Thursday Nov. 16 in the Green Lane Academic Building, Kean hosted a business internship fair where 35 companies came and gave students information about their internship programs. Around 300 students came to get information and hand their resumes over to the companies they were interested in.
"In order to get a job its important to have internships. It helps your resume stand out and without a good resume its hard to get a good job. This event is especially important for business majors here at Kean. They get to see what its like to work in their majors," said Katarzyna Sierant, Global Business major at Kean, director's assistant for the Office of Internships and Cooperative Education.
Businesses like Aflac, Verizon, Enterprise and many more were in attendance. "It is important for students to know what they want, when applying for an internship. Also they should know what their company does and decide if a company's values aligns with their own," said Mike Boele, a representative from Fastenal an industrial supplies company.
The most important part of getting involved in an internship during your college years is your resume. Companies often times don't get to meet one on one with potential candidates when deciding whether to accept them. The internship fair was an opportunity for students to introduce themselves to potential employers.
When looking at intern hopefuls, company's want to see not only your experience but what you did in college and how you balanced responsibilities. "I look at resumes all day and I have no specific type person I choose to accept. What I do like to see is a student who is able to work on campus. It shows me this is a student who can juggle a job along with their assignments," said Lauren Daley, Aflac representative.
"Internships gives students accurate depictions of what it is like to work in the real world. Its different coming from college to work life. You learn a lot about the positions you are interested in and figure out what you really want. You wear a lot of hats and learn to be personable and cooperative," said Ariel Guzaman, representative of Windsor communities. "We are looking for goal oriented students who want a new experience and want to achieve their personal goals."
If you are interested in getting involved with an internship during your time at Kean, you should contact the Office of Internships and Co-op Education either online at internships@kean.edu or in person in their office located in the Green Lane Academic Building. On their page on the Kean website, they offer information about how to create resumes, cover letters, and general information on job searching and internships searching.
