With the semester quickly passing by, now is a good time for students to make summer plans.
For all students, pursuing a professional experience is strongly encouraged. A professional experience is any opportunity that helps explore career options, develop specific skills and accomplish professional goals. Students should research and pursue opportunities in February, March and early April, as waiting longer will present challenges.
Here are some places where your student can look for opportunities:
MIAD Innovation Center: The MIAD Innovation Center connects corporate and nonprofit organizations with MIAD students, giving students the opportunity to work with real clients, apply their creative thinking skills and build their professional portfolios. Encourage your student to check with the MIAD Innovation Center Executive Director Drew Maxwell to learn about potential projects.
MIAD Career Resources: MIAD offers a variety of services and information for students looking for internships and professional opportunities. Through Handshake, students can look for opportunities and learn about companies looking for talent. Students can make their own profiles that employers can view. It is similar to LinkedIn, but designed more for students.
Job Boards: Online job boards are a great way for students to look for diverse opportunities that they may have never considered. Some great places to look: Big Shoes Network, Indeed, Milwaukee Jobs and Glassdoor.
Company websites: The majority of company websites include a “Careers” or “Get Involved” page that contains current position openings. This is a great way for students to find opportunities for companies they are specifically interested in. For example, the Milwaukee Art Museum has a page for internship opportunities that are currently open and are updated often.
Networking: Face-to-face networking is a great way to find opportunities that may not be online and get to know someone personally within an organization. Word of mouth references give a higher chance of getting hired. Just showing up and talking to a couple of people shows professionalism and the willingness to grow.
If your student is struggling with finding opportunities or are unsure of what to look for, they should discuss their professional interests with their MIAD Advisor and Career Services staff to learn what types of professional experiences may be options for them.