Although it may seem like a lifetime away right now, students may want to begin searching for an internship as soon as possible to help land that dream career after graduation.

Business Career Services Director Kathy Wieland said the earlier students begin pursuing an internship, the chances to land a better job after graduation are improved.

“We’ve had first-year students or freshmen be really prepared and focused on their job search and they’ve been successful,” she said. “You’ll position yourself better the earlier you start the professional job-seeking process.”

Michelle Hord, college recruiter for Alliant Energy, said students with more class experience typically earn the internships, although sometimes younger students are hired.

“We typically look for junior status or senior status students, but that is not always the case, either,” she said.

Nickie Dix, junior in communications studies, said she has had two internships during her time at Iowa State. She currently works as a public relations intern for the Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services Office along with taking classes and was an event planning intern for Pomerantz Events in Des Moines.

Having an internship helped her organize her life and improve her productivity, she said.

“Before, I didn’t really go to class that much . I slept in a lot,” Dix said. “[Now] I get up at like 6:30 Monday mornings and I’m excited like to come to work and stuff because of all the neat stuff I get to do.”

Although some students start their job searches earlier than others, it really is never too late to search for an internship or job, but chances diminish as students begin their pursuit closer to graduation, Wieland said.

“The thing about job searching is we are always there, we are ready when you are. We would prefer ‘ready’ doesn’t mean 30 days before graduation,” she said.

Steven Kravinsky, director of liberal arts and sciences career services, said although some students’ career plans are more complicated than others, he is confounded that many students do not use his office’s free services.

“If a career decision is a puzzle, we see some people with toddler puzzles, and we see people with thousand-piece puzzles,” Kravinsky said.

Typically, most students are ready to seriously pursue internships and full-time positions by their junior year, Wieland said.

“You for sure have to be in the game junior year,” she said. “Relationship-building is what it takes to get the job.”

She said students need to be able to confidently promote themselves to land internships and jobs.

“You have got to be prepared to talk about yourself like a product,” she said.

Landing the first internship is the hardest one, Wieland said.

“Start early, because there is a whole learning process that happens when you start looking for an internship – you have to learn how to talk about yourself, you need to listen to other people do it, you have to compete against other people,” she said.

Although grades are important in landing the initial internship, strong social skills are nearly as valuable, Wieland said. Many students with weaker grade point averages land competitive internships and positions due to strong communication skills, she said.

Hord said she thought strong communication skills are more important than grades.

“Communication is a big skill that really comes out, especially when you are at career fairs,” she said.

First impressions matter in the job interview, Wieland said.

“How you present yourself to others is really the crux of most businesses and most organizations – gone are any jobs where you work by yourself,” she said. “Pretty much all positions are going to involve some level where you are communicating something to someone, so your appearance is very important.”

Wieland said Business Career Services provides several tools that link students with employers like job postings, resume critiques and mock interviews.

Kravinsky said many students do not plan for careers following graduation, much to his frustration.

“People are mounting this huge amount of debt and then when they are graduating from school and when they haven’t done any career planning, they’re not finding the kinds of careers they want and the kinds of salaries they’d like to have,” he said. “It’s frustrating.”

Bring your strengths to the table

“The key is to focus on what you have to offer as opposed to what the company has to offer you,” Wieland said.

Most resumes should be clear, concise and limited to one page, with emphasis on performance, Wieland said.

“I like to see a fair amount of quantification and outcomes [on resumes],” she said. “What did you do at this position to impact the organization positively – I increased this, I decreased that. What were the outcomes, how much, how many?”

A 3.0 grade point average typically is the magic number when including it on a student’s resume, Wieland said. Students with lower grade points should be careful when deciding to include the information on their resume.

“A person who has had a fair amount of leadership and work experience can put on a 2.8 and be comfortable putting it on there,” she said.

Hord said she examines how applicants’ class experience correlates with company goals.

“We look at the classes they’ve taken and how it relates to what we’re looking for,” she said.

Hord said although most strong candidates have a strong grade point, lessons learned from prior internship or prior work experience play a strong role while examining new hires.

Know where you want to land

Wieland said many graduates may need to do their homework before deciding on a position.

“A lot of people just fly by the seat of their pants in negotiating offers, but you want to plan your strategy in advance,” she said.

Wait for employers to discuss your pay – don’t demand numbers on them – Wieland said, because the candidate will probably either high- or low-ball themselves.

The longer graduates wait to enter the workforce, the more obsolete their degree becomes, Wieland said.

“One reason people hire people out of college is you have the most cutting edge technology concepts, academic training and things just start to change,” she said.

Kravinsky said most students enrolled in the liberal arts-open option major lack career focus, reducing the chance of landing an internship.

“[Open option is] totally useless – you’ve got to have a focus,” he said. “The point is, when you approach a potential employer, you have to know why you’re there, what you want from the employer and what you can offer them.”

He said sometimes people who are indecisive choose majors like marketing or management. He said as long as a student understands the application of their degree, they will have no problem finding a job.

Wieland said students unsure of a career path or who are reconsidering their current choice should try an internship in a field just to see whether they enjoy it.

Although help is available on campus, Kravinsky said students need to take it upon themselves to plan their futures.