Shorter gigs fill the bill for some
When I graduated from college, back when “Charlie’s Angels” was still a popular television show, most of my friends found jobs or went to graduate school. And the job was typically full-time, regular employment.
But today, I’ve noticed my daughter, a college senior, and her friends are more focused on cobbling together a series of short-term fellowships, post-graduation internships and temporary assignments. In some cases, that’s what they’re looking for as they try out new careers and new cities. Other times, however, new graduates, especially
those with student loans to repay, would prefer steady and stable jobs.
There don’t seem to be as many traditional jobs as there once were. Gaining momentum
The trend toward shortterm assignments has been around for a while, but it seems to be picking up steam, said Jamie Belinne, assistant dean for career services at the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.
She speculated that because of turbulence in the economy, companies aren’t as comfortable adding new permanent hires, so they’re hiring more for specific projects. That way, they can manage budgets better by having clear end dates before the new workers even come through the door.
Short-term assignments also let companies test out employees before taking them on in a more permanent way, said Belinne, who is seeing the practice play out in a variety of industries including oil and gas. Beyond summer
Internships aren’t just for summer anymore, said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement firm.
They’ve evolved from a summertime experience sandwiched between two years of college into a postcollege-graduate experience, Challenger said.
Disney, for example, has a well-known paid program open not only to college students but to those who graduated within the previous six months, according to Disney’s website.
Post-college internships are typically paid positions, unlike some of the internships that provide college credit instead of wages, and they appeal to many new graduates, including Challenger’s daughter. She is waiting to hear whether she’ll be offered an internship with a “brand name” company, he said.
New graduates may have an easier time accepting short-term assignments than a few years ago. Under the Affordable Care Act’s rules, adult children can stay on their parents’ health insurance policies until they turn 26. That lets new graduates take chances, especially on jobs that may not offer health care to its newest employees, Challenger said. What most do
The “one year gig thing” has been around a while, said Nicole Van Den Heuvel, director of Rice University’s Center for Career Development. There are always graduates drawn to teaching fellowship programs that send them overseas for a year to teach English.
But, she said, most graduates are looking for, and finding, more traditional permanent positions in a variety of industries, including energy, finance, computer science and education.
For the most part, the openings are positioned as career opportunities, rather than one-shot jobs, she said.
One consulting firm, however, likes to emphasize that its work can be a great career starting point, said Jessica Campbell, associate director of employer relations at the Rice University career center. Consulting has a high burnout rate because of high expectations, and students know how difficult it can be to make it up the ranks to partner status.
But, Campbell said, they’re drawn to the opportunity, which will likely provide training and skills they’ll need for their next job.