Guide to Co-op and Internship Success Career Development Center 0281 Student Success Center 618-650-3708 careerdevelopment@siue.edu www.siue.edu/careerdevelopmentcenter
What Employers, Students, Faculty and Staff are Saying... You get the chance to redefine your career because at times you will not know what you are good at until you participate in these internships. Make the program one of your priorities, as it puts students ahead of those who do not have any working/internship experience. Partaking in this program will make your job search easier after graduation. Why waste such an opportunity? Terry Haizel, CMIS, World Wide Technologies SIUE students are very professional. I always notice that when we go to the career fairs, they are very excited and come in their business attire, they come prepared with a well written resume, and they ask a lot of great questions. We ve hired a lot of co-op/internship students from SIUE and they ve all done a fantastic job. In addition, their academic program aligns nicely with our interns and co-ops, and that s another reason we keep coming back to SIUE. Michelle Isenberg, Strategic Workforce Specialist, Ameren Luckily, I had a Co-op position that was very supportive of the projects I was working on. I didn t have to do your stereotypical internship things like go get coffee for other people. It was really focused on me being a member of the rest of the team and really contributing to the projects that are actually still having an impact on my department. Lora Dust, Accounting, Monsanto I hope our students that are with us through the Co-op Program are learning, first and foremost, perseverance. It s also important for them to learn about courage, by picking up the phone and talking to people, building relationships, which are long term relationships with people, is something very important and it takes courage to do that, especially as a student. But to get that experience when you re in college is a game changer. Brett Gilliland, Managing Director, Northwestern Mutual Edwardsville Ask questions and take careful notes to show that you are interested in the field
The biggest value of a Co-op is getting real world experience and also the networking that comes from that as well. At Monsanto, I was dealing with people from all over the world. I have LinkedIn connections with people from India, Brazil, just everywhere and they ve actually reached out to me. When I left Monsanto after my co-op term was over, they told me if you need anything let me know, which is really cool to make friends from all over the world in other workplaces. Aaron Alexander, CMIS, Monsanto The best part about the program is having more sharpened skills for my future career. I also enjoyed figuring out what the community around me wants and what actually matters to them by being engaged in the community. Catalina Trevino, Political Science, Vince DeMuzio Governmental Internship Program, Illinois State Representative - 115th District Number one piece of advice for students is to do a great job at what they re doing. If they do that, then they have a good chance of getting hired. They should also interact with the people they work with and find out what the culture is: how do you normally get a job at Monsanto; when you have a job, what s some of the norms or the things we normally do. Ask a lot of questions and definitely show how interested they are in trying to work here. Dave West, Workplace Services IT Lead, Monsanto My advice for those who are not in the program is to definitely make an appointment with the Career Development Center to get a resume together, meet with a Career Counselor and start your search, even if you don t end up doing the Co-op/Internship Program, that s going to really put you ahead when you do graduate. Geet Vanaik, Specialist, SIUE International Student Services One of the first things I would tell them [to take advantage of] is to see if you can find a mentor. See if you can talk to someone who s been there for a while. It s a good opportunity for you to network and to find out what it s like for you to deal with clients. Take advantage of any training they re going to give you. Learn how to use their software and what their corporate structure s like. There are lots of really great opportunities that you get from working with somebody out in the field. Dr. John Navin, Dean of the SIUE School of Business Take advantage of opportunities such as attending meetings, trainings or presentations and by asking for things to do
I think it looks very professional on my resume. The fact that my major is interrelated to my job shows that I do have some extent of experience, specifically in political science, some leadership, and some actual practical uses of political science rather than simply theory or from a book. The practical aspect will be very useful in my future. Nasir Almasri, Political Science, SIUE Student Government I was previously at DCFS and every day was different. I was the court liaison, so I went to court and made sure all the case workers were there and see all the cases. When I was in the office, I had to make sure that the case workers were there on time and they knew when their next court date was. I got multiple opportunities to go to trainings that were provided to me by my supervisor and to go on a bunch of investigations, which was pretty eye opening and cool. I recently just switched agencies to the IL Dept. of Public Health because it s more suited for my major and more on the career path I m going towards and am working on a program currently to pre-qualify engineers, architects and contractors. Crystal Converse, Health Education, Vince DeMuzio Governmental Internship Program Network, make contacts, put it on your resume and describe on your resume, to whatever extent you can, what you ve done. When you do a job interview, make sure you incorporate what you ve learned in the internship in your interviews. Don t keep it a secret. Let everyone know what you ve done. It will help students in the long run with all the things they ve learned. Market yourself well and use it as one of the components of your marketing plan. Dr. Gireesh Gupchup, Dean of the School of Pharmacy For the students who are not participating in the Career Development program, you re really missing out on a lot of opportunities. You could be going to career fairs networking, that s how I landed this position by networking with our IT recruiter. Going to the mock interviews, I ve been able to learn from IT recruiters on what I can improve with my interview skills. As well as Employer Panels, which will give you invaluable experience on what to put on your resume and what to do in interviews. Joseph Randazzo, CMIS, Emerson Be professional: dress the part, be on time, stay off your cell phone and social media
I think it teaches you the tools of the real world. What you learn in the classroom is all theoretical. It helps you think and be able to complete projects, but you don t get the actual experience of working with other individuals or other Engineers and how the system actually works within the job, like where you re going to go to get information or how you re going to proceed to the next step. And with Ameren, I feel that I ve learned a lot from some of the Engineers and supervisors on how to behave, how to act, how to complete projects, and what they are actually looking for out of an Engineer. Glen Price, Electrical Engineering, Ameren Absorb as much as you can. Learn as much as you can. Open your eyes and ears. Know the people around you in the industry. Get involved in the networking and if possible, find a mentor especially in that field. A Co-op/internship is a win-win situation for both the company and the student. If they like the company and the job, then they should really work hard to prove themselves that they will add value to that company and convince the company to hire them permanently. Dr. Hasan Sevim, Dean of the School of Engineering The best part is probably the people I work with. The Engineers are all really nice and helpful. I feel like they really care about me, my learning and my career. The classroom really can t teach you everything to expect out in the field. You get a lot of real, actual engineering experience having a job at an engineering company. John Samuels, Electrical Engineering, Ameren I hope they learn what it s really like to be out in the workforce and in a professional environment. They are treated just like employees here at Emerson. They have just as complicated work to do as our full-time employees do. Cathy Ash, Director Web Delivery, Emerson It s great being in corporate public relations because everyone is willing to try new things and get to know you and since I m young, people want to know a fresh, new face and fresh, new ideas. A lot of opinions come from me, which may be surprising to most people, but I ll sit in meetings and listen to conference calls and I m basically a sponge every single day, which is really fun. Emily Skeels, Speech Communication (PR), Emerson Develop professional relationships by never underestimating the power of networking
According to Employers Who Recruit at SIUE... Ranking of Ideal Candidate Qualities: 1. Honesty/Integrity 2. Communication Skills 3. Strong Work Ethic 4. Motivation/Initiative 5. Teamwork 6. Interpersonal Skills 7. Flexibility/Adaptability 8. Analytical Skills 9. Detail Oriented 10. Organizational Skills 11. Computer Skills 12. Leadership 90% of employers who responded said they believe students or recent alumni have a distinct advantage over other entry level candidates if they have participated in a Co-op/Internship or other experiential education opportunity Ranking of Candidate Qualifications: 1. Prior Work Experience (including Co-op/Internship/Practicum) 2. Interviewing Skills 3. Resume Quality 4. Extracurricular, Volunteer or Leadership Abilities 5. Grade Point Average 49% of employers said they convert more than 20% of their participating students to full-time employees
Criteria: Interested in Participating? Here s How! Good academic standing: GPA is 2.0 for undergraduate students GPA is 3.0 for graduate students Available at least two (2) semesters before graduation Minimum of 30 credits/sophomore status International students qualify for CPT (Curricular Practical Training) Registration with the CDC, which includes the following: Resume is critiqued by the CDC (either in an appointment or via email) Resume is uploaded to your Jobline account on the CDC s website and approved by whomever critiqued your resume Online Co-op/Internship Orientation is completed After the Job is Offered and Accepted: Complete the Training Agreement (employers) Complete and return the Risk Assumption Form (students) Student will be registered in appropriate course for transcript recognition Employer Evaluations and Student Reports completed at end of each term Turn in for grade Note: students in the School of Pharmacy only complete paperwork one time per year Contact the Career Development Center with specific questions by calling 618-650-3708, emailing them to careerdevelopment@siue.edu or stopping by the office in the Student Success Center, room 0281. 22% of employers said they convert more than 50% of their participating students to full-time employees