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Internships serve as crucial
career launch pad

By Diane E. Lewis, Globe Staff, 4/13/03

Globe Staff Photo/Jim Davis Bill Rainford of BU (above) and Derek Harris of MIT (below) will be Microsoft interns this summer. Rainford's experience at a financial services firm has guaranteed him a full-time job. Harris has been an intern for Defense Information Systems Agency in Germany and the US Army. Globe Staff Photo/ David L. Ryan

As a part-time computer programmer for the New York Financial Information Exchange, Boston University student Bill Rainford has a pretty good deal: He telecommutes from his dorm. The experience led to guaranteed summer employment at the financial services firm as well as a full-time job when he graduates next year.

Then, Microsoft Corp. came calling. In January, it offered the 21-year-old Long Island native an internship at its lush campus in Redmond, Wash., making Rainford one of only 800 college students - out of a pool of 25,000 hopefuls nationwide - to land one of the coveted summer jobs.

What set Rainford apart from the pack? Good grades and a position he'd carved out for himself designing automated software tools to test the computer system that the Information Exchange uses to link brokers on the trading floor.

Rainford, who will receive a bachelor's and a master's degree in computer science in January 2004, is among three Massachusetts students who will work at Microsoft this summer. The others - MIT junior Derek Harris and Harvard University junior Jinger Zhao - were selected by the software maker because they, too, had found creative ways to use practical experience.

Whether you're a college freshman or a senior, internships or part-time work in the field of your choice are even more prized in a tough economy. Savvy college students view them as a way to build social capital in the workplace that pays off in the future with full-time jobs or interviews. More important: Employers now consider internships close to prerequisites to entry-level jobs.

''For our hiring process, interns do get a higher recommendation,'' said Colleen Wheeler McCreary, a senior technical recruiter for Microsoft. ''We give them goals, a mentor and a manager. They have a midpoint review and a final review. They get the full experience. We also tell them upfront during orientation that, not only is the summer internship an opportunity for them to check us out, but we are also checking them out for a possible permanent job.

''If I'm going to see 25,000 resumes,'' she added, ''then I want the [students] that have gone above and beyond the classroom. It says that this is something they are passionate about.''

Kate Wendleton, president of the Five O'Clock Club, a national outplacement center and career counseling firm, said the nation's sluggish economy has had less impact on internship programs than on full-time hiring of seasoned workers.

''In this economy, internships are critically important,'' she said. ''If you graduate from college and you've never had an internship or worked in your field, nobody's going to touch you. If all you've done in your junior or senior year is work at a summer camp or The Gap, then your experience is useless unless you plan to go into retail or work with children.''

When the National Association of Colleges and Employers in Bethlehem, Pa., asked 152 US employers whether they planned to recruit at college campuses this year, 48.3 percent said they intend to hire interns and co-ops for temporary jobs as well as some upcoming graduates for permanent jobs, down from 52.2 percent last winter.

At the same time, student demand for internships has climbed. In 1995, 63 percent of the college graduating class of 1995 had participated in at least one internship. Last year, 89 percent of the class of 2002 reported having had at least one interning experience, reports New York-based Vault Inc., the online jobs site and publishing firm.

But not every summer job or internship is worth putting on a resume. Focus on summer experiences that have what Samer Hamadeh, coauthor of the ''Internship Bible'' and cofounder of Vault Inc., calls ''resume radiance.''

''The more prestigious internships stick out on your resume,'' said Hamadeh. ''Employers base interviewing decisions on the names they see on resumes. If they see big names, it matters. It's like saying that you went to Harvard University, Stanford or Wharton. So, if you want to be in TV, then you need to find work at a place like Disney, Sony, or MTV. That makes you stand out against someone who might have done more than you, but worked at a no-name production house.''

With budgets tighter than ever and employers laying off, don't expect every summer internship opportunity to offer a lucrative salary. In all, 55 percent of all internships come without pay, Vault Inc. reported. That doesn't mean they're not worthwhile, however. If you want to break into a field and you've been given a chance to work at a top company or nonprofit for free, take the offer.

Volunteer to work, say, two or three days a week. Then, find other paid work flipping burgers, answering phones or waiting tables to help pay the bills. Better yet, try to land two internships - paid and unpaid.

That's what Jared Kareiner did. Kareiner, a 22-year-old senior and English literature major at Marymount Manhattan College in New York, wants to work in public relations when he graduates in June. So, when Fairchild Publications offered him an unpaid internship in the promotion department at W Magazine in Manhattan, he jumped at the chance. He puts in 16 hours per week there. Then, he has a paid internship at The Five O'Clock Club writing press releases and handling media inquiries. He puts in 32 hours there, earning enough to pay for living expenses.

''The friends I have who did not do any internships before they graduated are now doing things like waiting tables,'' said Kareiner. ''They don't have good jobs. I think most employers are looking for people who can hit the ground running and not just somebody with a degree.''

Hamadeh adds that employers aren't cutting back on unpaid programs these days. They're increasing them. ''The only thing that's out right now are the juicy perks, and even those depend on the industry or the company,'' he said. ''At Microsoft, one of the top internships in the country, you get a free car if you're in sales, free healthcare, and amazing pay. The company also offers round-trip airfare to and from the company's campus.''

Certainly, Rainford can attest to that. In January, Microsoft flew him out to Washington state after a company recruiter interviewed him on the BU campus. He had four to five interviews at the company's headquarters between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. ''They give you some time to do a little sightseeing,'' recalled Rainford. ''They give you a rental car, and you can go downtown and see Seattle and the sights.''

Microsoft's McCreary says the company routinely brings in about 800 college students in the summer. But this year, it received a staggering number of applications, ''definitely higher than it was a few years ago when multiple other companies were hiring,'' she said.

McCreary wouldn't reveal what interns will earn this year, but she willingly talked about perks. ''They can wear shorts and flip-flops all summer,'' she said. ''We have well organized activities - baseball games, a puzzle hunt, and a weeklong puzzle hunt that takes them all around Seattle. They go to sports games, dinner. Last year, they had three different skydiving trips, white water rafting and, as part of the package, we subsidized part of a rental car for them. . . We also pay them a monthly salary and it's very attractive, comparable to what an entry-level person would make at the company.''

Asked what set the three Massachusetts students apart from others who had applied for this year's internship, McCreary repeated the one word: passion.

''We look for students who are studying computer science and have a history or a proven track record such as internships that show a passion for technology as well as a record of raw smarts, people who can get the job done,'' she said. ''We want students who go above and beyond in terms of projects. People who write programs or create games have great experience that translates into our work force.

Take juniors Derek Harris and Jinger Zhao.

As a Microsoft intern, Harris will work this summer in the company's wireless section on Microsoft's .Net platform. He has worked there as a computer technician. One year, he was an intern computer technician for the Defense Information Systems Agency in Stuttgart, Germany. Son of a career soldier in the Army, Harris went to high school in Germany and is fluent in German.

His best internship thus far? Working for the Army last summer. ''I worked in the Officer Training Corps, modeling simulations,'' said Harris, an Austin, Texas, native who is majoring in electrical engineering and computer science. ''I learned how Army projects are created, from new boots for the Gulf [War] to new tanks and training equipment. I learned how they're started and how they go from budgeting analysis to implementation.''

When McCreary talked to Jinger Zhao, she was taken aback. Although Zhao had done quite a few research projects and did not have a dazzling internship under her belt, she had something else: a creative bent.

''Jinger had a club experience with the Harvard Computer Society that made her stand out,'' said McCreary. ''She had helped to develop an online computer dating service, and she talked about how she would go about making that a money-making operation. Members of the club weren't doing the dating service for money, just for fun. But we had a great discussion about it during her interview, and she completely stood out.''

Diane E. Lewis can be reached at dlewis@globe.com.

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