Students can do any of the following if they need a co-op or internship:

Where and How to Look:  Clark’s Employment Services Center keeps a list of previous co-op placements and contacts in their electronic files; they can assist you in obtaining contact information for those former co-ops.  The active positions are posted in NextJob and may be viewed and applied for by selecting the “internships/co-op” category. Please contact a member of our staff for further assistance.

Also, faculty in related departments, receive copies of the active requisitions from Employment Services so they can announce them in their classes and post them on their department's bulletin board. You may ask your instructors if they know of any employers who are looking for interns.

You may do research on your own to locate a company you are interested in and want to do a co-op with by utilizing the Clark College Career Center.  This may involve calling employers to find out if they have an internship program and telling them you are looking for a co-op placement for the current or following quarter.  You should immediately fax or e-mail your resume to that person, and follow that up with a phone call to make sure they got your resume and to set an appointment with them.  If you need help finding a contact, all you need to do is ask at the Employment Services Center!

Another technique is to do an informational interview with an employer.  This method is very powerful and effective in obtaining insider's information about various career fields. You may inquire about their internship program during this process.

You can get other contacts through the Employment Services office, and if you wish, the Center can do the calling for you; but the preference is that you are doing the phone calling and follow-up yourselves.   They try not to do a lot of hand-holding and ask you to take the initiative.  If you'd like our Internship and Job Developer to assist you, please fill out the Co-op and Internship intake form and submit your resume to her.  She will contact you within 2 business days.

Once you have secured a co-op placement, you need to see an instructor about signing up for the credits for the quarter (1-5 variable credits).  The instructor’s name will be under a "199” course designation in the class schedule.  The number of credits is determined by the number of hours per week you work in the co-op.

After your internship has been approved and you’ve received permission from your instructor for the credits, you need to see him/her or Maxine Mitchell (mmitchell@clark.edu), or Suzanne Thayer (sthayer@clark.edu) to pick up the co-op packets and forms.  They will go over them with you and explain how the program works.  You may also attend a Co-op Mandatory Information Session, which is listed in the class schedule each quarter.

You will also be advised that you need to sign up for a co-op seminar (BTEC 141-143, or BTEC 147, or HDEV 195, 198 or 200, depending on your major), unless you have taken one of these classes in the past.  This seminar is a companion course to your co-op work experience.  You need to check your curriculum sheet for the appropriate companion seminar and curriculum requirements.

This task is ultimately your responsibility and will assist you toward achieving your future career goals.  Choose your co-op placement carefully.  Have fun and take this seriously.  This is your career and you are in charge of it!