<p>Good suggestions to get the Volunteer office to be more proactive. It’s a regional hospital with only two ladies running the volunteers, but I’d hope that they’d be more helpful in view of the years he spent there, and that he was responsive whenever they needed someone for an extra project or to assist with the new volunteers…not to mention the bagels he delivered to them when he stopped in to say hello during college vacations… </p>
<p>He got reference letters from the assisted living facility and Congressman (letter actually was signed by the Office Director…which he knows from his work in the office! LOL). He should have gotten a letter from the volunteer office. He was selected for their annual scholarship so I don’t think he considered that a reference letter would be good too, but it’s definitely something he should get.</p>
<p>He was expressly told by his advisor NOT to go to the career fair, by the way, since the focus was on helping the Seniors to find jobs. Hmmmmm. Frankly, NorthStarMom, I’m really, really disappointed in PSU’s lack of any organization or support for internships in his major. I suspect that larger majors have much more support. Emphasizing to the kids that finding your own internship is part of the process is a cop-out, especially when alumni networking and support is referenced as a valuable take-away from the school. </p>
<p>He’ll see if there’s any way to reach out to alumni, and see what the response is.</p>
<p>I can understand your son not wanting to go against his advisor’s directions…but…you’re right about the money you spend on college, and one of the resources you pay for is a career services office (different from a career fair.)</p>
<p>I think there’s already been a link to the Penn State Career services office on this thread, but when you go to that page, and click “for students” there’s an entire section called “getting experience” and lists information on internships and summer experience.</p>
<p>The career services office can also guide your son in making alumni contacts and other kinds of networking. They won’t do it for him…but will likely give him templates for cover letters and intro. letters, have literature/search engines for listings of employers in the location and field he is interested in, etc.</p>
<p>OK, Kid! I know you’re lurking!!! Great information in all these posts…now it’s up to you!</p>
<p>Thanks again, everyone.</p>
<p>“He was expressly told by his advisor NOT to go to the career fair, by the way, since the focus was on helping the Seniors to find jobs. Hmmmmm.”</p>
<p>That was really BAD advice by his advisor.
Many companies prefer hiring juniors than seniors for internships. That’s because seniors are more likely to be looking for fulltime employment, and may accept an internship, but back out at the last minute or during the internship if they get a full-time job.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, juniors need internships. Many companies will not hire graduating seniors unless they’ve had at least one internship. Of course, many juniors also need internships to fulfill the requirements in their majors.</p>
<p>I’ve recruited at college fairs for a Fortune 500, and I would have been very angry if I learned that advisors were steering juniors away from the college fair.</p>
<p>My son is an engineering major, currently in his senior year. Last year around this time he put together a “resume” of his job internship objectives and listed the classes he had completed, or were in progress. He brought this to the school career fair, and even though they said that it was for “seniors only” he soon had two offers for paid summer internships. He took one internship for the summer, and is currently working part time at the other.</p>