Good
grades not good enough without experience
By
Dylana Foy
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
Students expecting to find a job right after graduation will find employers
are looking for students with job experience just as much as good grades.
Students worry about getting good grades at the expense of anything and everything
else. However, many companies are looking for more than good grades; sometimes
grades take a backseat to other characteristics. Today, students need to have
experience in their field if expecting a job right after graduation.
“
Experience is very important from an employer perspective,” said Angi
Carrillo-Humphreys, a career counselor at Career Development Center (CDC). “The
people with experience are more likely to get hired.”
Companies are looking for well-rounded individuals who have experience and
leadership skills. This
experience should be at least one semester in the field you are trying to enter,
according to Carrillo-Humphreys. More than one semester of experience would
be ideal. This experience can come from an internship or working at a company
part-time.
Experience can also come from being involved with student organizations. Being
a member of an organization, and being active in it, is like having a job.
Also, working in student organizations offers leadership opportunities not
normally available to the students night out of school. These organizations
give students the chance to make major policy decisions, manage finances and
get unique experiences.
Some fields do emphasize good grades. According to Carrillo-Humphreys, technical
fields like engineering, accounting and the sciences are looking for people
with strong grades. In those fields, classroom knowledge is a must. Other fields,
however, are looking for a more well-rounded individual.
“
Your GPA is not as important [in some fields]. The companies won’t even
ask for your GPA many times,” Carrillo-Humphreys said.
More often companies are looking at the experience. Carrillo-Humphreys gave
an example of a student who focused solely on his grades, graduating with a
3.8 GPA, but did not focus on experience. After graduation, this student was
unable to get a job. His grades did not help him.
Many students looking for experience try to find internships while attending
school. Southern California is a highly competitive atmosphere to find a job
in. Many times the only difference between job candidates is the experience
they bring to the table.
“
It’s very vital for students to have an internship,” said Clyde
Stoltenberg, a business law and international business professor. “A
student wouldn’t have a good chance of getting hired if he did not have
an internship.”
Having an internship is a good learning experience, according to Stoltenberg.
There is no substitute for being out in the field and putting classroom learning
into practice. Stoltenberg said the best time to have an internship is during
junior or senior year, when students are becoming more proficient in their
fields.
Networking is another helpful tool for students trying to find an internship.
The more people students know and the better impression they give, the more
likely their name will pop up in someone’s head when an opportunity opens
in their company. A lot of informal relationships yield internships and job
opportunities, Stoltenberg said.
In the department of social work, a student is required to have two internships
or fieldwork experience before they graduate.
“
I’ve never asked or heard of people asking about grades in our field
[when applying for a job],” said Stacy Peyer, a lecturer for the social
work program for 11 years.
Sometimes an employer may ask for transcripts to ensure the student graduated,
but it is not always a condition of employment, according to Peyer. Students
must work in the field while in the program and “if your references are
good then you don’t need to worry about grades,” Peyer said. It
is more important for the work to be good.
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