Recently, the only thing my friends have been talking about
are what their summer plans are going to be for this summer- internships, jobs,
etc. When I was on my search for
an internship, all I could think about was the competition and how I would be
able to get the internship of my choice.
How can I alter my resume and cover letter so that this company will
choose me? How can I get a step
ahead of the other people applying?
How can I use my connections and resources? And I’m sure everyone else
has experienced similar thoughts.
Searching for jobs and internships has become such a
cutthroat, competitive process.
Students are signing up for clubs that they don’t plan on attending or
being a part of, just so that they have another thing to add to their
resume. Personally, I think that
this process is very superficial.
Although I do sometimes take place in this, I truly feel that we should
be doing things that we actually ENJOY doing, not just to make our resumes
longer or appear more qualified.
This aspect of society has literally become one big
game. People are trying to figure
out how they can “win” and get ahead of their opponents or competitors. People are going to great measures to
beat out their colleagues, simply for a position. I don’t think that there is any way to change this part of
society. There is always going to
be those people that are trying to get ahead of others… We have no choice: If you sit back, you’ll
fall completely out of the loop and get left behind. Society is so caught up in getting ahead, that there is
really no solution- we just have to play.
-Brooke Kranz
-Brooke Kranz
I completely agree with this post. Luckily I did not have to apply for any internships for this summer but I did last summer and it was a VERY stressful experience. I think this post can also be applicable to applying to college or a grad school. I am going to apply to medical school next year and I know that I am already looking for things to do that will make me more competitive than other applicants. I was told by a pre-health advisor that I need to volunteer, do research, get a good GPA and do extremely well on the MCAT. It is crazy how much competition there is, and I am usually a person who enjoys competition, but in this case, I wish it did not exist.
ReplyDeleteBrooke,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good connection to make between internships and the competition it now implies. I just found out that I got the summer internship I wanted, working for the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law. Needless to say, the week after my phone interview until I got the call that told me I got the position, I was constantly worried. Not only is there competition between the other people who are applying for the same internship position, but also within groups of friends. For example, all of our friends kept asking if I got it and then they would sneak in comments about their internship this summer. It was a constant comparison between who got the better internship. What is even more interesting is that in class earlier in the year we discussed how people tend to compare themselves with those who are of similar skill and ability level, yet I am comparing myself to other people who are in a completely different job market than me. Why do I care if someone else gets an internship in a sports job or bank? How does that affect me if I am going into law? Why do we let this affect us so much? Like everything else today, the race to get the better internship has blended in with our society's need to compete with one another. As if the competition for the higher ACT/SAT scores, GPA, or admissions to college was not enough in high school. AS we get older, there are just as many competitions we face, they just change in appearance, instead of ACT scores, it is now who has the best resume, and most importantly, who gets what summer internship. Will it ever end?
Taylor Rothman
In addition to the competition that occurs on job hunts, I also feel as if sometimes (or most of times in my case) that the person who often wins the game or gets the job is not the one that is best qualified. Many jobs and internships are not only based on the GPA, SAT, or MCAT scores but networking. Students are encouraged to create a linkedin profile and network with potential employers to get ahead and reach out to companies in which you feel operate in an interesting industry which you hope to join in the near future. The level of networking for different industries greatly differs. I know friends that do no networking have 3.9 GPA's and get all the interviews they want. I know others that have 3.1 GPA's and still get their dream jobs because they work really hard to get to know people within the firm. So now not only is the competition for internships only based on how well a students performance in school is but also how well someone is able to network with employees in the firm.
ReplyDelete