The employers range across industries and are small and medium in size (less than 1000 employees) and can be private or public companies, firms, or not for profit organizations.  One important distinction of a smaller business is their need for well-rounded employees (e.g. a position which requires you to wear many hats). 

To prepare for your first day on the “job”, make sure you know the following important details from whoever is your point of contact within the company:

1. Start time and location – address, floor, and even room number

2. Who you will ask for upon arrival – this is not always your contact in the company

3. What you will need to bring with you – the company may require you bring your own laptop if they don’t have any extras, for example

4. Your work hours – what time you start, can leave, and take lunch

5. Dress code – most sites are business casual which is defined in the following article - Dress Code

6. What to do during lunch – lunch is often an important social opportunity for you so you will want to know whether the company typically eats together in (bring your lunch) or grabs a bite together

7. When you can meet with your contact – it is very important that you schedule regular meetings with your boss or point of contact within the company so you can share what is working and isn’t and get any questions or concerns addressed. A weekly status meeting is appropriate and often scheduled for Friday afternoon or Monday mornings. 

8. If the your position is virtual/remote, you will still want to ask most of these questions

First thing you do is celebrate – do a little dance or pat yourself on the back because you just beat the odds. Even on campus2careers, this is the most competitive step in the recruiting process. 

Second thing you do is prepare – get back on their company profile page available at campus2careers and look at content they have included about themselves and the job. You will want to be able to explain why you are the best person for the job, and often that means doing it with less supervision and high-quality results. Remember, this position exists because the employer has no one else to do it, so you need show how you will be able to quickly pick up the role without taking them away from their other responsibilities. In fact, the best answer to why a company should hire you is a simple one: you plan on making their lives easier by performing this role to the best of your ability with as little of their time and energy as possible. 

Another way to prepare is to spend time on their company website, if one is available. Review the bios of their leadership team if they offer this on their company website. It is important to know more about the other people at the company, their background, interests, hobbies, etc. More than anything, employers want employees they will enjoy working with and having commonality is an important factor that you can relay in an interview.  

And finally, you practice. The following article has great tips for how to prepare and practice, including how to dress and the most common interview questions for an internship, job, or more - Preparing for an Interview. No matter how much you practice in the mirror, your first interviews are the best practice you can get, so don’t get too disappointed if they don’t go as well as you had visualized. 

Students have told us that creating a resume can be daunting. Creating a resume does require significant thought to be able to present the most important points about you but it shouldn’t’ be stressful. We’ve made it easier and less stressful to highlight the most important points by providing a pre-formatted profile which includes everything a resume does plus options for you to include other information that will help you stand out. We strongly recommend you also have a traditional resume and attach it under the Additional Information section of the profile page.  Sample resume templates can be found on the Resources page.  Remember, you are more than a resume...so make sure you use all the available options on your student profile page to highlight this to employers.

The goal of the resume is to get you an interview, so you want to highlight areas and experiences that will relate to the employer and position. Experiences can be anything from your background, not just prior work experience which many college students don’t have. Most things you have done in college can be related to some position or industry. For example, have you ever organized a club, Greek, or group event? This effort involved sales, marketing, and management skills. How about managed a team for a class project? This effort shows prioritization, leadership, and execution. You have more business related experiences than you think; now just think hard to get them all on your profile. 

In the resources section, you will find resume templates that can help get you started building your paper-based resume using a different format than the profile page. The following link is the best article we have found in writing your first resume, but contains good information even if you are pro - First Resume. And if you cannot think of anything to write at all, check out the following link from the same author - Resume Basics. 

While the resume is important, we believe you are more than what can be summed up on a piece of paper or in a GPA. So while we strongly recommend you create a resume for your campus2careers profile, the video,/picture, skills, preferences, and other information about you is key to being matched and standing out to the employer.  

It is up to you and the employer to coordinate compensation. Make sure you have the details of your arrangement in writing with clear criteria around how, when, and what you will be paid. For internships, confirm with the school or professor that the work you are doing will qualify, and obtain details of what the employer needs to provide to earn credit. Depending on the arrangement, your compensation may qualify you for taxes. You should speak with an accountant to learn more. 

The site is designed to match you with employers and opportunities that fit your skillset, preferences, and interests; so you will automatically be introduced to companies on the site. In addition, however, we advise users to share your profile and other information with companies you come across to help you stand-out above the other matches.   Remember, you are more than your resume – so take the opportunity to connect with employers.

Most job boards are riddled with scams, either the company, position, or person is not who they say they are or the opportunity they are offering is not adding value to the community. In our initial release, we are personally touching and validating almost every company on our site that you will be interacting with to ensure they are legitimate and will offer pay or valuable work experience for your time and services.  

An internship is a temporary position for a fixed period of time (e.g. summer) with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment, making it similar to an apprenticeship. Internships provide opportunities for students to gain experience in their field, determine if they have an interest in a particular career, create a network of contacts, or gain school credit. Internships provide the employers with cheap or free labor and the prospect of interns' returning to the company for full-time employment after completing their education.

A project is a collaborative enterprise between the employer and student that is carefully planned to achieve a particular outcome. Students are particularly good candidates for research, website design and development, marketing, business planning and other deliverable-based projects. Like an internship, a project is a temporary position or assignment that often involves learning but usually includes a payment or other form of monetary value upon completion. This is because the student is often better equipped to complete the project than the employer. For example, students have access to research capabilities on campus that small- and medium-sized businesses do not, making it worthwhile to offer a payment for the services provided.

A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Part-time workers commonly work fewer than 30 hours a week but may still be eligible for certain employment benefits depending on the size and structure of the company. Unlike an internship, the student is not working to learn or for school credit but rather for the pay. Students are often looking for part-time work during the school year to cover expenses.  

One of the goals of campus2careers is to match you with students who meet the requirements of your job and fit the culture of your company. Students on our site will have different degrees, majors, undergraduate thru graduate, and represent 4-year public and private institutions, community colleges, as well as trade schools. Once matched with a student, use their rich digital profile to screen the candidate and make a selection decision.  

Internships are designed to provide experience and/or school credit, and under some circumstances they may be offered to students unpaid. If you are planning on posting an unpaid internship on this site, please review the Legal Considerations for Internships articles on the Resources Page for employers to see if you qualify.  Even if your organization and the opportunity qualifies, if a student is going to work for free there must be other benefits associated with their employment, e.g. learning, accreditation, food and more. Most schools require students complete an internship in order to graduate. Make sure you know the criteria or requirements for the student to earn school credit and help them with their application and accreditation as much as possible.

Upper classman, advanced degree, and/or more experienced students may only consider an internship which offers a stipend or pay. A stipend is a monetary payment made in a lump sum (e.g. after the summer’s employment) or monthly and is less than a typical hourly rate or salary from part-time work. Commissions and other alternative forms of payment would also be well received by students. 

This is difficult to answer as it will depend on the type of student you are looking to engage as well as the type of opportunity you are offering – see above question (e.g. internship, part-time, full-time or project based work.)  If you are offering an internship there may be legal considerations, see the Legal Considerations for Internships links on the Resources Page for employers.  In addition, the adage “that you get what you pay for” does apply here, so unless you are offering a really great internship with learning opportunity and school credit, it is advisable to offer the student some form of compensation. The following article provides some good information about how to structure opportunities for students - Successful Internships.

campus2careers is interested in partnering with any career center or colleges to promote our site on campus and to local SMBs who do not recruit on campus currently. We will promote your career services to our users and be able to provide important analytics like the following in a future release:

1. Range of jobs or internships your students are taking

2. Average salary for jobs your students are being matched with - by job type, degree, and against other schools

3. Degree to job match for your students against other schools

4. Your school’s placement rate against other schools

5. Top skillsets coming from your school against other schools

6. Top cultural, career, and work environment preferences from students at your school against other schools

7. And More