Looking for First-Time Internships?...Don't Go Here
Written: Jul 05 '00 (Updated Jul 05 '00)
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Prior to this summer, during which I was aiming to score an internship, but communication problems killed my only sure hope, I had little worry about a summer job. I applied to several places looking for internship spots to gain some valuable experience in the hot IT field in which I am majoring.
Granted, I have only gone through my first year, but now I feel like a fool since the school I am enrolled in at Penn State University had led me to believe we, the students, were being sought out for internships. What a joke! Unfortunately after coming up empty, I decided to post a resume to HotJobs.com since I figured it would get a far greater degree of exposure than using the Penn State Internship Office's resume-uploading system.
What I found, however, was that I received only 1 call from someone looking to hire with a job offer for me. Delighted, I called the number, and the guy who called thought I was a college grad, when, on HotJobs, you specifically designate whether you are still in school or are a professional. He told me to call back when I get my degree. Very funny...
At this point (July 5, 2000), my resume has:
1)Come up in a search 148 times
2)Been viewed by a HotJobs member company 13 times, and
3)Shows the one job I applied to through HotJobs.
To me, these numbers seem very inefficient, thought I am a bit biased. I am not faulting the HotJobs company or website, but what I am recommending is that if you are in a position such as myself when you are looking for your first internship, you should directly contact companies about job availability instead of through mass-resume services at this point.
I have had far greater success as a freelance job-searcher, it's easier that way, as you can more easily tailor-make what YOU want to do.
Likes:
--HotJobs is a very easy site to navigate and join.
--Uploading resumes is fast and efficient.
--Job searches can be easily narrowed down to fit your personal preferences for where you want to work, etc. etc.
--You can even block your resume from companies you don't want to be bothered thereby increasing your personal privacy.
--Users also have the option to save jobs they have researched.
--HotJobs automatically creates a well-documented listing of which jobs users have applied for.
--Users can set up search agents to search specific jobs at specified intervals, sending the user an e-mail after positive results are reached.
Dislikes:
--When your statistics read favorable searches, that does not measure the efficiency or likelihood that you'll be successful on HotJobs.
--As mentioned, HotJobs is not for first-time internship-seekers.
LowDown:
I like what HotJobs has to offer, I like what they do, and I have interacted with the site enought to know it has great potential, it just won't work too well for people like me.
I have heard many success stories about HotJobs.com, so it apparently works for people with degrees other than a high school diploma on their resume, but in any other case, you'll get less-than-desirable results.
Stick to your respective school's system for uploading resumes, as well as seeking out your own, a method which has far greater success rates than the resume-automation trend.
Thank you.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bassist695
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Location: Hartford, CT
Reviews written: 83
Trusted by: 25 members
About Me:
Newly graduated and not jobless, yet life could be better!
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