Dear Lincoln Students,
As the spring semester comes to a close, the Career Services team has been reflecting on the progress and contributions we have been able to make thanks to our wonderful student body.
We are happy that many of you have taken the time to read and enjoy our “Career Services Garage” column! Moreover, we are grateful that many of you have reached out to the career services department to utilize our offerings. Many of you have come in for in depth resume and cover letter coaching, interview preparation, and for letters of recommendation. Each coaching session was personalized and included analysis and advice based on past and relevant work experience, education, skill set strengths, and future goals and objectives.
THANK YOU for being proactive and participating in our events and coaching!
Although the end of the spring semester is encroaching there is no need to fear - the career services department operates year round, and summer is a great opportunity to prepare for fall internship opportunities. Additionally, for those of you seeking OPT opportunities, we welcome you to reach out to us so that we may assist you with your quest.
We would like to share the success story of an MS (IB) Lincoln University student who obtained an internship for this summer as a result of our collaborative efforts.
Prakash Poudel has been selected as the top candidate for a paid summer internship with the Port of Oakland. Here is his story:
“I used to check every email I got from career services. I believed that since there were so many possibilities out there, that there was one for me. I applied to every single position and I got an interview at 4 places. The first interview was for a position as Assistant Project Manager (QA) and when I went to the interview, it had been just 3 months since moving to the USA. They told me that I should apply after the end of the first semester of my studies. However, I kept checking emails from Lincoln University’s career services department about internship opportunities and kept applying. An opportunity to work in the Port of Oakland for the summer attracted me. So, I went to their website, checked the positions available, and since I could have applied for 3 positions, I did. They were for: Information Technology, Engineering Utilities, and Communication. My first preference was an IT position since I have more than 6 years of professional experience in IT as a software QA Analyst. I gathered the required documents: recommendation letters, resumes, references, and a transcript of my GPA (3.9 from my previous master’s degree). The Port of Oakland contacted my previous employer for reference; it was in Norway where I used to work as a Senior Software QA Tester. Within 5 days after the deadline to apply, I got a phone call from the human resources department of the Port of Oakland. They asked about my degree, experience, about my school, and where I received the information about the job listing - from the career services department at Lincoln University!
The next day I had a call that informed me that I was selected for a face-to-face interview at their headquarters. I dressed formally and came 20 minutes prior to the appointment time. I was one of 32 candidates to be interviewed on this day. I had a tag with a particular time and had to wait. At 12 PM I entered the conference room and was interviewed by two men. I was actively interviewed by one man and the other seemed to be supervising. They asked about my background, why I was interested in the position, what I knew about the Port of Oakland (luckily I researched their website before the interview), and about my experience while asking specific questions about programming. It took them 2 weeks to relay the results to me. I received an email stating that I was selected for the internship. I later received an offer letter which allowed me to apply for my social security number. I went to the social security office, presented the offer letter, got approved, applied for my SSN and now I have everything.”
We are proud and honored to have Prakash Paudel at Lincoln University. We wish Prakash success and prosperity on his new endeavor as the Senior IT Intern. We hope that his success story inspires others to proactively follow up on the internship opportunities that we post so that we are able to share many more stories of LU students succeeding in the US job market.