NORWICH – NBT Bank executives and local professionals provided personal insight and career advice to participants in the bank’s Summer Employment Program at its annual Career Day held Wednesday, July 25, at the Canasawacta Country Club.

This summer, 66 students from communities throughout NBT Bank’s footprint participated in the program. Started in 2005, the Summer Employment Program provides valuable experience in the work place and knowledge about employment opportunities at the company. Participants in the program range from those entering college to students beginning to work on post-graduate degrees.

Catherine Scarlett, NBT Bank director of human resources, said, “Through our Summer Employment Program we try to help prepare students for the future. Many of our interns will participate for several summers and have the opportunity to get hands-on experience in a variety of positions in the financial services industry. Our Annual Career Day takes that a step further and offers the students valuable tips they can use when beginning their job search.”

The day began with a presentation from Christina Whitney, director of career services at Binghamton University School of Management, who provided insights on preparing a resume and interviewing techniques. She was followed by several NBT Bank executives who spoke about their career experiences at the company and the advancement opportunities they benefited from at NBT Bank. Later in the day, Crystal Smith, senior consultant for Syracuse-based Strategic Communications, LLC, provided the students with an overview on the benefits and pitfalls of using social media in their job search.

NBT Bank President and CEO Martin Dietrich provided an overview of the company and had the honor of presenting scholarships to four students. Eligibility for the scholarship is based on work performance and the completion of at least one year of summer internship at NBT Bank. Recipients for this year were: Katlyn Boice, who was awarded $3,000; Josh Borfitz, who was awarded $2,500; and Kristen Carpenter and Molly De Meiller, who were each awarded $1,500.

“I am proud to present these students with a scholarship to help them continue their education,” Dietrich said. “Through our Summer Employment Program we are honored to help young people in our community develop their job skills as they learn about the many different employment opportunities available here at NBT Bank.”

NBT Bank offers personal banking, asset management and business services through a network of 137 banking locations in five states. NBT Bank operates from 97 locations in upstate New York, northwestern Vermont and western Massachusetts. NBT’s Pennstar Bank division operates from 35 locations in northeastern Pennsylvania, and its Hampshire First Bank division operates from five locations in southern New Hampshire. NBT Bank and its parent company, NBT  Bancorp Inc., are headquartered in Norwich, N.Y. NBT Bancorp Inc. had assets of $6.0 billion as of June 30, 2012, and is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol NBTB. More information about NBT Bank and NBT Bancorp can be found on the internet at www.nbtbank.com and www.nbtbancorp.com.