do future employers care if you worked a job whle in college?

Question

We can afford for my step son not to get a summer job or work when he is at college but will the fact that he spent his summers not doing anything and has no job history hurt him after college when he applies to grad school or applies for a job?

Answer 1

He should get an internship or do volunteer work that is related to his major. That looks best on an application and is generally good experience.

Answer 2

In my experience, absolutely.

I worked throughout high school, got a fellowship before Freshman year, and an internship before sophomore year. This year when me and a friend were applying for jobs, to many of the same companies, and we have similar grades, I got 6 offers and he managed to get 1. Employers, from everything I've heard, like to see you take some initiative and test out the field before going full time. Even if it's not in the direct field and is something like camp counseling, the people skills learned and the fact that you were willing to work will get you the job over someone who didn't.

Answer 3

Very much so. The average entry-level job now requires 1-3 years of work experience; the only way to get that is to take internships while in college. In addition, many employers who had to work while in college seem to value that heavily and think that students who did not work while in college are lazy - that even includes student athletes who are often kept too busy to allow them to work.

The good thing is that if your son doesn't need to work for financial reasons, he has some control over when and how many hours he will work. He won't have to take a job for 30 hours/week which will distract from his academic work, and he can focus on those jobs which will help his career directly, such as internships. Many of these are, in fact, unpaid, and difficult for less-fortunate students to handle (I am a professor who finds that many of my students run into trouble trying to juggle an internship, a paid job, AND their schoolwork)..

Answer 4

Employers are interested in your complete body of work - when it occurs is really not significant. The work that is most directly related to the type of work that you are pursuing is of most interest.

Employers look at scope of work and longevity in the job. If you are a student, that is taken into consideration with regards to longevity.

Employers are also interested when you have references that can speak to your body of work.

Having said that, employers hiring out of school employees do no penalize them for that. It is understood that there will be no work history - especially if the student is a good student and has college extracurricular activities listed on the resume'. These extracurricular activities should represent positions of leadership.

Tell you stepson not to worry. He will have opportunies in his junior and senior year for internships that can be resume listed and first jobs are usually entry level positions where previous work experience is not required.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Depending on the job it can probably help you more than it can hurt you. Most employers look for hands on experience as well as college credentials.

Answer 6

I have that prob now i have my AA and very little exp. Having Experience will get him a job faster and he can end up making A LOT more money. (even an internship would be great)

Answer 7

I would certainly look at that as a potential downside. I would see it as someone who doesn't have much initiative. Also, it may show that he's used to getting what he wanted (since he didn't have to work for it).

My recommendation is to have him work (and even pay for some of his own college!)