With finals just around the corner, many Tufts students have been preparing for months for the fast-approaching summer. For many, this includes organizing plans for a summer job - or a lack thereof.
Some students, such as sophomore and international relations major Leslie Hayward, are simply continuing jobs they obtained during the school year.
"In the middle of the second semester I ran out of money and badly needed a job, but nothing was available," she said. "I saw a posting on TuftsLife for a paid internship with a local environmental non-profit and managed to get the job, which was for the remainder of the semester and into the summer."
Not all students managed to be so lucky, however- those who are just beginning the search for a summer experience are faced with difficulties associated with a narrower job and internship market late in the season.
"Definitely, I didn't look early enough," sophomore Peter Radosevich said. "I probably could have pulled off an internship if I had applied early in the year, but now it's going to be working some mindless job that won't look good on my r?©sum?© or be interesting."
Junior Rachel Berkovitz is finding herself in a similar situation. "At this point, ideally, I would want a paid internship, but I'm not going to be able to find that this late in the semester," she said. "I'm just going to have to get a normal job."
But Director of Tufts Career Services Jean Papalia said students who are just beginning the search for a summer job or internship shouldn't despair just yet.
"We continue to receive internship listings daily, which we enter into our Monstertrak internship site," she said in an e-mail to the Daily, noting that there are numerous internship openings on Monstertrak.com even at this late stage spanning many industries, including entertainment, publishing, politics and marketing.
She also said that while many internships are still out there, not all are full-time, and not all are paid, either. "Many students will find a part time unpaid internship to get exposure to a career field and supplement that with a part-time summer job," she said.
Papalia also suggested students visit the Career Services Web site, which includes links to Monstertrak.com and other job hunting sites, as well as a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation offering an overview of the internship search process.
Career Services offers many resources to undergraduates, including consultations and an expansive library of career-related materials in addition to their online information, but Papalia said some students are unaware of these options.
Berkovitz is one such student. "I don't really know anything about it [Career Services], to be honest," she said. "I've never been there, but I've gotten e-mails from them. I'm skeptical as to how much they can help."
Radosevich said he didn't use Career Services for help with the summer job search.
"I figured it was more for upperclassmen or seniors trying to prepare to enter the workforce," he said. "I've never been there, been told I should go there, or even really thought about it that much."
Hayward met with Career Services earlier in the year, but said that most of the information given to her was already online.
"When I talk to people at Ivy League schools, their career services actually help set them up with jobs and internships, which is something that Tufts is totally lacking," she said.
"My career counselor did follow up with me by e-mail and was very willing to help, but what Career Services actually does is very limited."
While Career Services' role is different for each student, most can agree that getting a summer job or internship is helpful to a student's career for a number of reasons. Papalia emphasized that a job or internship should be more than just a way to make money or fill long summer days.
"It might be helpful to think about internships in the broadest sense: that is, a learning opportunity which can contribute to your career development by providing exposure to and hands on experience in an area of interest," Papalia said.
"Career development, including internship search, is an individualized process, which is why we encourage students to set up appointments with our staff to discuss their specific areas of interest."
Papalia also said reaching out socially on all levels as a proven way of finding potential leads for jobs.
"Research indicates that most people find jobs and internships through networking, so that's why we give it emphasis in our discussion with students," she said.
But Papalia said students must take the first step.
"There is no 'cycle' involved in networking; you can launch a networking initiative whenever you're ready," she said.
