About the author: Kira Olson is a spring intern at Silicon Prairie News. To learn more about Kira, visit our contributors page. 

SPN’s Startup Job Crawls connect students and recent graduates with young, innovative companies. For more about our upcoming Des Moines Job Crawl, which runs from 5-8 p.m. on April 4, visit the registration page.

 Spring break’s over, and the semester’s moving fast. Register for the Job Crawl and join us April 4 in Des Moines to find that summer internship, solid job connection or startup community mentor. 

When I started my senior year, the term startup was foreign to me. It wasn’t until a few months before I started my spring internship at Silicon Prairie News that I started to get a feel for what a startup really is and the impact entrepreneurship can have on a community. Once I started going to Silicon Prairie News events, I began to see the deep-rooted passion entrepreneurs bring to their business and the greater community around them.

The sort of passion exhibited by entrepreneurs is also a common characteristic among college students. As a senior at Creighton University, I’ve had almost four years to discover what my passions are, get my footing in the working world and watch my peers try to do the same thing. These are striking similarities between college students and entrepreneurs — both trying to figure out what exactly their place in the working world is going be be and having the desire to do whatever it takes to make it to that place.

After attending the Silicon Prairie News Job Crawl in February, I left with a few takeaways about the startup community and the overall atmosphere of the Job Crawl:

What I discovered about startups

• Hands on! These companies are all hands on deck. Young graduates can really make an impact within the company and expand their practical knowledge.
• Scalable growth. Startups are helping the Midwest to grow and to be recognized nationwide. The passion young people in the workforce have is exactly what is needed to make this happen.
• The community feeling is astounding. Just a few months into my internship, I have come to recognize how great the startup community is. It is a great atmosphere to learn and grow into the working world
• Creativity and innovation run wild. Startups are the place to be to have your ideas heard and not lost on a desk. 

Why savvy college students should attend

• Different side to business. It’s a super casual way to see another side of the business world.
• Connections, connections, connections. Seriously, in the past two Job Crawls combined there were more than 300 students and 60 companies.
• All majors are welcome. You do not have to be a techie or design genius to fit in. Like to talk to people? Love using social media? Are you the type who is always on top of the latest trends? Any of those are great places to start.
• It’s free and valuable. Enough said.

Register for the Startup Job Crawl

Clearly, the gulf between the college student culture and the startup culture is not all that wide and the Silicon Prairie News Job Crawl is a perfect way to get your toe in the water. Who knows, you might want to dive on in!  

To get a peek inside the Job Crawl experience, take a look at video below and make sure to register to hold your spot at the upcoming Des Moines event.

Startups

If you’re a startup interested in joining us for the second Startup Job Crawl in Des Moines, please submit an application using this form. There is no cost to participate, and we’ve extended our deadline for considering companies. Please submit your application by Thursday, March 29.

Apply to participate in the Job Crawl

Thanks to our sponsor, Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark, the primary sponsor for our job crawl, provides us great opportunity to connect students and startups. Our thanks to them and all of our sponsors who help us build this ecosystem.

More opportunities for sponsorship are still available for the Startup Job Crawl, please contact Geoff Wood at geoff@siliconprairienews.com to learn more.