New program eases job-hunting woes

SF State's Career Center has created a new way for students to earn money and gain work experience without a long-term commitment. The program, Tempinterns, is almost like a temporary job agency. What makes Tempinterns different is that it offers students a chance to choose internships or a job, and employers are not charged a fee when they hire a student as a regular employee.

All full-time or part-time SF State students, including those in extended education, are eligible to participate in the program. Students can either work on a project for money or just for the experience of an internship. However, both types of situations are paid and can be used as references on future job applications.

The program, "Tempinterns, Students for Short-Term Projects," was started in response to a common complaint expressed by employers about new college graduates, said Tempinterns coordinator Kitty Brougham.

Although college students are graduating with degrees, they lack job experience, according to some employers. Linda West is a supervisor at Great Western Bank in Oakland and is a proponent of the program.

"We get new graduates with degrees applying for jobs in managerial positions and they have no experience, no internships and hardly any knowledge of the job they're applying for," West said.

Tempintern projects do not earn academic credit automatically, but some qualified projects are eligible for academic credit. To get academic credit, students would have to make arrangements with SF State's Cooperative Education program.

Helen Dea, a psychology major, said the biggest concern students have about graduation is being able to find a job afterward.

"My biggest fear is not being able to find a job (with a bachelor of arts degree) and having to come back for a master's," Dea said.

Corina Nyuen, a 23-year-old Japanese studies major, agrees with Dea. "Competition (for jobs) is difficult."

Brougham said the program is in trial status, but will continue if it is successful. "If you're looking for experience this is the way to get it," Brougham said.

Already there are about 140 students registered in the program, and only three business organizations participating in the program.

According to Brougham, students are responding faster than the Tempintern staff can recruit employers to participate in the program.

"Tempinterns is good training and good discipline." said Diane Stewart of the California Public Utilities Commission. "The more education (a student has), the better. It's what the outside world is really like."

To get into the program, students must fill out an application packet at Tempinterns, located in the Career Center inside the old Administration building. Students interview with one of the Tempinterns staff and are then placed in a pool of workers to await placement.

Tempintern participants can either call the Career Center's job hotline to preview which projects are available or wait for a Tempinterns staff member to call them.

Employers call the Tempinterns office and request a certain number of students to work on a project. A project can last from one day to six months, and is renewable.

Salaries are based on the level of expertise of the student and range from $7 to $12 per hour.

Fees from the participating employers come through the San Francisco State University Foundation and are administered to the Career Center for student salaries and other costs to run the program. The Career Center receives no profits -- however the

Foundation gets 10 percent for the services it provides.

Employees benefit from an educated pool of workers. They also get a chance to see if a student will work out as a regular hired employee.

Employers who participate in the program don't have to bother with payroll issues, FICA, I-9, W-4 forms and insurance hassles. If a project does not work out an employer or employee can get out of the project as soon as possible simply by notifying the Tempinterns office. The Career Center and the employer settle all contracts and agreements, since the student is an employee of the Center.

[ Golden Gater Online September 14, 1995 ]

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