful,” with their level of income making no difference in their levels of happiness, according to Arthur Brooks in the article “America and the Value of ‘Earned Success.'”1 Exceptional people are driven to become exceptional for its intrinsic value (in happiness and fulfillment), not extrinsic value (in dollars and status).
Read the rest of this entry »
The world of work is ever- changing. However, new graduates will experience a heightened level of change over the span of their careers, as technology becomes more integrated and new software, tools, and gadgets make their work more efficient and far reaching.  Add to that the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of today’s young people who will be launching many of the new businesses which will fuel our economic growth over the next several decades in areas that don’t yet exist, and it could be hard to predict what the workforce will look like in 20, or even 10, years.
Read the rest of this entry »
In past cycles of the U.S. economy, a college degree — or even a high school diploma — could be enough for a job seeker to land a well-paying position that afforded them staples of an American lifestyle, such as home and car ownership, leaving home as a teen or young adult, and starting a family. In the new economy, with high unemployment rates for teens and adults, neither a college degree or high school diploma comes with a job guarantee, and many young adults are reacting by living with their parents longer, delaying marriage and child birth and indefinitely postponing large purchases. 1
Read the rest of this entry »