Even with some recovery in the job market, obtaining a full-time industry position is not a given for 2012 graduates. But for one brand-new hire, getting a foot in the door through an internship was the way to go.

Jacob Carney, who graduated in May from Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Mich., with a degree in construction management, landed a full-time job at Clark Construction Co., Lansing, Mich., earlier this month after two summers of interning there. "I am now a project engineer," he says. "The connections I formed in Clark and [the fact] that my project manager was impressed with me as an intern got me this position."