College Works offers students summer jobs in Shelby Township

By AMANDA LEE
For Journal Register Newspapers

The job crunch is affecting everyone — including college students. Chelsey Esser, a junior at Michigan State University from Shelby Township, has found a unique way to find employment in a slow economy.

College Works Painting employs interns from all across the nation. They are drawn from all majors through an interview process designed to test a candidate’s maturity, resolve and ambition.

For her part, Esser says she found out about the program while in a psychology class at Michigan State University.

“I was sitting in class one day and someone came in and they just started talking about this internship and I was sitting there thinking that I could do it,” she said. “It sounded like a great opportunity to get out and talk to people.”

Esser goes door-to-door to find individuals who need painting work done on their home.

“I printed my own fliers and then I go to different communities,” Esser said. “I pretty much go everywhere. I’ve been to Canton and Huntington Woods and talk to people.”

After she gets an interested client, Esser sits down with the clients for about 30 minutes to discuss the homeowner’s needs regarding the project.

“I get all their specifics down and then walk around the home with the owners and point out the places they need done,” Esser said. “Then I pace everything off and we go back and I give them an estimate and we go from there.”

Esser doesn’t do the painting herself. College Works Painting employs professional painters who go out and do the manual labor portion of the project.

While Esser says she will periodically stop by to make sure the project is going as planned, once the professional painter is on the premises she goes out again to find more clients.

“From where I’m coming from, this is a very social job,” she said.

Esser is one of 100 interns selected from 7,000 applicants nationwide by College Works Painting — which boasts a 97 percent approval rating.

“They train us to go out and talk to people and then we have meetings throughout the summer,” Esser said. “We have support from a district manager who helps along and tells us what we should be doing.

“This whole thing has been pretty exciting,” she said.

FYI

College Works Painting, Shelby Township. Call 586-719-6478 or visit http://www.collegeworks.com.