College kids seem like they have a pretty cushy life. But for some students, they're eager to start fattening their resumes with real-life, relevant work experience to increase their chances of getting hired following graduation.
Take, for example, Hakan Telsiz. When he graduated from high school and moved to Austin for the summer leading up to his first semester at the University of Texas, he tried to land a three-month gig at a startup before starting class. But Telsiz was met with closed doors due to his lack of experience.
“I couldn’t find anywhere to take me for a project or internship because I didn’t have any experience working with companies like that before,” said Telsiz. “I noticed this barrier to entry even for things advertised as entry-level jobs. If there was some kind of way to find little projects and internships to put on your resume so you can work toward more professional endeavors, it would be useful.”
So he built a way.
Following his freshman year, Telsiz, who has been a web designer since he was 15, rounded up a group of his friends from the McCombs School of Business and the Department of Computer Science and began building Condecca. The platform connects students with companies who are looking for short-term help on specific projects or internships.
For the companies, they have the chance to hire short-term talent at a lower cost than freelancers would charge.
Telsiz said in the future the team plans on creating a machine-learning algorithm that will automatically match students with position openings applicable to their skill sets.
“I think Condecca can really help students by being the go-to place for short-term jobs by aggregating all of the positions that are scattered all over the internet, and by really being a place where students can go and get the experience that they need to take their careers to the next level,” said Telsiz.
Image provided by Shutterstock and Condecca.
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