In the survey nearly three-quarters of the employers said they prefer job candidates who have the work experience that can be gained through an internship. By comparison only sixteen percent were looking for college graduates with any work experience.

How much of an inside track can an internship give you? General Electric reports that over 80 percent of their full-time new hires came from their interns and co-ops. Most companies prefer to hire from within and interns are candidates who they already know about.

Since most interns perform nearly or the same job as their full-time employees they usually can make an immediate impact for the company once they are hired. Internships can also pay off financially. Not only do many pay while you are an intern, but companies report giving a higher starting salary to their interns.

While taking part in an internship will not guarantee you a job after college, it will make you a more marketable candidate. If you start early enough in your college career you can take several internships, maybe in different areas of a field you are interested in. Even if you are not hired by the company the work experience looks great on your resume.

Another major benefit to internships is being able to network with those who share an interest in your field and people who already are working in the field. This type of inside scoop can give you valuable insight into a career and what you need to do to prepare for it.

Here is a list reported by CollegeGrad.com of the top 15 intern employers for 2009 and the number of interns their projected intern new hires.

1. Walgreens General Merchandisers 5,650
2. New York Life Insurance Company Insurance: Life, Health (mutual) 3,500
3. Southwestern Publishing, Printing 2,800
4. General Electric Energy 2,400
5. Deloitte & Touche USA LLP Other 2,300
6. PricewaterhouseCoopers Other 2,279
7. KPMG LLP Other 2,000
8. Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Diversified Financials 2,000
9. Lockheed Martin Aerospace and Defense 1,932
10. Ernst & Young Other 1,869
11. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Automotive Rental, Leasing 1,800
12. Intel Electronics, Electrical Equipment 1,600
13. Target Corporation General Merchandisers 1,100
14. Microsoft Computer Software 1,000
15. Sandia National Laboratories Aerospace and Defense 900

For more information about these and other internships visit the CollegeGrad.com web site.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics current “Occupations Outlook Handbook” gives us a glimpse of job market may look like by 2016. It will be interesting to see if the next handbook changes due to the current economic climate, but there are some sectors that will remain the same.

Below is a listing of some of the information from the BLS outlook. Assuming you want a good job when you graduate college it may be worth your time to do some research of the projected job market.

Education and Health Services

This industry super sector is projected to grow by 18.8 percent, and add more jobs, nearly 5.5 million, than any other industry super sector. More than 3 out of every 10 new jobs created in the U.S. economy will be in either the healthcare and social assistance or public and private educational services sectors.

Healthcare and social assistance

Including public and private hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and individual and family services—will grow by 25.4 percent and add 4 million new jobs. Employment growth will be driven by increasing demand for healthcare and social assistance because of an aging population and longer life expectancies. Also, as more women enter the labor force, demand for childcare services is expected to grow.

Public and private educational services will grow by 10.7 percent and add 1.4 million new jobs through 2016. Rising student enrollments at all levels of education will create demand for educational services.

Professional and Business Services

This industry super sector, which includes some of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy, will grow by 23.3 percent and add 4.1 million new jobs.

Administrative, Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services

This sector will grow by 20.3 percent and add 1.7 million new jobs to the economy by 2016. The largest industry growth in this sector will be enjoyed by employment services, which will be responsible for 692,000 new jobs, or over 40 percent of all new jobs in administrative and support and waste management and remediation services.

Employment services ranks second among industries with the most new employment opportunities in the Nation and is expected to have a growth rate that is faster than the average for all industries. This will be due to the need for seasonal and temporary workers and for highly specialized human resources services.

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

These sectors will grow by 28.8 percent and add 2.1 million new jobs by 2016. Employment in computer systems design and related services will grow by 38.3 percent and add nearly one-fourth of all new jobs in professional, scientific, and technical services. Employment growth will be driven by the increasing reliance of businesses on information technology and the continuing importance of maintaining system and network security.

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services also will grow at a staggering 78 percent and account for another third of growth in this super sector. Demand for these services will be spurred by the increased use of new technology and computer software and the growing complexity of business.

Management of companies and enterprises will grow by 14.9 percent and add 270,000 new jobs.

Information Technology

Employment in the information super sector is expected to increase by 6.9 percent, adding 212,000 jobs by 2016. Information contains some of the fast-growing computer-related industries such as software publishing, Internet publishing and broadcasting, and wireless telecommunication carriers.

Employment in these industries is expected to grow by 32 percent, 44.1 percent, and 40.9 percent, respectively. The information super sector also includes motion picture production; broadcasting; and newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishing. Increased demand for telecommunications services, cable service, high-speed Internet connections, and software will fuel job growth among these industries.

Leisure and Hospitality

Overall employment will grow by 14.3 percent. Arts, entertainment, and recreation will grow by 30.9 percent and add 595,000 new jobs by 2016. Most of these new job openings, 79 percent, will be in the amusement, gambling, and recreation sector. Job growth will stem from public participation in arts, entertainment, and recreation activities—reflecting increasing incomes, leisure time, and awareness of the health benefits of physical fitness.

Accommodation and food services

This sector is expected to grow by 11.4 percent and add 1.3 million new jobs through 2016. Job growth will be concentrated in food services and drinking places, reflecting increases in population, dual-income families, and the convenience of many new food establishments.

Trade, Transportation, and Utilities

Overall employment in this industry super sector will grow by 6 percent between 2006 and 2016. Transportation and warehousing is expected to increase by 496,000 jobs, or by 11.1 percent through 2016. Truck transportation will grow by 11 percent, adding 158,000 new jobs, while rail transportation is projected to decline.

Warehousing and Storage

This sector is projected to grow rapidly at 23.5 percent, adding 150,000 jobs. Demand for truck transportation and warehousing services will expand as many manufacturers concentrate on their core competencies and contract out their product transportation and storage functions.

Retail Trade

Employment is expected to increase by 4.5 percent. Despite slower than average growth, this industry will add almost 700,000 new jobs over the 2006-2016 period, growing from 15.3 million employees to 16 million. While consumers will continue to demand more goods, consolidation among grocery stores and department stores will temper growth. Wholesale trade is expected to increase by 7.3 percent, growing from 5.9 million to 6.3 million jobs.

Utilities

Employment is projected to decrease by 5.7 percent through 2016. Despite increased output, employment in electric power generation, transmission, and distribution and natural gas distribution is expected to decline through 2016 due to improved technology that increases worker productivity. However, employment in water, sewage, and other systems is expected to increase 18.7 percent by 2016. Jobs are not easily eliminated by technological gains in this industry because water treatment and waste disposal are very labor-intensive activities.

Financial Activities

Employment is projected to grow 14.4 percent over the 2006-2016 period. Real estate and rental and leasing is expected to grow by 18 percent and add 392,000 jobs by 2016. Growth will be due, in part, to increased demand for housing as the population grows.

The fastest growing industry in the real estate and rental and leasing services sector will be activities related to real estate, such as property management and real estate appraisal, which will grow by 29 percent—remnants of the housing boom that pervaded much of the first half of the decade.

Finance and Insurance

This sector is expected to add 815,000 jobs, an increase of 13.2 percent, by 2016.

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments

This sector is expected to grow 46 percent by 2016, reflecting the increased number of baby boomers in their peak savings years, the growth of tax-favorable retirement plans, and the globalization of the securities markets.

Credit Intermediation and Related Services, Including Banks

This sector will grow by 8.2 percent and add almost one-third of all new jobs within finance and insurance. Insurance carriers and related activities are expected to grow by 7.4 percent and add 172,000 new jobs by 2016. The number of jobs within agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities is expected to grow about 15.4 percent. Growth will stem from the needs of an increasing population and new insurance products on the market.

Government

Between 2006 and 2016, government employment, not including employment in public education and hospitals, is expected to increase by 4.8 percent, from 10.8 million to 11.3 million jobs. Growth in government employment will be fueled by an increased demand for public safety, but dampened by budgetary constraints and outsourcing of government jobs to the private sector.

State and local governments, excluding education and hospitals, are expected to grow by 7.7 percent as a result of the continued shift of responsibilities from the Federal Government to State and local governments. Federal Government employment, including the Postal Service, is expected to decrease by 3.8 percent.

Other Services

Employment will grow by 14.9 percent. About 2 out of every 5 new jobs in this super sector will be in religious organizations, which are expected to grow by 18.9 percent. Other automotive repair and maintenance will be the fastest growing industry at 40.7 percent, reflecting demand for quick maintenance services for the increasing number of automobiles on the Nation’s roads.

Also included among other services are business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations, which are expected to increase by 13.6 percent and add 68,000 new jobs. This industry includes homeowner, tenant, and property owner associations.

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Interestingly, fewer 2009 graduates sought out jobs than their predecessors. Approximately 64 percent of the Class of 2007 and two-thirds of the Class of 2008 had started looking for a job by this time.

In comparison, “just 59 percent of this year’s class has started the job search,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

NACE’s 2009 Student Survey shows that just 19.7 percent of 2009 graduates who applied for a job actually have one. In comparison, 51 percent of those graduating in 2007 and 26 percent of those graduating in 2008 who had applied for a job had one in hand by the time of graduation.

This may be due, in part, to considerable attention to the increase in nationwide unemployment, the global financial crisis of recent months, and the impact of these developments on the recruitment and hiring of new graduates by specific industries.

Data indicate that among specific majors, engineering and accounting graduates are more likely both to have started their job search and to have a job in hand. They are also more likely to accept an offer they received. Additionally, the study shows that liberal arts majors were more likely to turn down the job offers they received.

Salary may have played a role in acceptance of job offers.

“On average, engineering graduates expect to earn an annual starting salary of approximately $62,000, while accounting majors expect to earn an average of about $45,000,” says Mackes.

Those expectations match up fairly well with the reality. In a separate survey, NACE has found that salary offers to engineering graduates average more than $58,000, while the average offer to accounting graduates exceeds $48,000.

Despite the lack of jobs, “most respondents say they expect to enter the job market. Surprisingly, at this time we do not see a strong indication of increases in the number of students planning to go to graduate school,” says Mackes.

Approximately 24 percent of Class of 2008 graduates reported plans to forego the job market in favor of graduate school, while approximately 27 percent of those graduating in 2009 report such plans.

About NACE’s 2009 Student Survey: NACE polls students about their job search, career plans, and other issues related to employment on an annual basis. The 2009 Student Survey was conducted February 19, 2009, through April 30, 2009. More than 35,000 students representing more than 840 colleges and universities nationwide took part; more than 16,500 of those were graduating seniors. Information in this release is based on data gathered from graduating senior respondents.

Source: NACE

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Research shows that only 15% of ones success is determined by hard skills (technical skills, your degree), while the remaining 85% of your success depends on soft skills.

Soft skills are the everyday skills that allow you to perform well at your job. Below you will find a list of some of the soft skills most desired by employers.

“A person who is able to maintain a 3.0 average and either plays a sport or has a leadership position in a club or organization, maybe volunteers with a community group, that’s a person you know is going to be able to live up to the tasks we face in our business lives,” said Dan Ryan, director of career planning and placement at the University at Buffalo.

The Number One Soft Skill

A recent survey of corporate recruiters ranked communications skills (speaking, listening and writing) as being one of the most desired skills. You may be a charming and likeable person who gets along well with everyone, but how well do you communicate? Can you stand before a group and give a short, clear and organized presentation?

It is important to be able to communicate your message even in one-on-one conversations. Speaking, listening and writing are communications skills that are needed every day in the workplace and is one reason it is the most valued soft skill.

College Students Lack Time Management Skills

Another important skill that college students seem to be lacking in is time management. Unlike high school where your teachers structured your assignments and your time was scheduled to the minute, in college you have less class time and you are responsible for getting the work done. With this freedom comes responsibility and some college students do not manage their time very well.

In the workplace time management is essential. Time management requires that you do planning, delegating, scheduling, goal setting, prioritizing your work, to-do lists, tasks lists and more. Time management is about increasing your efficiency and productivity, while eliminating distractions and procrastinations.

Desired Soft Skills

It’s important that you are knowledgeable in your field: an engineer must have engineering knowledge; an accountant needs an accounting background; a nurse needs a medical education. Your GPA is indicative of what you have learned in your field. More than half of employers recognize this by screening applicants by GPA, using a cutoff of 3.0. Add an internship or two in your field and you show an employer that you’ve tested your new knowledge.

However knowledge alone is not enough. Soft skills are required to put the knowledge to use and to get the job done. Surveys have shown these to be the soft skills most desired by employers.

• Face-to-face communication skills
• Writing skills
• Presentation skills
• Teamwork skills
• Interpersonal (gets along well with others) skills
• A good work ethic
• Time management
• Multitasking skills
• Able to meet deadlines
• Professionalism
• Knowledge of business etiquette

Other Soft Skills

These are the desired soft skills, but by no means is a complete list. There are many other soft skills that are valuable in the workplace.

• Negotiating skills
• Motivation (yes it is a skill)
• Decision-making skills
• Problem solving skills (very important)
• Professional etiquette
• Able to teach others
• Professional attitude
• Analytical skills
• Networking

Improving Your Soft Skills

College students tend to think a high GPA and a degree will ensure career success. While a good GPA is an indication that a college student can work hard and perhaps manage their time well, you need soft skills to be successful in the workplace.

While in college if soft skill courses or seminars are offered you should attend them. They are as important as your degree or your GPA. Other ways to build your soft skills in college include internships, a good job history and project oriented courses. Clubs and organizations, particularly leadership organizations can help. On-campus jobs such as a college newspaper or other job that puts you in a real world work environment will let you develop your soft skills.

“The best candidate isn’t always the person with the highest GPA,” said Kathy Hatem, vice president of resourcing and employee relations at HSBC. “You look at balance, involvement in all areas: education, work experience, internships, extracurricular activities.”

Try hitting the library and read some books on some of these soft skills. While you can not put them in a resume, they will help you start building your soft skills as soon as you start your job. Don’t think once you graduate you will not need to learn more. Throughout your career you should improve your soft skills, professional skills and technical skills. Doing so will help you move up the career ladder to success.

Here is a video of a former college student sharing how soft skills she learned in college has helped in her career.

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Thirty-eight percent of bachelor’s-degree-level accounting grads that have applied for jobs already have one, while 23 percent of bachelor’s-level engineering grads who have applied have also found a job. In comparison, overall just 19 percent of this year’s grads who have applied for jobs have already secured one. Last year at this time, 25 percent of grads who had applied for a job had one in hand.

Approximately 19 percent of college seniors who have applied for a full-time job have obtained one, according to more than 11,000 graduating bachelor’s-degree-level seniors who have responded to NACE’s 2009 Student Survey so far. By comparison, 25 percent of seniors who had applied for a job had landed one at this time last year.

To date, more than 25,000 students have responded to the survey, including more than 11,000 graduating seniors. The survey is open until April 30.

Who Is Hiring?

Accounting

• Accounting (public)
• Financial Services
• Utilities
• Government (Federal)

Mechanical Engineering

• Government (Federal)
• Chemicals & Allied Products
• Food & Beverage Processing

Electrical Engineering

• Government (Federal)
• Electrical & electronic machinery & equipment manufacturers
• Chemicals & allied products

Computer Science

• Computer software development & data processing services
• Communication Services Government (Federal)

Business Administration/Management

• Insurance
• Financial Services
• Food & Beverage Processing
• Government (Federal)

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