You’ll have an edge over the competition if you participate in an internship or otherwise gain work-related experience, according to several recent surveys conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Currently, the federal government offers a wide range of internships that can lead to permanent positions. More than 60,000 students and undergraduates, graduate students, law students, and recent graduates work in summer and year-round internships based across the United States and overseas.
These programs, says Lily Whiteman, author of How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job, feature training, mentoring, career-building seminars, and lectures. And jobs are available in virtually every discipline: everything from information technology and economics, to art and history.
Approximately 95 percent of the organizations responding to NACE’s Job Outlook 2009 survey said candidate experience is a factor in their hiring decisions. More than three-quarters are most interested in relevant work experience, but almost 20 percent give candidates points for any type of work experience. In addition, results of a separate NACE study show that employers are placing more emphasis on internship and cooperative education programs to "grow" their own employees. Then, they look to their own interns when they have job opportunities.
If you're interested in finding an internship or want a stepping stone to a federal job, read Whiteman's Summer Work Can Be a Launching Pad that will give you a step up to your career.