A lot of companies — especially in these tough economic times — want to “try before they buy,” so they’re looking to their intern pool for potential hires. Nearly seven in ten large companies and four in ten small companies made full-time job offers to interns in 2012, according to a survey of more than 300 companies by Internships.com.
许多公司,尤其是在现在这样经济不景气的时候,都想要“买前试用”,所以他们会在自己的实习生中寻找潜在的员工。根据Internships.com网站对300多家公司的调查,在2012年,将近70%的大公司和40%的小公司都提供全职实习职位。
Plus, more companies are hiring interns than before, likely thanks, in part, to the rough economy: 36 percent more companies offered internships in 2012 than in 2011, and more than half say they will hire more interns in 2013 than the previous year. They’re also having interns do more “real” work. “Internships aren’t about busywork anymore,” says management consultant and executive coach Marc Dorio. “Companies are using interns for real things, not just for making copies or getting coffee.”
此外,跟过去相比,越来越多的公司开始招聘实习生,经济不景气似乎是原因之一。和2011年相比,提供实习的公司增加了36%,而且超过一半的公司称他们在2013年会比去年招更多的实习生。同时,他们还让实习生做更多“实质性的”工作。“实习生不再做可有可无的事,”管理顾问和行政人员教练Marc Dorio说。“公司开始让实习生做真正的工作,而不只是复印文件或者泡咖啡。”
That means that in many cases, “the internship is like a lengthy interview,” says Dorio. “Many companies are watching you to see if you’d be a good hire down the road.” For college students this means big-time job opportunity (and probably relief, since unemployment and underemployment for recent college grads is hovering around 40 percent).
这就意味着在很多情况下,“实习就好像是一次长期的面试,”Dorio说。“很多公司都会观察,看看你是否能成为一个好的员工。”对于大学生来说这意味着绝好的工作机会(也许得不到这个机会,因为最近大学毕业生的失业率和不充分就业率在40%左右)。
That said, landing the right internship isn’t always easy and unless you handle it like a pro, you likely won’t be offered a job. Here are some tips to help you through the internship process.
这就是说,做好一份实习并不总是那么容易,除非你能表现得专业一些,否则你不能得到正式工作。下面这些建议会对你的实习阶段有帮助。
1. Start early and search smartly
1. 抢占先机,聪明寻找
While many people wait until late fall or spring to score a summer internship, Dorio says this is a mistake. “You may even want to start the year before to get a jump on the crowd,” he says.
很多人都等到秋季末或者春季才开始找暑期实习,Dorio说这是一个错误。“你甚至可以提前一年开始找,好在人群中脱颖而出,”他说。
Even though internships may not be listed on a job site at that point, Dorio suggests that students surf the web for companies they might want to intern at. Look for companies in the right geographic region and that have jobs in your field that you might want to work at when you graduate.
哪怕实习岗位也许不会在招聘信息中被列出来,Dorio还是建议学生们应该去浏览一下想要去实习的那家公司的网页。你毕业后想在哪个地区工作,就去找在那个地区的公司的实习岗位。
Then look for the right contact person at that company. So, for example, if you want to work in marketing, look for the email of the VP of marketing and send him or her a note about why you want to work at the company and your qualifications and a copy of your resume. (Have the career counselor at your college or alma mater read through your cover letter and resume before you send.) You could also reach out to the company human resource’s department, but Dorio cautions that your resume may then “get lost in the shuffle” of all people applying for vacant jobs.
还要找到这家公司合适的联系人。比如说,如果你想做销售,就去找这家公司销售副总的电子邮件,给他/她发一封邮件,告诉他/她你为什么想在这家公司工作,并且附上你的学位证书和个人简历。(发邮件之前先让你们学校或母校的职业咨询师看看你的求职信和简历。)你也可以和公司的人力资源部门联系,但Dorio提醒说这样你的简历可能会在其他人的求职信中“被忽略”。
2. Build relationships
2. 建立人际关系
Once you score an internship, build relationships with myriad employees within the organization, says Dorio. “Ask people to lunch so you can learn what they do, go to social events, join the softball team,” he suggests. You never know who might be in the position to hire you later on — even if they end up moving on to another company — so try to impress everyone that you can.
Dorio说,一旦你得到了实习,要和公司里众多的员工建立人际关系。“邀请其他人共进午餐,这样你就可以知道他们在做什么。出席社交活动,参加垒球队,”他建议说。你永远不知道今后谁会是你的上司——即使他们跳槽去了别的公司——所以尽你所能给每个人留下深刻印象。
3. Go above and beyond
3. 做到极致
Everyone knows that they need to do a good job at an internship in order to get hired later on, but in this economy “good” might not cut it. “You have to go above and beyond,” says Dorio. “Ask for work, ask your boss ‘what else can I do for you’,” he says. Interns may also want to get to work before the boss and stay later, join committees, attend training seminars and watch company webinars.
每个人都知道,为了得到正式职位,他们需要在实习中有良好的表现。但在当前的经济环境下“良好”是不够的。“你必须做到极致,”Dorio说。“去找事情做,问问你的老板‘我还可以为你做什么’。” 实习生也许还应该比老板到得早、走得晚,加入委员会,参加培训班,观看公司网络研讨会。