Gil Asakawa
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This article was published by Front Range TechBiz, a now-defnct local technology newspaper that also posted articles online.

Internship Fair a new approach for tech job seekers

By Gil Asakawa
Correspondent

Attendees paid $20 to go to the Spring Career Internship Fair - just for an opportunity to work for companies for free or for reduced wages.

Ten companies offered internships at the June 5 event at Baby Doe's Matchless Mine restaurant in Denver, and the 150-plus attendees were hoping to get a foot in the door or test-drive a career change.

The idea to match up experienced but unemployed workers with companies looking for interns came from Terrie O'Connell, founder of event sponsor DenverJobSearch.com and Fenix Coach-ing, a career coaching company.

She kept hearing from clients and people who attend her weekly networking events that they wanted to try new careers, but had no chance to because they lacked experience.

On the other side, she kept hearing from companies that they were understaffed, but had no budget to hire employees.

Maureen Little, founder of Microstaff, an Englewood-based recruiting company that specializes in high-tech employees, thought the concept could be a win-win, but only while the current economic downturn lasts. "This kind of event may be a good solution for both companies and talented individuals until the market turns around," she said.

O'Connell plans to host another internship fair in late summer or early fall.

Marc Holtzman, Colorado's secretary of technology and the evening's keynote speaker, praised the event and said he doesn't know of a similar approach anywhere else in the country. "It's very entrepreneurial. It's visionary," he said.

His address was a pep rally for Colorado's technology sector, touting the prospects of not just the telecom/cable industry, but also the biotech, aerospace and venture capital markets. He applauded the attendees looking for internship opportunities, and added, "Stick with it, hang in there and be optimistic."

After Holtzman's speech, Curtis Cole was networking with Todd Schermer.

They noticed they'd both been laid off from Kana, the California-based CRM solutions company. Cole was looking for a position in tech sales, and Schermer, who had been an Accenture consultant before taking on project management and some development at Kana, was investigating finance, the subject in which he earned his MBA.

"After eight years in a career, I figure an internship is a way to gain experience and launch into doing something else," Schermer said.

Cole said he's more conflicted about working for free. "I have mixed feelings," he said. "I'll do it as long as there's some kind of payoff. I can understand the 'let's get to know you' feeling, but I hope companies won't take advantage."

UPS was there, looking for four interns for temporary positions of 10 weeks each. The positions are paid, though not at full wages. "We were originally looking for college students, but we heard about this on the radio. I would think hiring an experienced worker would be advantageous - students have not had this kind of training in the past," said Jesse Gallegos, marketing manager for UPS.

RPM Solutions, a technology solutions company for the music, health care and government sectors, hoped to fill three positions. "It's an opportunity to get in on the ground level of a project," said Sheila Rockley, vice president of marketing. "We're looking for people who can come in full time after an internship."

Other companies there included White Hat Technologies, Antlantix Global Systems, I-MediaWorld.com, Complete Spectrum Financial Services and Moonworks Interactive. All the companies had gathered more than enough resumes to fill their internships before the event ended. The evening also featured companies offering services to displaced workers such as insurance and resume marketing, and ongoing lectures. Subjects included "How to Build a Career with the State of Colorado" "Ten Tips for Your Career Transition."

Former IT worker Ampara Dillon-Champ initially was disappointed in the number of companies at the fair, though she placed her resume and those of friends at various tables. "The ad in the paper and from my networking group said there would be biotech companies, and I don't see one," she said.

But later, after she sought out O'Connell, she felt better. Soma, a biotech company, had been scheduled to appear but had to cancel at the last minute. It does have internships to fill.

"That's a good thing," she said on her way out the door. "That's less competition for me. I'll be contacting them as soon as I get home."