By Amelia Kibbe
Features Assignment Editor
These days, a fancy degree and a high GPA are not enough to land the perfect job. For many Bonaventure students, internships are a must to boost their résumés in hopes for a job after graduation. These internships can teach students essentials of a job as well as offer hands-on training — something not possible in a classroom.
According to a story on the website Marketplace, internships are one of the top things employers look for when hiring college graduates. With the still slow economy, many businesses cannot afford to hire untrained employees, so an internship is sometimes the game-changer when it comes to landing a job.
One Bonaventure junior who is making plans for his future is Matt Trifoso. Trifoso, an accounting major, will intern at his local bank this summer.
“I’m interning at Corning Credit Union this summer,” Trifoso said. “I will be a member service representative which is basically a bank teller. I’m an accounting major, so this is a little different than the traditional book work of an accountant, but it has many benefits.”
While the internship is paid, Trifoso explained the main benefit of landing the job is the experience he will gain.
“I will be paid for this job,” Trifoso said. “But what is important to me is that I will be learning how to interact with people on a professional level, and I will be handling money transactions, which directly relates to my major. I will also learn business terms, how to dress and the social aspect of the business.”
Trifoso said having a good résumé and interview skills helped him land the internship.
“I was referred by a friend of my dad’s,” he said. “He helped me with my résumé, and a woman at HR found it and called me in for an interview. I spoke with two supervisors and then got the job. I’m really excited.”
While Trifoso will be compensated for his work, most summer internships are not paid. Junior sociology major Nick Taylor explained that even though his internship is not paid, he was lucky to get the job and is excited to learn.
“My internship for the summer is with the Law Office of Kyle W. Calabrese in Hamburg, N.Y.,” Taylor said. “I think he’s just going to have me doing his busy work, but I get to go to court with him, so that should be great. I am truly looking forward to the learning experience that I have been afforded for this upcoming summer. It’s not a paid internship, but the money didn’t matter to me. Just gaining the experience is what I was looking for.”
Taylor said his internship will be the perfect experience he needs for his future plans.
“Although I am a sociology major, my minors are psychology and law and society,” he said. “I am planning on going to law school upon graduation from Bonaventure, so this will really help me. I will see what it’s like to be a lawyer. The closest thing I have to that experience right now is my time in Mock Trial, but actually being able to go to court and work in a law office will provide me with invaluable experience.”
Taylor added his trick to finding an internship was getting his name out to as many offices as possible.
“I found the internship by emailing as many law offices as I could find in my area at home, at school and anywhere else I could find,” Taylor said. “It was just a matter of who emailed me back saying they had internship positions open and applying for those positions.”
One way to begin a search for internships is to look for available positions online. This is exactly what junior strategic communications and digital media major Molly McDonough did. McDonough looked for internships on a website, found one, contacted the company and now has an internship.
“I’m working for Holiday House in New York City and in the Hamptons,” McDonough said. “It is a non-profit organization that brings in designers and creates showcases for special events and holidays. I will be paid for this. Surprisingly, I found this on www.internships.com. I emailed Holiday House, received a reply and had a terrific phone interview. I applied for numerous internships, and this was one of few that reached out to me.”
McDonough said that not only will this internship give her a great learning experience but it will also help her decide on what type of career she wants after she graduates.
“This internship will allow me the opportunity to work hands-on in a business environment,” she said. “Since Holiday House is a new organization, it will be great to see how social media is always changing. Working with all media platforms and participating in marketing activities will give me a chance to grow in my field of study. It will help me decide if this is something I want to pursue in my future career.”
kibbeaa13@bonaventure.edu
