The next most important success factor for students landing the perfect job with their employer of choice is hands-on experience and leadership skill development. This can take many forms. You should encourage your student to:

• Get involved in student organizations on-campus and volunteer for leadership roles in those organizations. This is a great addition to a résumé and great experience that employers frequently look for in their hires.
• Start looking for a summer internship. When a student registers with the COC they immediately get access to the many companies that are interviewing students of all levels and disciplines for summer internship positions. Last year a total of 3,289 on-campus interviews were conducted. Encourage your son or daughter to register with the COC and start looking for these paid opportunities!
• Consider participating in the Cooperative Education Program (Co-Op). Co-Op is a structured educational strategy that integrates classroom studies with learning through productive work experiences in a field related to the student's academic or career goals. Co-op positions pay an excellent salary and students who participate in the program earn a higher average starting salary upon graduation than students who do not. Co-op experience is highly valued by employers.

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