<p>Woody,
Check with the United Way in the cities he is thinking of working in. They have lists of organizations looking for volunteers that may match with your son’s skill set. Those have been known to lead to jobs sometimes or referrals to other places that are hiring. He should persist in trying to at least volunteer where he is interested in developing further skills and has skills to offer. Does he have any helpful profs in his life that can help lead him toward any opportunities?</p>
<p>OP, hopefully his helpful prof will help him chase down some good leads.</p>
<p>It’s clear because he got so many interviews, his application materials, including his letters of recommendation, are excellent. Because the job/internship market is so tight right now, your son needs all the advantages he can get with interviews. He should go to his university’s career center as quickly as possible. They will help him figure out how to put his best foot forward in an interview and will stage mock interviews so he can practice. They WILL critique his performance, and while that can be painful, it’s very helpful.</p>
<p>I know this is very difficult for your son but with a little work, and optimism, he’ll get through it and get a great internship.</p>
<p>S1 interviewed with large software firm kind of on a whim (they expressly said they wouldn’t consider freshmen) he got the interview but didn’t get the internship but they offered him an alum mentor, which he snapped right up. Maybe the most promising of those interviews might be willing to do that?</p>
<p>Well last year, my s, a junior at the time, had a similar experience. He had about 7 or 8 interviews. Some he never heard back anything. Others send him a thin envelope. Two opportunities…toward the very end…were canceled due to lack of funding (one after three interviews including an all day visit). He did NOT do what he wanted last summer…but he had a full time job and made some cash. Now, as a senior he’s facing a tough job market and competing with grads who have internships on their resumes. </p>
<p>Bottom line, keep encouraging him. I know my s got much better at interviewing as the process progressed. This will serve him well now. Time just ran out. That said, it might help to ask around to see if there are any independent career counselors in your area who could talk to him, evaluate his style and give him some tips. </p>
<p>Anyway, my s has secured some interviews at one of the firms that didn’t work out last year. So the door is not always closed for ever. Not landing an internship can be disappointing but it’s not the end of the world, especially if he can find something constructive to do. And honestly, don’t give up yet. My s had a few interviews after March last year. Good luck to you and your son!</p>
<p>I’m 99% sure this is not the case, but make sure he doesn’t have any quirks like scratching or licking his lips. Sometimes interviewees will exhibit some odd trait and as an interviewer I SO WANT TO TELL THEM why we nixed them, but as you said, HR won’t allow it.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard of companies doing “courtesy interviews” when they don’t actually have a job, which I never really see as a courtesy.</p>
<p>Other companies have budget cuts that happen after they’ve started interviewing.</p>
<p>The reality right now is that even internships are hard to land. With limited spots, inside connections at the firms hiring interns are more important than ever. Does your son have a connection to any of the firms he interviewed with? If he does and was rejected, have his connection inquire about the process and who was selected. He might also get feedback on his own performance this way.</p>
<p>And, if he finds out that only two interns were hired at Firm XX and one was the neice of a Board member and the other was student body president at the CEO’s alma mater, he’ll understand that it wasn’t because he did anything wrong.</p>
<p>We are very good friends with a family whose son graduated top of his class from an engineering school ranked 2nd nationally for his specialization. He had a fantastic internship between Junior and Senior year and was later offered a job. </p>
<p>Then the economy tanked. The company withdrew its offer, something they had not done in over a decade with students from his college. During his junior year, companies flew in to court the graduating seniors. During his senior year, a few of the companies showed up to do “courtesy interviews.” Professionals were hired to reviews resumes and interview skills. I cannot tell you how many resumes he has sent out and interviews he’s been flown all over the country for yet not one offer was made for nine months. </p>
<p>This spring he will be starting a job in his field for about half of what his classmates were paid for the same job two years ago. He’s really struggled with self-esteem issues but it truly is not personal. This too shall pass, that’s just all there is to it.</p>
<p>It has been strange for S as well (he’s a graduating senior in engineering at a very competitive program). In prior years, many similarly situated students were courted and flown all over the country for interviews. </p>
<p>This year, he feels very fortunate to have received several interviews on campus and a few follow up interviews when he was home for winter break. The only firm job offers he has were from the federal government. He went for one private industry follow up interview & while he was there, they were calling all around to try to get funding so they could hire him. He’s still waiting (as they are) to see how the budget materializes. </p>
<p>It is a very anxious time for companies and they are reluctant to make commitments to new hires. Tell your child to hang in there and work with helpful prof. Things are bound to improve. The federal government does appear to be hiring in some fields–is that on his list of potential employers? Are they hiring in your child’s field?</p>
<p>After D graduated in the spring, she encountered similar problems in her job hunt. After a while, she got frustrated because she was getting turned down by organizations offering unpaid internships. She began doing some serious networking - contacting everyone she knew about her job hunt and managed to get a job that hadn’t even been posted (the position had been frozen) because she had done informational interviews already. Guess they wanted to hire someone they knew.</p>
<p>I’d recommend that your S schedule informational interviews at places where he’d like to intern. Once they meet him, they may want to bring him on board. This happened to a friend’s son who offered to work for free at a company. After a month where the young man was putting in long hours and demonstrating his work ethic, his supervisor recommended that the company hire him.</p>
<p>I suspect a large part of the problem is related to the economy. S is a 2L at a highly ranked school whose Dean contacted the class late last semester to say he has never seen a climate this bad. Typically the majority of the 2L students are placed by October for their summer internships; however, not the case this year. S had only 9 or 10 on campus interviews where in previous years the career counselor said he would have had 20+. One call back. He skipped class one day to travel to the call back interview (7 hours total) and they gave him 20 minute interviews with 3 attorneys at the firm. No offer to reimburse mileage, but they did validate his parking. Very short rejection letter about 6 weeks later. They typically staff from the large, much lower ranked state school in their city (most firm members graduated from that state school), but like to be able to claim they interview at schools that are much higher ranked. </p>
<p>S was magna cum laude with honors in one of his undergraduate majors, has two years of work experience before returning to law school, won a 1L award, and held a non-paying, but competitive summer clerkship with a Federal Court of Appeals judge last summer. My point - it’s a new world and sometimes it just sucks for even the best of us! Tell your son not to take it personally and good luck to him!</p>
<p>It is probably the economy, but you might want to keep in mind that it might be your son’s interviewing style that could be an issue. When hiring, I often found that resumes did not clearly track communication skills – somebody could have a fabulous resume right out of college, but still interview very poorly. In a tough job market like the one we have right now, that’s a killer. I also had an extremely talented employee at one time – just brilliant – who we were able to keep despite not being able to pay even close to competitive wages because she quite literally became tongue-tied and red faced every time she attempted to interview. On the job she could turn summersaults around everyone else, and did a fine job communicating with people she knew, but she had a really, really difficult time not emulating a clam when it came time to meet people she didn’t know in an interview situation.</p>
<p>Spoke wtih S & he indicated that many of the kids he knows are having a very difficult time lining up summer options this year because of the very bad economy. It is worthwhile trying to get honest feedback from trusted sources (like helpful profs, career placement counselors, etc.), about any things that can be improved to increase the chances and give your child the competitive edge. With this job market, employers can and are being extremely picky (IF they even have funds to hire).</p>
<p>I know its easy to blame the economy - but to me there is an issue with your son’s interviewing skills. He is doing something wrong during the process. Companies would not post internships and go to the expense of interviewing if they were not trying to fill the position Believe me, I have interviewed my fair share of candidates who I thought had a good resume but who totally turned me off in the interview.</p>
<p>Your S needs to find out what he is doing wrong in his interviews (and companies won’t likely tell him). if you have a friend who interviews people, try having your S do a mock interview with them</p>
<p>If there are skilled people at his college career placement office, ask the most experienced person there to participate in a mock interview with your S & provide some feedback to bolster his skills–always a good thing to be as competitive as possible.</p>
<p>DS had previously done a mock interview at the college career center, but that sure didn’t help.</p>
<p>We offered to pay for a professional career counselor to see if he could identify what was going wrong in the interview.</p>
<p>At the initial meeting, they told him that his answers to interview questions were much too long and detailed. The told him that they need to complete but succinct, almost like political sound bites. The said they could work with him on strategies to solve this problem. </p>
<p>They also told him that during the entire mock interview he never smiled. According to these counselors, the ultimate objective of the interview is to get the person on the other side of the table to like you.</p>
<p>DS’s comment was, “so it’s like high school prom king or joining a fraternity, I thought I had gotten beyond that.”</p>
<p>Berryberry- I was wondering if these candidates were in response to some internet advertisements you posted. People sure aren’t always the same in person as they try to be online! </p>
<p>SBDad- It’s a tough world out there, and, unfortunately, we never really do get beyond the prom king or fraternity days.</p>
<p>It might also depend on the position you’re interviewing for, but it DOES help to get the person(s) you’re interviewing with to like you. If given a choice and equally qualified candidates, who wouldn’t prefer to hire the person they “like” vs. one that leaves them feeling “cold”? I admit I’m biased! Someone I feel I like & could work well with who has good qualifications and a great attitude gets the edge from me when I hire.</p>
<p>On the other hand, even our kids who would never be voted “prom king” or similar can interview well and have great results. My kids were never in the running for any popularity contests but have always interviewed extremely well. Part of the “trick” is to convey a genuine interest in both your subject and the person(s) you are speaking to. Nothing is as captivating as having someone who is interested in YOU!</p>
<p>My point was more that you still have to present yourself like you are running for office (or prom king) even if you didn’t ever aspire to such heights!</p>
<p>I don’t know enough to make an informed comment, but just going on what you say, I suspect your S believes too much that jobs are only about qualifications. They are a bit more like college: adcoms look beyond the stats to build a community. Companies look for people who will get along well with others. This does not mean just not being fussy or a trouble-maker, but being able to make the work environment more pleasant and collegial.
So someone who comes across as overly serious, who does not crack a smile, may not present himself to the best advantage. Your S does not have to try for Prom King. But perhaps, he should be a bit more relaxed, while also appearing enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the job and the company. It’s a tough balancing act, to be sure, but perhaps, he could practice for the next time he goes to an interview.</p>