Hamill encourages high school and college students to explore career opportunities in manufacturing through one-day job shadowing experiences and paid internships. The best part of such experiences is that it teaches young people about our company and the manufacturing industry. Sometimes, the only professional experience a young person might have had in the past was flipping hamburgers at the local fast food restaurant or visiting a parent at work so a day at our facility can truly be eye opening.
While we offer opportunities for students to engage with our machining and welding groups, few young people recognize that career opportunities in manufacturing extend into areas beyond the shop floor. We invite students to explore the many other vital roles in a manufacturing facility like Hamill including: accounting, contract management, drafting, engineering, human resources, information systems, planning, purchasing, and quality assurance, that can all lead to rewarding careers.
You can learn more about a company by experiencing it in the actual trenches than you can in any other way. For example, you know what you’re interested in and perhaps what type of career you want to enter but you’re not sure exactly what the career entails. During a job-shadow experience, you follow the shadowed employee through his or her workday. You observe the rigors of the job, the company culture, and ask lots of questions.
Before you try setting up a job-shadowing experience on your own, look into resources in your area for this kind of activity. Investigate whether your high school or college teacher can help you contact Hamill. Perhaps you know someone who works at Hamill who can help schedule a job shadowing experience.
Internships also offer you the opportunity to explore jobs that match your academic and personal interests. There are many benefits to completing an internship including the development of strong teamwork skills balanced with learning how to work independently.
As long as you develop a reputation for being responsible, hardworking and have the right social skills you will succeed at developing a network of contacts. Internships are a great way to build a resume before you enter the workforce. As a matter of fact, some schools require students to complete internships before graduation. Even if that's not the case for you, being able to list skills necessary in your chosen profession will set you apart from the competition and give you an edge in the marketplace.
Many times Hamill look to its interns as the best potential candidates for full-time positions because interns are a known entity, and the intern already knows something about our culture. Also, the less time we have to spend training a new hire the happier we are because training is costly and time-consuming.
Hamill accepts applications for internships in accounting, engineering, human resources and manufacturing between January and April of each year. Normally the interns begin their paid internships shortly after their college’s spring semester ends. Internships run through the summer and end in August when the next school year begins.