A community college education can help students increase their career options, but it’s not enough to simply attend classes and get a degree. Students need work experience – that’s related to their field of interest – to boost their chances of finding employment after graduation.
“Internships and getting some kind of work experience is one the most critical ways to get that foothold into the world of work,” says Tim Aldinger, director of workforce development services at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, a nonprofit that offers a variety of services for the schools and students.
“There’s all kinds of research out there to show that employers really want to see people that have some experience that they can rely on,” he says.
Career counselors encourage students to wait until they’re comfortable with their academics before they start working on internships. Waiting until the second semester or year of community college might be ideal. Even students who plan to transfer to four-year universities to complete their degrees benefit from starting internships at community colleges.
“It’s not too early,” says Won Kang, director of the center for career development at the CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York. “A lot of four-year institutions have students start as early as sophomore year getting internships because they know in a competitive field to get that internship as soon as possible only helps you in the long run,” he says.
Finding ways to fit in an internship can be a challenge for some students.
“A lot of them are working and need to work and need to earn an income so they are trying to figure out how they can fit in an internship that relates to their area of interest as well as working at the local Starbucks or what have you to support themselves,” say Sheri Hawes, co-op and internship manager at Howard Community College in Maryland.
But getting career experience is an important step in landing a job, experts say. Prospective students can look for resources now that can help them manage personal responsibilities, like child care, so they can fit an internship into their schedule.
Students should head to the school’s career center to get help with finding job opportunities. Finding paid internships in some fields can be a challenge, but those opportunities do exist, experts say. School career centers can also help students find other resources that may be able to assist them with their job search like the services offered by the Foundation for California Community Colleges.
An internship isn’t the only way to get job experience. Students can also look for part-time jobs or volunteer experiences to beef up resumes, Hawes says.
Students should also reach out to their school’s career center to learn interview skills, develop resumes and cover letters and get access to career prep planning tools and job databases for free.
Prospective and current students can also develop and tap into their network of family, friends and professionals to find internship and job opportunities. Ideally students should get work experience in a job that directly corresponds to their academic programs, but sometimes internships in related fields can help students boost resumes and learn other helpful job skills.
Fidel Gonzalez, a 25-year-old student who majored in general studies with an emphasis in business and accounting at Howard Community College, says that even though his marketing internship didn’t directly align with his career interest, it helped him develop the communication skills that he needs to work in business, learn what work styles appeal to him and what to look for in future jobs. It’s also helped him grow as a professional.
“I’ve become acclimated to a professional office experience where you have to dress up and come to work and be cordial to everyone and just get the basics down. I’ve never done anything like this in an office,” Gonzalez says.
Gonzalez now works in his major, doing bookkeeping full-time at a health care organization until he starts classes at Towson University in January.
Prospective community college students should go into school with their career in mind.
“This is not something that you should just kind of wait until right before you graduate or right before you transfer or think that you’re going to just cover it once you transfer to your next institution,” says CUNY’s Kang. “It should be something that you’re thinking about right away. How can I get connected to my career path? What are the steps that I need to take to make sure I’m best prepared before I graduate?”
