PLAN NOW FOR SUMMER INTERNSHIPS -- The spring semester is under way for many area college students, and now is the time for them to start making plans for how they're going spend the summer, says Chet Rispoli, director of Temple's Career Development Services. "Experiential learning and internships are so important for today's college student," says Rispoli. "Now is the time to start crafting a resume, lining up references, and making initial inquiries." And while getting a jump on the competition may help a student land that dream opportunity in New York or Los Angeles, Rispoli says students shouldn't turn their noses at any chance to enter the work world. "It's great if a student can find an internship that exactly matches what they think they'd like to do after graduation. But any time they can learn about corporate culture and the professionalism that's going to be expected of them is a plus. Even if you're working in the mailroom, you can still talk to the vice president."
CALLING ALL MENTORS...AND KIDS -- Even successful mentoring programs like the kind President Bush advocates in his USA Freedom Corps proposal have to do some old-fashioned marketing to bring adults and children together, says Andrea Taylor, director of Temple's Across Ages program, a school- and community-based drug prevention project that pairs adult mentors over age 55 with children ages 9-13. "You do have to 'market' your program to the kids in the same way you 'market' to attract mentors," says Taylor, noting that some children and families may be reluctant to join such programs for a number of reasons. "After all, this is a person they don't know and parents may be wary of exposing their kids to risk. Some parents are also threatened by the idea that their child might form a strong bond with another adult, particularly in Asian and Latino communities where family is the central entity in a child's life." Still, says Taylor, research shows that structured mentoring programs like Across Ages, which provides guidance and support to mentors and kids, do significantly impact the lives of the children--and the adults. "One of the ways kids learn about themselves in the context of a bigger world is by developing relationships with non-familial adults," says Taylor. Now in its 12th year, Across Ages has won many national and international awards and has been replicated at 42 different sites in 21 states, including Hawaii and Alaska.
LAYOFFS AFFECT COMPANIES' REMAINING WORKERS, TOO -- With the U.S. Department of Labor reporting a startling rise in claims for unemployment benefits, coupled with a weakened economy and an imminent threat of war, is the morale of the U.S. workforce at an all-time low? Yes, says Gary Blau, professor of human resource administration in Temple's Fox School of Business and Management. "There is much uncertainty across many occupations in the workforce and more people are insecure about their jobs today than ever before," he says, noting that, for the unemployed, jobs are scarce and the search process is increasingly frustrating. "Those in search of jobs often take positions that are beneath their abilities," continues Blau, "while others feel their former employers committed a violation of their employment contract. Often organizations that lay off then have to deal with the voluntary turnover of survivors, many of whom the organization does not want to lose. Although easier said than done, top management needs to be as fair as possible," says Blau, "not only in how it treats downsized employees, but also how it treats survivors."
RSS