How Does $14.50 an Hour Sound to You?

The economy and unemployment are making it harder and harder to find a job and for students about to graduate, a lack of experience could be the least of their worries.

Luckily, the Corpus Christi Small Business Development Program has awarded DMC a grant to help underwrite small businesses hiring student interns.

Getting started on the path to internship is not difficult. Prepare a resume and bring it to the DMC Career Planning and Placement Office (CPP), Harvin Student Center, Room 230. 

If you don't know how to create a resume, or are not sure if yours is polished enough, the staff members are knowledgeable about what employers are looking for in a resume and can assist.

The resume will then be submitted to local small business. To qualify, businesses must have less than 49 employees and be locally owned. The student's major will determine what employers receive the resume, but it is not limited.

Since not all professions are part of the program, finding a job in your field of study is not guaranteed, so some flexibility helps.

Once hired as an intern, the benefits begin. Not only does the student earn valuable work experience and contacts, he or she also earns double minimum wage. DMC pays the student $7.25 an hour and the employer pays the student another $7.25.  The program is limited to 19 hours a week and any hours worked beyond that are paid on terms set between the student and the employer.

The internships last for 12 weeks and are available to students in their last two semesters at Del Mar.  

Raul Torres, a local CPA, participates in the program and said he wishes more students participated. "This is such a great opportunity for students to earn a decent amount of money for their time and get a feel for what they are getting themselves into in their chosen field."

For more information on the internship program or assistance finding a job, visit the Career Planning & Placement Office.