Beware of College Students in the Workplace

Back in April, the New York Times wrestled with the issue of whether the unpaid intern was legal or not. One of the conclusions stated: "California and some other states require that interns receive college credit as a condition of being unpaid. But federal regulators say that receiving college credit does not necessarily free companies from paying interns, especially when the internship involves little training and mainly benefits the employer."

Well TLNT wrote this week that the United States Department of Labor (DOL) has begun to crack down on businesses that do not pay interns and offers some keys about complying with the law. While the DOL has issued a "fact sheet", TLNT does a great job of translating that for Human Resources and figuring out where problem areas still exist.

And then there's the factor of which degree to choose when you're in school? Well Monster.com and Yahoo! HotJobs issued a list of the worst-paying college degrees (H/T Wendy). A good list of majors to avoid for students and areas where Human Resources should take notice.

Well once those college students graduate, what is waiting for them? Not much. The New York Times wrote back in July that many are trying to join Teach for America--but few are actually chosen for the very selective positions. But yet many graduates from some of the most prestigious colleges around the country are applying there for the job security and resume booster that it provides.

Last piece of advice for the college grad (or, really, anyone else) comes from The Oatmeal: "What your email address says about your computer skills." A funny must-read for anyone who is applying to a job with an @aol.com/@yahoo.com/@hotmail.com address.