Internships are the New Entry-Level Jobs

I’m sure you’ve read over a job description for an entry-level position that stipulates qualified candidates to have 2+ years of experience in order to be considered for the job.

How can an applicant demonstrate the required skills that hiring managers look for when screening a resume? Is there any activity that allows you to bypass the ‘2+ year work experience’ requirement as a fresh college graduate?

The answer is: internships. In their most common form, internships are a 10 to 12-week stint of full-time employment, where college students will work alongside current employees in a specific field.

The recruiting game has changed in the last decade. Now, college graduates launch into careers based off past internships. Internships play a vital role in the workplace and are a tryout for full-time career opportunities.

According to the Washington Post, companies are increasingly bypassing the spring job market and instead are hiring directly from their intern pools, offering jobs and forcing students to commit just weeks into their senior year. More than 70 percent to 80 percent of new hires at big companies like Facebook, Google, and Goldman Sachs come through their internship programs now, compared to around half or less just a decade ago.

“This new emphasis on the internship has upended the traditional recruiting calendar on campuses nationwide,” Lisa Hamilton, director of the Hampshire College career center said. Hamilton went on to say, “Because more companies are hiring from their intern pools, fewer are coming to campus to hire seniors as full-timers. Employers want to shift even intern recruiting from the spring to the fall of junior year.”

Companies are more likely to draw from their internship pool first to fill up full-time positions, which eliminates those who did not participate in an internship program. That signals internships are increasingly the only way for new applications to get in the door.

“You can’t spend your first couple of summers in college lifeguarding or working as a camp counselor anymore if you have a specific job in mind after graduation,” Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass said according to CNN. “Those typical summer jobs are not going to position you for work after graduation.”

According to the Washington Post, employers are demanding that more interns come to the position with specific skills already in hand. Students with technology internships are expected to know programming languages like SQL and Java. Design interns need to be proficient in Photoshop and InDesign.

Investment banking interns for companies such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch make up almost 80 percent of new hires. Typically, investment banks have a specific amount of new analysts they hire each year and a large portion of their new analysts come from their internship programs.

 

7 Ways to Maximize Leadership

Typically the most well-respected leaders have the ability to combine leading from the front and working in the trenches alongside their team. Anyone leading a team who believes they are above getting their hands dirty won’t last long.

The best leaders can lead from anywhere–the top, bottom, or middle. Leading by example will garner respect from others.

1. Earn Respect

“Lead by example” is a vital within servant leadership. Respect is not something handed to you when you take on a new leadership role. It is an essential leadership quality that you must build.

2. Maintain a Positive Attitude

People rarely respect negative leaders. Instead, they typically ridicule them behind their backs. Negativity sends the message that you’re bitter or mean; it develops fear, not respect.

3. Value differences

Different perspectives bring along innovative ideas. Develop yourself, your own skills and capabilities. Surround yourself with people who are really different from you. You’re likely to learn something new from people you don’t agree with.

4. Be Congruent At All Times

Are what you say and what you do the same? Be consistent when leading. An excellent leader does what they say they will do and means what they say.

5. Encourage creativity

The opportunity to present and try out ideas leads individuals to deeper commitment, enhanced problem-solving abilities and greater productivity. Creativity develops full potential.

6. Be passionate about your work

Leaders must demonstrate a commitment to goals. Show others how strongly you believe in your goals and how much you value their contribution. If you want dedicated people in your organization, be dedicated yourself. Don’t hesitate to speak passionately about what you believe in.

7. Build and Grow Relationships

Building and growing relationships will maximize your leadership capability. The more connected you are, the more people you have to bounce ideas from and share feedback with, the better off you’ll be. Seek out a mentor(s) who’s in an industry you would  like to pursue.

8. Learn something new about your expertise, industry or niche every day

The expertise you have will not always matter, things are changing every minute. Do keyword searches for words and phrases that are trending in your business world. Find relevant articles, writers and publications who keep up with the latest and greatest.

Turning Procrastination into Motivation

Procrastination is something we all suffer from daily. Procrastination is mind over matter to overcome. The procrastination phenomenon is becoming more familiar. With procrastination comes squandered away free time and important tasks being put off. It’s a bad habit that prevents you from achieving greater results in life.

Typical procrastination excuses we tell ourselves:

• “I’ll do this tomorrow.”
• “I work better under pressure, I’ll wait until it’s almost due to work on it.”
• “This is such a huge project, I don’t even want to think about it yet, I’ll put it off for one more day.”
• “I don’t really need to do this yet; it can wait until sometime in the future.”

Unfortunately, this leads to an inevitable day when you must actually complete a task.

Ways to minimize procrastination and maximize motivation

• To be the most proficient, successful and happy at what you’re doing and to complete a task, especially if you want to produce stellar results, a distraction free environment is needed.  Anything that will make you lose focus is something that will potentially set you up for procrastination and destroy your motivation. This will guarantee your mind is completely focused on the task at hand.

• Start projects immediately! You are more determined to work to the best of your ability when it is fresh on your mind.

• Change your environment. Different environments have a different impact on your productivity. Look at your work desk and your room. Do they make you want to work or do they make you want to snuggle and sleep?

• Create deadlines for yourself! Set small deadlines of 60-90 minutes to work on a specific task. You can use your time wisely and cut procrastination significantly. It forces you to think through the steps you need to achieve it.

• Eat well, sleep well and exercise. A healthy mind and body is less likely to procrastinate. You’ll be more upbeat and active, and more optimistic about accomplishing your goals sooner rather than later.

• Keep your thoughts positive, and recognize when you’re entering a cycle of procrastination. Here is where you will need to address mind over matter. Start by getting into the rhythm of progression and starting step one of your task first.

• Hang out with people who inspire you! If you spend 10 minutes talking to Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey, you’ll be more inspired to act. Of course, talking with Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey is a stretch of the imagination but the principle applies. The people we are with influence our behaviors. Identify the people, friends or colleagues who trigger you – most likely the go-getters and hard workers. Soon you will inculcate their drive and spirit too.

6 Questions to Ask When Finding Your Passion

If you could do one thing to transform your life, consider something you’re passionate about and do it for a living. Finding your passion is a vital component in a healthy, fulfilling life. If you’re looking to spend your life doing something you love, the best way to start is to prioritize these vital aspects: Passion, Creativity, Happiness and Financial stability. It’s important to ask yourself these questions:

• What excites you?
• What motivates you to jump out of bed?
• Have you realized your full potential?
• Are you surrounding yourself with people who see the beauty in you?
• Are you satisfied with only having a ‘job’ or do you want to find something you love doing as a career?
• Looking back on your career, 20 years from now, what do you want to say you’ve accomplished?

Imagine jumping out of bed early and excited to do something you love. Knowing what excites you is progressive motivation. This is part of finding your passion. Dare to dream! Dare to imagine the possibilities of life. Dare to search for what you love!

Passion + Daily Action =Purposeful Life

Be present for the journey and fully embrace it. Many things play a part of life happiness from the people you choose to spend your time with to the people you choose to take advice from. Surround yourself with those who bring positivity and laughter to your life.