As more and more companies require entry-level employees to have prior internship experience in a competitive job market, new companies are arising that reach into students’ wallets to help them land an appropriate internship.
Debbie Halliday, Boston University Career Services assistant director, said she recognizes the importance of internships, but said it is not necessary to hire a company to find a good one.
Many students jump at the opportunity to pay a company that promises an answer to the confusing world of internships and job opportunities, Halliday said.
“It’s human nature to think the thing we pay for is better than the thing we get for free,” she said.
However, fee-based companies do not necessarily allow students to gain the experience of being proactive, Halliday said.
“Writing a résumé is not a mystery,” she said. “It’s not an impossible hurdle. Part of a student’s education should be to learn to put together your own résumé.”
Fast Track Internships, founded by Steve Rodems and Tom Kuthy in October 2006, charges students almost $1,000 for writing them “internship-focused” résumés and cover letters.
“We want our students studying, not spending their time trying to find an internship,” Rodems said.
Fast Track Internships guarantees students at least one internship offer or their money back, Rodems said.
“Internships are not a nice-to-have thing anymore, but a have-to-have thing,” he said.
BU Career Services Director Dick Leger said he is skeptical of the idea that it is necessary to employ companies’ services to land an opportunity.
“Do I think you can get just as valuable of an internship without spending $6,500? Absolutely,” Leger said. “It may require that you be innovative and do some real searching. The excellence of an experience is not dependent upon how much you spend, but if it meets your goals.
“For a lot of students, it’s outrageous to spend so much money,” he continued. “The amount you spend doesn’t automatically increase the quality of the experience.”
Career Services offers students information regarding these fee-based internship companies so they know their options and legitimate opportunities, Leger said.
Although College of Communication junior Kim Moy said she has heard of private companies helping students to find internships, she used COM’s Career Services Office and her own research to get her Los Angeles-based internship at the Dr. Phil news department.
“I have heard of those companies, but feel like, ‘Why should I pay you money to find me an internship that I may not get?'” she said in an email. “Besides, as an intern, you’re already working for free, so why waste your money?
“As long as you know the right people, you can get a job anywhere,” she continued. “It’s just meeting those people. That’s the hard part.”
Jud Saviskas, founder and CEO of Student Futures Inc., a private Connecticut-based company that helps college seniors and recent graduates find their first jobs out of college, said his company charges $1,900 for three months of assessment, positioning and placement.
“Internships are the most important things on a résumé, and you need to get one somehow,” he said. “I guess it’s okay to pay, but I would encourage students to first be resourceful, and that means first heading to career services.”
The University of Dreams, founded by Eric Lochtefeld in February 2000, charges students anywhere from $6,499 to $8,999 for a guaranteed eight-week summer internship and housing in Barcelona, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York or San Francisco.
“We love working with career centers, but some view it as a competitive relationship,” Lochtefeld said. “We are a fee-based program, but we’d like career centers to show us as an option.”