Hello! First post here so I hope I followed the rules correctly! I’m hoping to get some advice from other parents who have maybe been in the same boat with getting their kid to start taking finding a job post-college a little more seriously. Last summer, my son (sophomore at Iowa state) spent the summer at home so, with fall semester wrapping up, I’ve been encouraging him to start looking for internships for next summer. I’m just worried that he isn’t thinking about his future enough and I’ve heard that it’s better to find a job before you graduate then wait until after graduation. Has anyone else had any luck motivating their college kid to start thinking about the job market a little more? I was thinking a coach of some sort might be useful, but haven’t found any good ones out there for college students. Anyone have any suggestions or been in a similar situation?
At this stage, I’d be encouraging him to go to the career center to investigate summer internships/research positions/whatever would be applicable to his field of study. They can help him find options, get his resume in shape, etc. He could also talk to professors about suggestions they might have.
A few questions:
Has he ever had a Summer job or a part-time job while in school?
What is his major?
One thing you could do is tell him he is cutoff a month after graduation and rent on his room is due the 1st of the month.
Does he have an apartment that he has to rent through the summer anyway or is he coming home? You didn’t say what his major is, but there may be a lot of internship opportunities in Des Moines over the summer. As @suzy100 said, send him to the career center for help. He can also ask a professor in his major for recommendations of companies that have given their majors internships.
If you concerned about his motivation or willingness to actually do something about the summer, you need to make him not comfortable hanging out at home with nothing to do. Give him a bill to be responsible for… his summer rent and food, for instance.
And while, yes, it’s nice to have the job lined up before graduation, that’s 2 years away. Focus on the now. And remember, it may take a little while to find the first real job post-grad. Schools ask their grads about first destination around the 6 month mark.
We told our kids that they had to be self supporting after college graduation. They could come home for a couple of months before starting a job, but they needed to have something lined up. One hustled on job hunting starting around T-giving of senior year, got an offer in April, and started in July (with moving expenses paid!). Kid 2 applied to PhD programs and had funded offers to pick from, and was able to stay on her undergrad college campus and work in a lab the summer after graduating. So it is key to set expectations so they are motivated.
You are 100% right that internships are important to getting set up for that full time job. My nephew didn’t, and has struggled post graduation competing with students with more experience.
Your son should go to the ISU career center for help, Now is a good time (before break) — they can give him some ideas to pursue over the upcoming long winter break. Sometimes professors might have ideas, too, if he knows any well enough to ask. If he is a STEM student, he might be able to get a position in a lab on campus this summer (he can ask profs in his major).
Could you please clarify. Are you asking about a job for after his junior year summer…or are you asking about a job for when he graduates.
Our kids were told point blank that they needed to have summer jobs. Period. We provided no cars, or spending money, or discretionary spending money during the summers. In addition, we asked them to work to earn enough to cover their discretionary spending in college. We would not have bent on that. Yes…we gave our kids some spending money…BUT we expected them to work as well.
Does your son have a job during college? If not, why not?
Does he have any job experience at all?
While an internship sounds nice, frankly a regular job job would be good too. It’s nice to have some work experience on your resume. Working as a bus boy in a restaurant, or a dishwasher, or working in a fast food place…all have merit.
^^ THIS
Totally agree about going to the career center ASAP. They will help with the resume, have job boards, do mock interviews, and some even have lending closets for interview outfits. Does Iowa State host a job fair? My daughter’s school had a big one in the fall and there is another one in January. She’s also talking to profs about getting paid summer research if she can’t get a job (she’s only a freshman so internships are harder to come by). Her plan C is to come home and work at the sub shop where she’s worked before and try to find an unpaid internship.
I also agree about having expectations about financial contributions. My daughter is going to do a study abroad for a month and we told her we expect her to fund that herself. She’s got enough in her account to cover about 1/2 now so we’ll front her the rest of the money but expect she’ll pay us back at the end of the summer. She’s also responsible for her own discretionary spending all year long so she’s motivated to work.
What did your kid do last summer? Did he have a job then or not? If not, why not?
Does he have a part-time job at ISU? If not, why not?
Back in the Stone Age when I was at ISU, the library had a whole bunch of student jobs available.
Part-time campus job, make job hunting easier as you at least have some employment experience. Internships for sophomores may be hard to find. My older son (CS major) found one, but he’d a lot of programming experience and had worked the summer after freshman year. Younger son ended up working the summer as part of what we called Hotel Tufts. They rent out the dorms to various groups over the summer and hire college kids to man the desks change the linens, make coffee etc. The first year it was shift work and menial stuff. The next year he was a supervisor for the reservation system and the final year he was the head student supervisor. The experience he got ended up being critical when he was looking for real jobs after he graduated.
Change the locks. 
Unfortunately some kids move at their own pace. Good luck.
I totally disagree about having a job during the school year. Wish I could have afforded not to. Would have been able to do more electives et al. Dorm food service not exactly fun.
It sounds like your son is currently a college sophomore. So much depends on his major. Not all have summer internships- seems most likely in engineering and business. Math REU’s are very competitive. The career center/office specific to your son’s major is where he should be looking at post college opportunities. As a junior he will be taking more courses in his major, be more comfortable with it and know where the resources are.
His major really matters when trying to give job searching advice. Some majors come with many specific jobs, others are more of an education that requires looking outside the field. You may be a year ahead in getting him going on post college plans. Give your son time and he may surprise you. Mine did with his job hunting, and subsequent jobs.
Summers are a different ballgame. Been there, done that. Many variables.
A lot of the really good summer internships happen after junior year, though some get them after sophomore year. Top companies like to line up possible hires by trying them out just before senior year.
Of course, that is for top CS, finance and consulting jobs so not applicable to most people. Still the idea is that the summer after junior year is the one that is crucial in terms of connecting to an employer.
Interning or volunteering even a few hours a week during school can , in my view, have better long term prospects than a job on campus, that may offer small short term earnings. If you can afford it, I would encourage unpaid interning or volunteering that builds long term connections, clarifies goals, and gives relevant experience.
The campus career center should have listings for summer jobs, and some times the department where he majors is a resource too, even old-fashioned bulletin boards. Even Craigslist can be helpful in at least thinking about what to look for. In our area the state Cultural Council has a great job listing site.
But to go back to the original point, the summer after sophomore year can still be about local work if he is at home. I wouldn’t stress too much about this yet. As long as he isn’t playing video games all day or something!
ps I am firm believer in supporting long term prospects over requiring short term income, as I said, but that DOES mean I offer still offer support to kid in mid to late 20’s (both in school). I am not well off at all, but that is just what I believe is most helpful in terms of feeling they can really support themselves. If you can do it, maybe pay your son’s expenses while he interns or volunteers this summer in an area he is interested in.
Having similar conversation with S (sophomore). Most of the big “name brand” internships are for Juniors (rising seniors) so it’s tough to get there now (not impossible). At this stage, I think two things are important .
- Get a job in a business, any business (as opposed to fast food, camp counselor, etc) doing a "real" job. Could be purely administrative. Important for next yr's internship recruiting to show that a company took a chance on your kid and that s/he has experience working in a structured business, handling responsibilities, deadlines, etc. If the kid is looking at grad school, I would recommend getting some type of research or volunteer position in the area of study they desire.
- Networking - very important to have informational interviews with people in the industry (to learn about it and to get help with securing the internship or research). Linkedin and Career Services can help a lot. Easy to find people from your school working at company X or doing research Y (profs should help a lot with research connectivity). Reach out. Set up meetings (in person or on phone). Stay in touch. They'll come in handy in the fall when summer recruiting kicks in full time. (banking earlier)