This morning, Nokia has unveiled their latest app to help young college graduates find pre-job placement through an app called Internships Lens. Built off of their previous effort called JobLens, Internship Lens will help recent college grads find that work experience in their immediate area and tuned for their academic training.
The app is part of a partnership between Nokia and Internships.com, which is the world’s largest database on those opportunities and it will be made available today for those in the US who also own a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone.
Nokia cites data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that says “54 percent of recent college graduates in the U.S. are jobless or underemployed according to the BLS. Further, seven in 10 internships turn into full-time, salaried positions”. The app ties into a user’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Live accounts to find internships in their area that are suited for their experience. Users can also apply and share those internships right through the app.
Nokia claims that Internships Lens is “…part of a larger effort to create apps that impact people’s lives and deliver on real needs of everyday life".
How important are internships to young graduates? The site Internships.com lists a few recent statistics:
Businesses are hiring more interns than ever:
- 36 percent more companies offered internships in 2012 compared to 2011 (Internships.com December 2012 Survey)
- 53 percent of companies planned to hire more interns in 2013 than 2012 (Internships.com December 2012 Survey)
Internships serve as a gateway to full-time employment:
- 79 percent of employers view internships as a way to find full time hires (National Association of Colleges and Employers)
- 7 out of 10 internships turn to full time jobs, as reported by National Association of Colleges and Employers
- 69 percent of companies with 100 employees or more made full time job offers to interns in 2012 (Internships.com December 2012 Survey)
Unemployment hitting young workers hardest (defined by the BLS as 16-24 year olds):
- More than double the national average (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- In July 2013, youth unemployment rate was 16.3 percent compared to nat’l average of 7.4 percent (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The app itself is very well done with users being able to pull in finance news through various provides, login with Twitter and Facebook and of course use Nokia’s Augmented Reality viewer to “see” actual internships in their immediate vicinity.
Once an internship is found, users can Save, Share or Apply for the job in addition to learning more about the company and meet people associated with the opportunity for more information. Even salary data is gathered for that local area to put into perspective what the average is.
Internships Lens is now available and can be downloaded to Windows Phone 8 Lumias for those in the US. Follow this link, swipe right in our app or scan the QR code below. More information can be found on Nokia Conversations.
Users interested in JobLens, a similar app from Nokia for finding new jobs, can grab that here in the Store.
