<p>An odd question, I know, but just wondering if there really are, in fact, jobs that are posted as internships that really do not exist.</p>
<p>I've heard some hiring managers say that a lot of times, companies have someone in mind for a job, ie, an employee's neighbor or child, but they are procedurally bound to post the job for people to apply to, even though they've really filled the position.</p>
<p>We've seen internship postings that will be up for only a day, then will be closed.</p>
<p>Why such a short period of time? Do they have so many qualified applicants so quickly, that they want to cut off the deluge of applicants, or do they really already have someone for the job and posting it is just a formality?</p>
<p>Sorry for the poor choice of words. I guess the jobs are "real", but are they really not "job openings", as they really never were, in fact, "open".</p>
<p>Every place I’ve worked and an internship or job comes up they always ask everyone within the organization if they are interested. Some places they won’t even post it and just give it to the internal candidate, some they post it for a week but really it was always going to the internal, and some they make the internal compete with the outside and an outside might get it. </p>
<p>But…up for only a day? That’s a little bizzare. usually have em for a at least a week.</p>
<p>Son found a posting on a new search engine that was posted 23 hours ago at the time he found it. It took him all day to do his profile, as he had classes all day and had to keep coming back to it, and the next day, he went in to do a skills section that he wasn’t prompted to do the first day. When he checked in, two days after the job was posted, it was no longer up. It was a bit frustrating, as he had taken the time to fill out the multipage profile even though he had lots of tests and projects at the time, only to find that the job had already closed. At least he’s in the system for next year, as he will be working in an on campus lab this summer, but he wondered if this was one of those “phantom” posts that really wasn’t an open position in the first place.</p>
<p>If you are referring to USAJOBS.gov, then yes, they are required to post the announcement even if they have someone in mind and keep the posting open for ONE day at a minimum. If, however, they had a specific person in mind when posting it, and then a guy who matches it even better applies, nothing is stopping them from instead accepting guy #2. They would probably say to the guy #1 before they make the announcement “Have your documents ready as we will post the announcement today”. Most of this doesn’t happen in the low level positions, however, as it is usually happening for people at higher ends of the pay scale.</p>
<p>No, not USAJOBS, but a regular engineering firm, for internships. </p>
<p>I discussed this with my sister today, who has been in computer/engineering management for 30 years and she said, yes, this does happen.</p>
<p>She was laid off two years ago and had to enter the job search again, and she also bemoaned the fact that it took her hours, despite being proficient in computers and having word documents ready that she could cut and paste, to fill out the current spate of job applications.</p>
<p>My nephew, her son, has been trying to get a park ranger position and been filling out USAJOBS for the past four years, and not a bite. She keeps encouraging him to join the Coast Guard, as veteran status will put him at the top of the pile for many positions he’s applying for.</p>
<p>Montegut, I understand where you are coming from. My son applied to around 30 company internships in multiple states - only heard back on one and they wanted to interview him. He declined as he had an REU by then. It was very discouraging and I do think it is a bit suspicious. Not a word, really?</p>
<p>Later I found out from a hiring Physician that one of the major hospitals in Boston had offered dozens of internships and had given them to family and friends, but “had to post anyway” for HR reasons, causing hundreds of enthousiastic students to spend their time applying with never ever a single change of anyone reading their application. This may be the way internships are handled at other places as well, which could explain the total silence after an application is submitted.</p>
<p>Every summer has been a struggle, this year 7 REU’s, one offer and 30+ company internship applications and one interview. We have been very fortunate that this is the summer of his junior year and he will not have to do this again. He feels very very lucky to have gotten anything!</p>
<p>We are discouraged as son will be a senior next year. If he wanted to go right into the work force after college, this was the summer to make that connection.</p>
<p>He was offered a lab position doing the research he’s been doing the last two years, and was thrilled to accept that, but if he either decides not to go to grad school, or is not accepted into grad school, will he have no chance at a full-time job with his undergrad mechanical engineering degree? And what’s the guarantee that he’ll get a job with a master’s, if he can’t even get a low paying, low qualifying undergraduate internship?</p>
<p>We are wondering if he will have to apply for internships for next summer as well, and then hope that turns into a full-time job.
At that point, he’ll have graduated, so won’t qualify for a lot of internships. And he’ll no longer qualify for working in his professor’s lab, either, as he’ll no longer be enrolled there.</p>
<p>Montegut, I would definitely advise your son to try to find as many internships as possible and apply to all of them. Luckily, there are a lot of internships specifically looking for grad school students, so your son may have better luck getting offers from those than the ones that get applications from undergrads all over the country. Your son should also talk to his college’s Career Center early next semester (or even this semester), and search the alumni database to try to connect with those in companies he’d be interested in interning for. It’s a lot easier to get an internship if you know someone on the inside that can vouch for your skills.</p>
<p>EDIT: By the way, I’ve interned for a large engineering company before and I know first hand that some of these postings are “fake” in that they already have a person in mind for them. In large companies, they have to follow certain protocol to hire someone. So even if they aren’t looking for new applicants, to hire the people they have in mind, they still have to post an internship application. I was recruited by a company and basically already offered a position, but they had to post an application and let me apply to it because of internal HR tracking and whatnot. Your son probably tried to apply to one of these “pre-filled” positions. Because a lot of big companies tend to work like this, and very few applications are actually “real” applications, I really would advise your son to try to talk to alumni from his school that might have managerial positions at a company he’d like to work for. It is much easier to get an internship that way.</p>
<p>The process of recruiting and hiring is changing, and it has become very commonplace to hire those who have recommendations within the corporation, or to promote internally. That is why networking is becoming so crucial. It is increasingly difficult to land a job by responding to a job posting when employees of that company are also applying, or referring close friends, family, and previous colleagues. Having a personal recommendation from within the company can have a huge impact.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if this is as true for internships, but certainly so for most regular, long-term positions. Unless you make a powerful impact on your resume and cover letter, they’re likely to go for someone that their sales manager is raving about, or the nephew of their vice president. That is why it’s typical to send out so many applications and only get a bite from one or two. Sometimes it’s just timing.</p>