The Association of Higher Education Careers Services awarded Enterprise Rent-A-Car in 2013 for developing an advertising campaign for the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Graduate program. Photo courtesy of ahecs.ie.

Enterprise Holdings, Inc., the parent company of the Alamo, Enterprise and National car rental brands — repeatedly a top hirer of college graduates — does not require an internship nor does it require prior related job experience from its new hires.

It does, however, seek out new employees with a record of achievement.  As Enterprise demonstrates, if you don’t have time or if you cannot find a suitable internship, there are still job opportunities available for you. You may not bring professional work experience to an interview, but you can present yourself as a desirable, well-rounded potential new hire with simple traits learned during your college experience.

Many college counselors claim that in order to get an immediate and/or decent job offer upon graduation, you need to have completed a successful internship.

The CNN article, “Why are internships so important?” summarizes why an internship is so important to hiring employers. “While an interview or a company test can add to what an employer knows about a person, an internship helps an employer evaluate how an individual would fare in the actual workplace.”

I don’t believe internships are a requirement or a rite of graduation. There are many other ways a student can gain real world work experience, networking opportunities and new skills.

Organizations want to hire college graduates who are technology proficient, self-motivated, show good leadership skills, and possess strong communication abilities. All of these key skills can be gained and strengthened without the commitment of an internship. Some students don’t have time to do an internship, or can’t find one appropriate for their abilities and career goals.

There are many opportunities for students to gain and practice the desired skills. Joining and becoming involved in student organizations where you have the opportunity to hold a leadership position can certainly exemplify your leadership skills.

Serving as a volunteer throughout your college career represents your willingness to work, contribute and be a productive member of a team, which is the No. 1 trait employers look for according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers 2014 graduate outlook report.

Internships provide a good opportunity to network and accrue skills, but in both student organizations and volunteer work, students also have the opportunity to network and exercise pertinent skills for their future career.

According to a CNBC article,  employers ranked the qualities they find most valuable for the class of 2014.

The article said, “The ability to make decisions and solve problems ranked highest among employers.  Next was the ability to verbally communicate with people inside and outside the organization. Equally as important as verbal skills was the ability to obtain and process information. The lowest-rated skill and quality was the ability to sell or influence others.”  All of these skills can be gained through non-internship work experience.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that “Employers focused on hiring new college grads are optimistic about the job market for Class of 2014 … In fact, they expect to hire 7.8 percent more 2014 grads for their U.S. operations than they hired from the Class of 2013.”

For the past ten years, Enterprise has been renowned as one of the top entry-level employers by CollegeGrad.com, which is one of the foremost entry-level job reporting sites on the internet.

Currently, our local Grand Forks’ Enterprise location is looking to hire new employees to train for management positions. Student ambassadors are also a great way to work for Enterprise. As an ambassador, you would be considered an intern, but it’s paid. According to a recent publication by Enterprise’s Kathryn Bowring, “Members of Enterprise’s Talent Acquisition team visit local college campuses to promote Enterprise as an employer — primarily through the brand’s well-respected Management Training program, which provides college graduates the skills and tools to run their own business.”

Enterprise is known to provide some of the best management and customer service training to its employees, therefore making its employees very valuable and favored by other companies if the employee chooses to move on.

The average employee works at a local branch for a period of time learning the ropes in providing the best in sales and customer service. From there, they typically get promoted to a manager position where the road to success may take multiple directions across the country/globe depending on your individual career goals.

Don Linn, Director of Supply Chain Management at Enterprise, supports the hiring of new employees. His advice for recent college graduates is to “look for those job opportunities that will provide you with the fast track for responsibility and growth right out of the gate.”

If you are unsure of where you want to get your career on track, you might want to consider Enterprise.

Who knows, maybe you are the ambassador that can assist them to expand their college student CarShare program and bring their hourly and affordable, on-the-spot campus rental option to UND.

Margaret Upton is a staff writer for The Dakota Student.  She can be reached at [email protected].