Sophomore Year Goals: How early in your college career do you actually need to start looking for a job?

Last month, 20,000 students returned to Metropolitan State University of Denver eager to take on the challenge of higher education.

Along with the impending student loan payments soon to come, I think the start of the new school year reminds the prior year's graduates (who may still not have the career of their dreams) that they have indeed been out of college now for almost a year.

With that realization, Alumni and Career Service Departments across the country begin to see an influx of career appointments. I starting thinking, what can career professionals do to better prepare students (through all four years of their higher education experience) be ready for the job search we know is inevitability coming?

My last post focused on freshman year being a time of exploration. Understanding that all the other suggestions I will have maybe hard to execute if one does not have a solid grasp on what it is they want to do after graduating. I provided a few tips to help freshman or transitioning students get in touch with their strengths and weaknesses to better inform what careers they would be best suited for.

This week we will talk about sophomore year assuming you are in a good place to answer: what would you like to do when you grow up? Sophomore year is about: getting real world experience related to those interest.

It's a good idea for students to do an internship during sophomore year because it will allow them to possibly do more than one internship during their college career, however, if you are just starting to think about internships consider applying for internships during the second semester of your sophomore year or the summer before your junior year. Many of the deadlines for summer internships are in March or April so when you begin the application process will determine when you will be doing your internship.

Remember internships are about giving you real world experiences but they also will help you build relationships with employers early on. In Internship Finder’s post, “Reasons Why Employers Have Internship Programs,” one corporate real estate employer explains that in many organizations, interns start with busy work and it’s not until later that they’re asked to be involved in meetings and decisions. 

It’s a good idea to start your internship search early in your college career so that you can get to the next phase of internships (where you actually get to do real work) sooner.

Also, because of the crowded market, the application process for summer internships could actually begins in the fall of the prior year according to Internships.com. The process continues into late May, but the earlier in the academic year you start, the more chances you’ll have of getting an internship

Applying for an internship will be similar to applying for a job so get your resume, cover letter and personal statements ready by visiting your schools career center or Alumni Career Services as we are often able to serve as backup when career services appointments get back up 2-3 weeks out.

For questions or more information about Alumni Career Services please call us at 303-556-8320 or email us at [email protected].