The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, disabilityworks and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities have announced a summer internships program designed specifically for Chicago high school and college students with disabilities interested in careers in information technology for 2009.

The paid and unpaid internships are supported by a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, (DCEO), which is made possible through the leadership of Director Jack Lavin and is part of Governor Rod Blagojevich’s Workforce Development Initiative.

The TechWorks internship program will provide 20 students with the exclusive opportunity to participate in an 11 week information technology internship with some of Chicago’s most prestigious corporations.

The Internship Program’s Four Main Objectives are:

• Enable students to gain real-world work experience and further enhance employment opportunities in "IT".
• Increase students’ current "IT" skills and explore information technology as a possible career choice.
• Increase placement in "IT" jobs for interns who complete the program.
• With exposure to highly competent interns, TechWorks seeks to break down stereotypes and help eliminate employer fears about the limitations of persons with disabilities.

Current high school or college students, age 16 years or older, living or going to school in the City of Chicago are invited to apply regardless of disability. All applications must be received no later than December 15, 2008. Students must be able to legally work in the U.S., and be in good academic standing.

Students should request an application by clicking "Apply" link on the Home page at www.chicagotechworks.org. TechWorks will begin identifying and interviewing students starting in October, 2008 and begin presenting those candidates to employers in January, 2009.

It will be the student’s responsibility to prepare for their internships, i.e. additional computer classes, job readiness skills, workshops, job coaching, etc. The preparation steps will depend on the student’s and the employer’s requirements.

Once an intern is selected for the TechWorks program, he or she will be given a "Plan of Work" which will outline job requirements and expectations. TechWorks will assist students in finding sources for training in order to prepare them for their internships.

Interns with disabilities might require accommodations ranging from schedule flexibility to allow for medication regimens, assistive equipment, like computers, or services such as sign language interpreters. We will make every effort to assist with providing a workplace accommodation to enable an individual with a disability to participate in or benefit from internship opportunities resulting from TechWorks, barring undue hardship.

TechWorks will screen candidates, set up interviews and maintain regular contact throughout the internship.

One company is making it possible for your internship dreams to come true, at a price.

Room to Grow is auctioning off three-week summer internships at Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, CNN and Teen Vogue during its 10th anniversary celebration at Christie's, which will take place December 2.

The internships are being auctioned as part of the "Reaching for the Stars" program. The program offers internships to teenagers 16-years old and older with an interest in media, music, fashion or movies. According to an article by Media Bistro, an internship is a priceless opportunity to learn the ropes.

"We are offering one three-week summer internship at each of these iconic media establishments: Rolling Stone Magazine, CNN, Vanity Fair, Teen Vogue," the article notes. "We will auction off each of the internships individually. You may bid on one or more."

The mission of Room to Grow is to enrich the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first three years of development.

Room to Grow is an organization that provides parents raising babies in poverty with one-on-one parenting support and essential baby items throughout their children's critical first three years of life.

"Parents expecting a baby are referred to Room to Grow by selected prenatal programs assisting low-income families," the company's Web site states. "Upon their referral, parents visit Room to Grow's warm and inviting space once every three months from just before the birth of the baby until their child turns three.

"During their one-on-one appointments with our staff clinicians, typically lasting two hours, parents receive developmental information, customized support, and all of the needed baby items to ensure a healthy and secure start for their child," the site adds.

Internships today are an integral part of almost any college student's life, and most colleges today are helping students with their internship experience.

Internship experiences vary from company to company, but most offer students a chance to get an inside look at what a future career in a certain field might be like. Also, according to an article by USA Today, most internships have a structure that helps students learn and seek out what they want and need to know.

At Simmons College in Boston, students fulfill specific tasks on their way to completing required internships. For example, communications majors write an analysis of how the organization works, as well as give a presentation to their classmates. They also must conduct three informational interviews.

According to Sarah Burrows, director of internships for Simmons' Department of Communications, interviewing someone inside and organization forces students to do some networking at their internship site.

"It's a little intimidating, but it gives them an opportunity to show what they're made of," she said in the article.

Some colleges offer students a chance to work with faculty to customize internship experiences. At Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va., students meet individually with faculty mentors, who help them frame specific goals and evaluation criteria.

At Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif., students in summer internships often also participate in a leadership institute, which uses readings, writing assignments and online discussion groups to help put individual experiences in broader contexts.

"Learning doesn't always end when internships wrap up," the article adds. "At Saint Louis University, a few seniors discuss their internship experiences at a symposium. By listening and asking questions, newer students get a head start on structuring their own internships — and avoiding others' mistakes."

The United States Census Bureau is slated to hire approximately 1,000 temporary jobs for its five Ohio offices: Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Canton. In a weakening job market – Ohio’s unemployment rate is hovering above 7% – the timing couldn’t be better. With pay ranging between $8 - $19 per hour, the positions could be a perfect resume builder for entry level job seekers.

The Census Bureau, a government agency that is responsible for the official enumeration of the population, gathers all types of national demographic and economic data. According to the US Constitution, the population must be precisely counted at least once every ten years. The results are used to set the number of members from each state in the House of Representatives. Too, Census data directly affects the ways in which federal and state funding is allocated. In general, the Census Bureau collects statistics about the nation, its people and economy. Between censuses, the Bureau makes population estimates and projections.

Ohio’s regional center is based in the Detroit, Michigan office, which is responsible for field data collection across Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and certain counties in Kentucky and Indiana. Available positions range from office operations supervisor, administrative assistant, media specialist, crew leader, and enumerator. With job postings closing in December, the Ohio offices are expected to be fully staffed by January 2009.

VisualCV, Inc., an online professional profile system, has issued a news release to help anyone – from entry level job seekers on up – manage their job search during the current economic downturn.

• Attitude Check - Be mindful of attitudes and assumptions about the job market. "Often, the beliefs we buy into determine outcomes more than anything else," says Ford Myers, M.Ed., president of Career. "It's natural to feel nervous, but people can smell cynicism and negativity a mile away. Instead, maintain a positive, open-minded attitude.”
• Take Inventory - How are you currently marketing yourself to your current or prospective employer? Myers recommends evaluating your strategic approach, methodology, the resume, work samples and portfolio items, oral presentation, etc. to be sure you're on top of your game at all times. This way you'll always be ready to showcase results and achievements to your boss or to a potential employer.
• Showcase Yourself - Whether you're networking or job seeking, be sure your accomplishments are visible. "You're more likely to be recognized internally or found by recruiters if you can tangibly show your areas of expertise and the value you bring to the table," says Louise Kursmark, MRW, CCM, principal of Your Best Impression.
• Take a Consultative Approach - Be proactive and ask probing questions to find out what's keeping your current boss or prospective employer up at night. Then, jump into action.
• Network - That next opportunity is far more likely to come from connections than from a job listing, says Myers. Be active in professional associations, do volunteer work, participate in online peer communities - stay out there.
• Be Smart Online - "Recruiters and employers are absolutely Googling you. They don't want to see discrepancies between your in-person and online personas. Your online presence can make a difference in landing the job or securing a promotion," Kursmark says. Be professional and polished wherever you have a digital footprint.
• Be Selective - It may sound counterintuitive, but the worst thing to do is abandon your career goals and throw a wide net "doing anything for anyone," according to Myers. For example if you've been laid off, don't panic and send out 1,000 resumes the next day and take any job offered. Take a little time. Breathe.
• Stay Engaged and Informed - "Keep an eye on what's going on in your company and in your field so that you're not the last one there to turn out the lights," says Kursmark. Be active in professional organizations and keep up-to-date about current trends. This will help in identifying growth areas and opportunities.

While Wall Street is facing one of its toughest financial situations to date, there is still some hope for students looking for Wall Street-related internships.

While recruiting is down for interns, it has not yet been altogether done away with. According to an article by The Business Sheet, summer interns are much less of a risk to employers than full-time employees. This is partly because there is no long-term commitment to interns and in general interns receive much less pay than full-time employees.

At the very most, a bank or other Wall Street institution might use two to three months of salary on a summer or other intern. Also, interns receive no bonuses, and it's not always necessary to send them to training or hire them for full-time work.

Having a group of summer interns also gives the company more options, if they do need more full-timers than anticipated, they could always go back to their summer interns and see who’s still looking for work.

"In a high-end services industry like banking, having full-time people complete the random tasks that need to get done each week is expensive - from 'managing prospects' (updating spreadsheets of who the banker has been talking to lately) to creating profiles of companies to looking up basic information, getting food, coffee and dry cleaning … and the list goes on ...," the article notes.

As a result, banks almost always recruit a few interns each year, despite the condition of the economy. And while recruiting will be down this year the same as it was last year, it will by no means be eliminated altogether.