sandwich year - what's happening in the US?

September 2011: I am currently in the USA and have had the chance to talk with a lot of people who have young adult children wanting to start their careers. Its a tough story.

Clearly the situation for young professionals is different in the US and NZ ( the US economy is much worse than in NZ), but I do keep in mind that young people today are competing in a world market not just a national market. Companies are competing for talent all over the globe. See this article in the Harvard Business review. 

In the current US market, young people are having a harder and harder time getting their first job. The top 2% seem to be doing OK. But with unemployment rate so high for recent graduates ( anecdotally 50% which would include under-employed), many young people see internships as the way to get their foot in the door and to distinguish them from others.   And they do internships for free or even *pay* to work for free! I have heard of young people not able to get a work-for-free internship because they are all taken. My daughter's friend applied for 67 internships with his Harvard Law degree and was pleased to get one offer.  Some students have gone back to get their Master's degree, to wait out the recession, only to find when they graduate again, the recession is still going, and now they are competing with the next crop of undergraduate students - and have removed their advanced degree from their CV so they don't look over qualified. 

How does this apply to NZ? In a tight labour market, it shows the danger of having no work experience when you graduate. A proven work track record is acknowledged as being a way to distinguish you from other people. 

Also companies are in highly competitive situations, under pressure to get products delivered faster and faster. Although companies want to support young people, it is easier to have more companies hiring interns if there is a clear short term *business* advantage to the company to do so.  

And that is what www.sandwichyear.co.nz is all about: Making it as easy as possible for companies to hire kiwi interns so students get that critical start in a competitive world market and local companies get the talent they need to get products to market faster.

Ian