Job Raising

Introduction
Who raises jobs?
What types of jobs can be submitted?
How do I approach professors?
Benefits of hiring an intern
Filling out the offer of training form

Introduction

Jobraising is a critical element to a local committee (LC)'s success. Each IAESTE member country must raise quality internship ("job") offers within Engineering, Science and Architecture. The goal of jobraising is to trade these job offers with IAESTE local committees abroad, so that students in member countries have the opportunity to work abroad in internships closely related to their majors. Job-raising will ultimately drive the activity of each local committee since for each internship raised, a student from that committee has the opportunity to work abroad.

So, IAESTE at NC State tries to raise as many jobs as possible, so that

• as many of our members as possible can experience an internship abroad
• we can provide international students opportunities for internships in Raleigh, promoting cultural exchange and good times.

Who Raises Jobs?

Our members! At each of our meetings we learn more about jobraising, and the officers are also available outside of meeting times to help. Members should be able to answer questions about IAESTE in general and be able to tell the companies about the benefits of IAESTE exchanges. Below is some info that will help with jobraising.

What types of jobs can be submitted?

IAESTE United States accepts two primary categories of jobs, both of which are valuable and yield excellent reciprocal positions overseas:

1. Research and Development. Offers in this category are often lab-based and deal with special project work. They entail some element of diagnostic analysis, testing, and evaluation and have some theoretical content. This is usually the kind of job raised with professors on campus.
2. Professional. Offers in this category entail specialized professional work and the level of technical skill usually found in more advanced students. They often deal with special project work, possibly in a design office, in technical management, or in testing services.

IAESTE job offers must fulfill the following requirements:

• Full time position, 40 hours per week.
• Paid a minimum of $8-$12 per hour; the pay must be enough to cover cost of living in the area of the offer.
• Fully supervised by either a graduate student, professor or other full-time staff.
• Related to a technical field of study, i.e. science, engineering or architecture.
• The position should not consist of more than 10% administrative duties.

How do I approach professors?

• Find out if the contact hires interns or students to do research. Find out what kind of intern the professor would be interested in. Ask questions and let them do the talking.
• Know your IAESTE history and facts. Potential employers will want to know if IAESTE is a reliable program and what role you play in the organization.
• Answers to many of these questions are found in IAESTE Potential Employer Frequently Asked Questions.
• Make it as easy as possible for the potential employer to offer an internship. You should have an offer of training (o-form) that is partially completed emailed to the employer before you meet with him/her.

Get a copy of the O-Form or the brochure (there's an insert about the placement service of IAESTE, too). We've also provided some example pitches to help you when starting to contact your professors.

You can contact a professor you've been assigned to in one of many ways:

By Telephone

• Find out some information about the professor: use the web to check his/her website to find out about research or office hours during which to call.
When phoning:
• Tell them that you are a student working voluntarily for the benefit of fellow students, and that you are part of an international nonprofit organization that coordinates internships abroad for engineers/scientists/architects (whichever is appropriate).
• Keep the call short but informative and send more details in an email just before the call or just after its completion.
• Tell the employer to respond to the email if s/he wants more information before making a decision, or if there is interest, set up a time to meet the employer to fill out the o-form.

An Office Visit

A personal visit to the professor being contacted is the most successful tool. It is easier to get the professor's attention in person, and is also harder for someone to tell you "no" without at least hearing you out first. When visiting professors, it is better to have two people visiting, so ask an officer to come along if you want, or another member.

Before the visit
• Make an appointment.
• Take all the material that you might need with you, including a brochure and an o-form, which you can get from any of the officers or during the meetings, or through the above links.
• Bring a list of employers in the same department who have previously hosted students. The officers can provide you with this information as well.

During the visit
• Explain IAESTE and talk with the professor to decide if IAESTE would be a good fit.
• If the professor is hesitant, give him/her time to think, and make sure the professor has a brochure or other information to look over again. It is always easier to say "NO," so don't push too hard. Promise to contact the professor at a designated later time.

After the visit
• Send a letter of thanks, either as a handwritten note or electronically.
• Learn from your mistakes!!

Following Up with a Potential Employer

MOST JOBS ARE LOST BECAUSE THERE IS NO ORGANIZED FOLLOW-UP! Make sure you continue to contact a professor until you hear a definite answer or until you have really given it an honest go.

Benefits of hiring an intern through IAESTE

There are almost too many to count, but here are a few:

• IAESTE United States arranges the necessary visas, lodging, and cultural programs during the internship period. Between the national committee and the local committee, everything but the actual internship is taken care of.
  This is a major point! Visa regulations are increasingly complex and IAESTE is a designated and experienced visa sponsor; IAESTE is highly qualified to handle the visa red tape.
• Companies can specify qualifications, experience, and languages required of the intern and what the job entails in detail. And because IAESTE receives 30,000 annual applications worldwide, it is easy to find an intern who meets these requirements.
• A company can decide the length of placement (from 8 weeks up to 12 months) that it is suitable for the assignment.
• IAESTE is cost effective. For a small administrative fee to cover all visa administration and a competitive salary, a company can get the right person to suit their needs. Also, IAESTE interns are exempt from Social Security tax and federal unemployment. This is a great savings to an employer, approximately 7%.
• An international intern brings an international atmosphere into the company. Knowledge of differences between cultures is very important in international business.
• The final decision about whether or not to employ an intern is made by the company after receiving an Offer of Training application form, and the company does not pay any fees until the intern is accepted.
• Reciprocity: for every foreign intern employed by a company, a U.S. university student gets the chance to intern abroad, and this means that in the future, there are more engineers with international experience. IAESTE employers are directly helping U.S. university students obtain international and technical experience.

Finally! The job is raised! (Filling out the offer of training form)

Nice work!! The only thing remaining is to make sure that the offer form is completed in detail. There should be no surprises for the arriving student or employer. Issues such as dates of internship, housing, salary, special conditions, transportation, and all other "little things" must be clearly outlined. The IAESTE officers will help ensuring that the o-forms are completed adequately.