MONSTER JOBS

We approached the internship program for the second trimester a bit differently than the first, based on some things we had learned and some new ideas we wanted to try. Our goal was to use more technology and to make the experience of “job hunting” more realistic for the students.

I had still been working at lining up more internship sites (as I still am, if you have any ideas or connections you’d like to share with me). We had several new organizations interested, such as Edison Welding Institute, Greenlawn Cemetery, Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission, OSU Student Health Center and even some unexpected spots – Gentle Meadows Alpaca Farm in Pataskala and the USDA Forestry Service in Delaware, Ohio!

The first thing I did was to create an online job listing site for the prospective interns to read about the opportunities and apply for the internships that appealed to them. We jokingly called it our version of “Monster.com” but officially named it STEMStart.  Check it out by clicking on the link.

Before launching the site, we held seminars for all of the third-year students to learn about job searches, resume writing and interviewing skills. We even had some help from some of our partners, who came in to discuss how to dress for an interview, the importance of eye contact and a good handshake, and how to create an “elevator speech” in which they can set themselves apart in a conversation of only a few moments.

After they had reviewed the available positions, they applied for the ones that interested them by posting their resumes in private folders. Next, we scheduled a job fair at Metro and invited the prospective mentors to come in and set up table displays with their company information and talk to our students. We had a great turnout from the community members and the students were spiffed and polished, with their resumes in hand and elevator speeches ready to go.

After the fair, the mentors gave us their feedback on how the students interviewed and ranked the interviewees in order of their preference for selection. It still took some finagling to get the schedules and preferences of students and mentors to line up, but we wound up with some great matches.

We plan to hold a job fair at the beginning of each year so that we can use the results throughout the trimesters as we place students in internships. Our goal is that every student will have at least one internship during their third year. For those who want more experience, we allow them to have additional internships or continue with the mentor they are with as they work toward completing a project or specific research.