Study Finds Interns Not Getting Hired.

Newly minted college graduates are caught in a bind. More than ever, first-time job seekers need to have an internship or two on their resumes to be competitive applicants. But internships are rarely a shortcut to full-time employment; a survey released last month showed half of employers haven’t hired any interns in six months.
The findings help explain why half of all recent college graduates are jobless or underemployed, says Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, a Generation Y research and consulting firm in Boston, which commissioned the study.
No Guarantees
"Employers have high expectations of interns, yet they don’t hire interns and they don’t hire into full-time jobs,’’ Schawbel says. “ A lot of people think if they get an internship it will magically turn into a job, but those expectations are gone.’’
Experience Inc., a career services provider for colleges, conducted the study by examining the hiring practices and employment needs of 225 companies in its data pool of 100,000 U.S. companies.
The survey found that employers believe students need to pay their dues as interns; a majority of survey respondents said job-seeking students should perform more than one internship and 87 percent of respondents said an internship should last at least three months. But spending a semester as an underpaid underling is no guarantee to employment. Of the companies surveyed, only 16 percent said they hired at least half of their interns. More than a quarter of companies surveyed hired none of their interns as full-time workers.
“Students should strive to have as many internships as possible before graduation and not rely on a single employer for a job offer,’’ says Schawbel, who says he landed seven internships in college.
Not All Doom and Gloom
But there is good news for the 1.7 million college students who are earning diplomas this spring. Nearly 90 percent of employers surveyed say they are going to hire more recent graduates this year.
The study found that a third of companies are recruiting engineering and computer information systems majors and nearly a third have sought liberal arts majors. Just 18 percent are recruiting finance and accounting majors combined.
What Employers Really Want
Taking junior year abroad shouldn't make or break a resume; fewer than half of employers said that a graduate’s global perspective was vital. Just a little more than a quarter of employers said they prized a graduate having years of experience.
Nearly all employers view communication skills as being important or very important when hiring entry-level workers, the study found. Employers also cited positive attitudes and teamwork skills as nearly as important.
Companies prize soft skills—such as clear writing and sharing information—over hard skills and view the soft skills as ones that are hardest to find in new recruits, Schawbel says.
Check the Attitude
But having the right skills won’t suffice if a student flubs an interview. More than 40 percent of employers in the study reported being turned off by how unprepared students were in interviews and a quarter found the interviewees showed a bad attitude.
Schawbel says that while most employers aren’t on the Web hunting for students, students must look there, and everywhere else.
"You got to use everything at your disposal: networking, career services, joining philanthropy groups, using the social networks, getting active on LinkedIn groups,’’ he says. “ My whole mantra is, you can’t rely on anything.’’
Has your business taken on interns? How many have you hired for permanent positions?

11:56 by Robert dawne · 1

The 7 Fundamentals of Building a Successful Business

First comes the idea, then a bit of follow-through and, ideally, in the end you have a business.
But if a company thrives, it's not because its founder filed all the right paperwork, got a P.O. box and had business cards made up. There's much more to building a successful business than those initial basics.
In fact, to make sustained growth more likely, small businesses need a smart, strategic plan. Whether a company is in its infancy or has been around for years, there are a few things every savvy small-business owner needs to keep in mind.

Identify your customers
It's important to share word of your business when you start out and as you grow in order to maintain a customer base. But instead of the cast-a-wide-net approach, try something a little more focused, strategic and rooted in research. Invest in market research—which you can either hire consultants to do or informally conduct yourself—to best identify who your customers are, then compare that data with who you would like your customers to be. From there, you can make an informed decision about where and how to reach them and launch a marketing initiative with a better chance of yielding a return on your investment.
Make sure you've got a professional keeping the books
If you don't think you're a numbers person, it'll be difficult for you to be a truly successful entrepreneur. If you're not qualified to keep your company's books yourself (and you should have an accounting background to do so if you expect any significant growth), you need to understand at least the very basics of accounting so that you can make a good hire of someone more adept to take on that work.
Foster good office culture
Retaining your talent is important for a number of reasons. It's costly (in terms of time and money) to train new employees, and it's be a huge burden to lose a staffer who's led projects for your company. One of the best ways to keep your people on board, and attract new hires, is to cultivate a solid office culture. You know, the kind of place people want to come to. As a small business owner, it's up to you to champion that welcoming, friendly, fun, productive environment. (Read more on creating a great office culture.)
Invest in the basics
Experts have said time and again that a business's success ultimately comes down to its people. Be prepared to pony up the time and energy it takes to vet, recruit, hire and train employees that not only are qualified but also fit within your organization. That means looking ahead to figure out which positions you'll need to hire for, and networking to find the best candidates. Another fundamental element of a successful company in 2012 is its website. Having an amateurish online presence will hurt your credibility and steer people to your competitors with more refined web content. There's a price tag on a good website, but its payback makes it worthwhile.
Listen, especially when you disagree
You started a business because you had an idea and a vision. But your business will only grow if you pay careful attention to your stakeholders and customers. Your board, investors, colleagues and customers can each offer you valuable insight, whether it's about the inner workings of your company or an outside perspective on its functionality and service. It's particularly important to listen when you disagree, like if a board member critiques your methods or a customer isn't happy. That's where you can best learn about your deficiencies and how to improve (translation: It's where you learn how to stay successful).
Plan conservatively
Do everything you can to avoid being surprised when you don't reach financial goals. Set realistic expectations, and have a clear plan on how to get there. Undershooting your revenue estimates will help ensure that your plans, which are based on how much money your business makes, won't derail the company. If you aim high and fall short of reaching your expected margins, it can be disastrous to your firm. (Get more tips on forecasting.)
Find a mentor
There are professionals, entrepreneurs and industry experts in your community who have already gone through the business-building process. Learn from them. They have suggestions to share and failures they've learned from that can spare you the pain and cost of making those same mistakes yourself. It's valuable to have an experienced, trustworthy advisor to review your ideas and help position you to improve and succeed.

13:09 by Robert dawne · 0