college

Start Your Summer Internship Search Now

By Kathryn Knight Randolph — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:34:00 -0700

Believe it or not, summer internship application deadlines are already passing you by, and if you’re looking for an opportunity that is a little more competitive, you need to start your applications ASAP.

Here are four places to start your internship search right now:

MonsterCollege

Not to toot our own horn but MonsterCollege is a great place to start your internship search. Our internship search is powered by Monster, the premier global online employment solution for people seeking jobs.

These internships are targeted toward college and graduate students as well as graduates who may need an internship to bridge the gap between their past work experience and their first entry-level job. They cover quite a range of fields, from serving in a variety of positions with the Cleveland Indians to digital marketing internships with The New York Times.

Applying is simple. Just click the internship you’re interested in, read the description and click the link to the internship provider’s website if you’re interested.

Start your internship search with Monster College.

College Career Center

Didn’t even know your school had one? Here’s your chance to discover how much this facility can do for you. Typically, college career centers keep a database of internships that students at the school have previously worked.

From these past opportunities, the school works with employers to develop a further relationship, meaning future internships for students like you. Visit with a consultant at your college career center. They’ll gauge your interests, career aspirations and ideal location and help you find an opportunity that’s perfect for you.

Friends and Family

Ask your friends about internships they did this summer – do they have an opportunity they could recommend to you? Consider questioning your family members too. Chances are, they have internship opportunities at their place of business looking for hard-working, motivated interns like you next summer.

Additionally, friends and family that suggest internship opportunities to you may be able to provide a recommendation, which could go a long way in helping you stand out from the growing potential intern pool.

Local Companies

This last opportunity will take a bit of cold calling on your part. Identify local businesses and corporations in your hometown or college town that have career paths that might interest you, and call the human resources office about internship opportunities. Even if they don’t have a structured program, they may be able to customize an internship experience for you.

Calling at this point in the year shows that you’re not only interested in an internship but in their company as well. And flattery can go a long way in this game.

Looking for more internship search advice? You’ve come to the right place -- learn more.

Internships: Why You Need to Complete One

By Kizzy Preston — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:32:00 -0700

When I first graduated from college I thought, “Ok, great I have my B.A. in English-- bring on my writing/editing jobs.” As I researched the jobs I really wanted, I saw that I was lacking one very vital thing, experience.

All of my experience had been in the banking and business world. In spite of it having always been my dream, I didn't have any recent or tangible experience in the writing, publishing, public relations, or any other field where writers are heavily used. This could have been avoided if I would have done one simple thing… completed an internship.

Internships are where you, the student, work for a company-- usually without pay-- but you are paid in experience and sometimes college credit. You work the job as if you are a paid employee of the company and gain hands-on experience. There, you develop the skills you need to land that first job in your dream field. Many companies look favorably on internships and see them as real life experience that cannot be obtained in a classroom.

According to an MSN article, “Why Are Internships So Important”, Beth Braccio Hering writes, “Graduating students with paid or unpaid internships on their résumé have a much better chance at landing a full-time position upon graduation. Students are doing internships as undergraduates, and it is now not unusual for recent grads to take an unpaid internship with hopes of turning it into a permanent position or at least making some contacts and building their résumé.”

Adult Learners Need Internships Too

A non-traditional student is a person usually over the age of 25, who has gone back to college. For the adult learner you often have to balance college courses with a full-time job, home and family obligations. If you are attending college to prepare for a career change, then it is important that you find a way to complete an internship in your new chosen field.

Having the degree alone is usually not enough to successfully change careers. Companies want to see that you have tangible experience in their field before they will hire you for the job you desire. Some companies are willing to let students intern on the weekends, or on a flexible schedule. You could also look into volunteering with an organization to gain new skills and experience that would make you more marketable in your new career field.

Some degree programs require the completion of an internship, but most do not. It is up to the student to make sure that they gain as much real world experience as possible before graduation.

Places to look for internships:

Your school's career office--They don't just have information about part-time work at your local pizza place. This is a great place to be matched with internship opportunities.

Fastweb -- Simply complete a profile on the website answering questions about your interests and Fastweb will link you with internships that match your goals and skill level.

MonsterCollege – Click on the “internships” tab to find internship opportunities in up to 20 different states at once.

In the local newspaper--Mixed in with paying jobs there are sometimes internship and volunteer opportunities listed.

End Your Internship on a Good Note

By Kathryn Knight Randolph — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:23:00 -0700

The end of summer brings an end to corporate internship programs’ most lucrative season. While you’ve been working hard all summer to impress your supervisor, colleagues and other interns, there is still quite a bit you can do after the internship to stay in their good graces.

Email Your Entire Team

Chances are, the team you worked with all summer doesn’t have your last day marked on the calendar. Send an email the Monday of your last week informing the team that it’s your last week and that you’d be happy to take on any new projects to be done by Friday, your last day. Nothing is more embarrassing for you or a colleague than to be handed a project on the day you’re leaving.
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Example:

Hi Team,

As you may or may not know, today marks the start of my last week in the office. I’ve enjoyed working with you all this summer and have learned a great deal. In just a week, I will be heading back to school and beginning my senior thesis. After college, I plan to find work in this same field so some of you can expect to hear from me again!

If you have any projects that I can complete before my last day, Friday, please let me know! I’d be happy to be of use as much as possible this week.

Let’s keep in touch. My email is awesomeintern@gmail.com and my cell is 123.456.7890. Again, thanks for the opportunity.

Sincerely,

Awesome Intern

Thank Your Boss

Whether you loved or hated your boss, it’s so important to thank them for giving you the opportunity to intern this summer. Do you know how hard it is to land an internship these days?! No matter how badly you may have been, or thought you may have been, treated, your supervisor did you a huge favor.

Keep it old school and set up a face-to-face meeting with your boss. Don’t do this over email. Here’s what your meeting should cover:

• Thank him or her for the opportunity, for any mentoring they provided

• Divulge a little of what you learned or asked questions about things that may still be unclear

• Mention keeping in touch
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Follow the Company

This is absolutely vital if you want to work at this company after graduation. You will have to interview again and being able to show that you’ve watched the company’s every move will definitely be noted.

However, while you may never work at the company again, you’ll most likely need a reference for future internship and job opportunities. Not to mention, your previous experience will come up in job interviews. That’s why it’s to your benefit to keep track of the company after you leave.

Thanks to social media, this is really simple. Check in on their Facebook page or Twitter feed for any company updates. Look for their name on the news and in newspapers and magazines.

If you’re not ruling out working for the company after graduation, occasionally email your former supervisor about company changes and updates.

Example:

Hi Mr. Boss,

Just saw the latest product you all unveiled on the Facebook page and was so impressed! I just wanted to write a quick note to let you know that I’m continuing to follow the company and all that you’re doing. Even after my internship with you all, I’m still learning so much.

I’m heading into the second semester of my senior year and am putting the finishing touches on my resume. If there is any way you could help me at all through this process, I would be so grateful.

Hope you’re doing well and am looking forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Awesome Intern

Respect the Company

Finally, don’t trash talk the company after your internship experience. Believe it or not, it could get back to your former supervisor. You never know who’s watching your social media accounts or what your frienemy might repeat about you in an interview with that company. Remember, these people will be invaluable to your own job search by providing references for you to future employers.

And while it may be difficult to sum up your experience without being negative, only tell others what was positive about your internship, even if it’s something as simple as the way the group was structured.

Ultimately, you are extremely lucky to have had an internship at all and owe your supervisor and colleagues a great deal for your experience. Just keep that in mind as you leave the company on a good note.

6 Tips to Turn an Internship into a Job

By Lauren Bayne Anderson — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:25:00 -0700

So, you're interning this summer.

But as great as that looks on your resume, you're ready for a full time job. One that pays a real living wage and offers health insurance!

If you’re hoping to turn your internship into a full time job, there are some things you can do to make it happen.

The over arching theme, if you want to make your internship into a full time job, is to be professional and do impressive work.

In short, your job in those three months is to convince your boss that he/she NEEDS you on the team and that if you were to leave, the office would be worse off without you.

Here, our tips on how to do just that:

Come early, stay late. In short, work hard. Work harder than the people already working there full time.
Don’t act like an intern. Be responsible, be mature. Don’t talk about the bar crawl you did over the weekend. You want to be seen as an adult member of the staff, act like one.
Dress the part. Take cues from other people in the office and follow their lead on how to dress.
Impress your boss. Do this by handing in assignments before they’re asked for, coming up with new ideas, and being proactive in getting things done.
Find a mentor Find someone in your office who is seasoned, and takes an interest in you, who can help steer you through office politics, let you know when you’re messing up, and come up with ways to impress your boss. This is a great person to bounce things off of before handing them in to your supervisor.
Let things go. Maybe it’s true that Susie from two cubicles over seems to have it out for you. But while you’re interning and hoping to land a full time job, is not the time to bring it up with your boss. You want to appear to mesh well with the team already in place. So, try to deal with Susie professionally, quietly and on your own.

Money Tips from Alice in Wonderland

Robin Applegarth | Divine Caroline — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:11:00 -0700

Does the world of investing seem like a mysterious place? You may feel like you’ve dropped down a rabbit hole into a strange land of creatures with names like TIGR, GNMA, and LURMS.

Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass, was a mathematician and logician of the 1800s. His inventive tales are full of financial metaphors. Let’s tour Wonderland and see what its odd creatures can tell us.

At the beginning of the story, a white rabbit dashes in front of Alice. He’s carrying a watch and declaring “Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting.” Time and lateness is a theme that twists and bends through this fairy tale.

1. Keep time on your side. If you’re over age thiry and haven’t started saving for your future, you’re late too. The time value of money makes it much more efficient to save early.

Today’s Alice (we’ll call her Allison), will find that time can be a magic fairy dust for investors. How is this? If Allison starts saving $200 a month at age twenty-five, earns 8 percent a year compounded, and saves for thirty years (until she’s fifty-five), she’ll have $612,103 by the time she reaches age sixty-five. If she gets distracted by following muttering rabbits and doesn’t start until age thirty-five, she’ll only have $283,522, or $328,581 less.

No, this is not a hazy dream from a hookah-smoking caterpillar. She would have contributed exactly the same amount, but because she started ten years later, the earnings had less time to grow. This ability of money to mushroom over time is called “compounding.”

Whatever your age, if you can give savings twenty-plus years to grow, you’ll be a richer rabbit.

Next Page: Ignore the jabberwocky →

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Featured Author: DivineCaroline

At DivineCaroline, you’ll be spending time with women who embrace the fact that life isn’t always easy or beautiful or fair. Our dream is to give you a place to come together to express yourselves. What brings you joy. What breaks your heart. Makes you giggle. What pisses you off. Confuses you. Entertains you. What keeps you strong. Check them out here!

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2. Ignore the jabberwocky, and invest in things you understand. Alice met many strange creatures on her journey—Tweedledee and Tweedledum, talking cards, and the Mad Hatter. Most of them spoke nonsense, warnings, or in riddles.

Our modern Allison lived through the economic downturn of 2008–09. It too was marked by warnings and confusion. Bankers touted complex mortgages. Wall Street sold entangled derivatives, and used financial language that sounded like jabberwocky. Where was the money? Your guess was as good as the dodo bird’s.

Be sure you understand where you’re putting your savings. Ask questions, and learn something new. That way you’ll know that TIGRs don’t bite—they’re Treasury Investment Growth Receipts. GNMAs are tame Government National Mortgage Association bonds, and LURMS … well, they’re imaginary.

3. If you don’t know where you’re going, get directions. In the story, Alice eventually wandered into the deep woods. Here, at a fork in the road, she saw the elusive Cheshire cat, and asked him which way to go. He responded by asking her where she was headed. When she couldn’t answer, the cat said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

Don’t get lost in the forest of finance. Find your purpose and choose the clearest path to reach it. Good financial advice can provide you with “maps.” Or, you can get help from a financial professional. It’s best to choose a fee-based advisor for more objectivity.

Next Page: Free lunch? It’s probably an illusion →

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4. Free lunch? It’s probably an illusion. In Wonderland, the Mad Hatter invited guests for tea, and then directed them to sit down to a plate of crumbs.

The Mad Hatter is a Bernie Madoff–type character running pyramid schemes. He takes from one and passes it to the next (with big cuts for himself of course). The Mad Hatter and March Hare were the ones who got the best food at the table.

Another character in the story offers this tidbit: “The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today.” One could substitute “money” for “jam” in most sticky pyramid schemes or get-rich-quick investments.

5. Stay involved with your finances. In the story, Alice also met a smoke-ring-blowing caterpillar curled up on a giant mushroom. This philosophical creature didn’t want to be disturbed by Alice or the rest of the world. He’s symbolic of the “avoider” who doesn’t want to be bothered with taking care of his/her money, and hopes it will magically grow. Unfortunately, lack of attention can make money go up in smoke.

6. Is it right for you? Set your own goals. Alice was given a magic potion that could make her bigger or smaller, to enter various-sized rooms.

Today’s Allison will be confused if she tries to fit herself into others’ spaces or investment plans. Just because Uncle Tweedledum made profits off of a gold mining stock from Brazil, doesn’t mean that it’s right for her.

Choose appropriate investments to meet your own goals. If your goals are short term, use things like money market mutual funds or certificates of deposit (CDs).

If your goals are more than ten years away, choose stock-based, no-load mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs). They’ll have the lowest fees and can provide some diversification. Need to find a door into balanced retirement investing? Look into target-date mutual funds.

Next Page: Avoid the mad queen and the clutches of debt →

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7. Avoid the mad queen and the clutches of debt. No tour of Wonderland is complete without visiting the Red Queen. While most queens are benevolent, this one is a harpy. Her frequent command is “Off with their heads!” Her subjects cower before her harsh edicts. The Queen presents one of the main obstacles on Alice’s journey. She could easily represent domination by debt—an uneasy life indeed.

Our current-year Allison is taking steps to build financial security, so she can avoid the clutches of debt. She’s learned that credit cards have to be used sparingly, and paid off each month, or they can bite. She saves regularly, has a comfort-cash fund for emergencies, and learns something new about personal finance monthly. She’s discovered that the journey to financial freedom begins with small steps, taken repeatedly.

Alice in Wonderland is an allegory of being a stranger in a strange land. It’s about questioning who you can trust, and how to find your way “home”—to that place where you can live your ideal life.

What steps will you take today toward that goal?

This article was originally published on DivineCaroline.com.

More From Divine Caroline:

Seven Tips to Turn Your Budget into a Cash Flow Projection

What Makes Women Different Investors Than Men?

Making Frugality the New Splurge

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Are College Admissions Need-Blind?

Shamus Khan | GOOD — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:30:00 -0700

How need-blind admission ignores the plight of poverty.

“Need-blind” admission is often considered the gold standard for colleges and universities. Those fortunate colleges that can claim to use such admission policies are those that represent the true promise of our nation: one where hard work and talent, not the background of the applicant, matters.

Yet need-blind admission is a farce. It is an aptly named policy, one where colleges are blind to the disadvantages of poverty or, better, willfully blind to the advantages of wealth.

With these practices, applicants who come from poor backgrounds are placed on an equal field as those who come from rich backgrounds. Never mind they never had private tutors, their parents likely did not attend college, they never spent summers at enrichment camps, weekends taking piano lessons, or vacations enjoying cultural tours of Europe. They are also more likely to have worked through school and, in all likelihood, attended a school that was underfunded.

Imagine for a moment if my university proposed that it be, say, “color blind” in its admissions. What would happen? There would, no doubt, be outrage in liberal America. And there would be tremendous impact on the racial composition of our student body. In their work, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, Thomas Espenshade and Alexandria Radford show the racial advantages afforded to different racial groups.

Imagine you have two otherwise equal candidates—one is black, one is white. What is the impact of being black on one’s chances of being admitted? It's equivalent to 340 points on a 1,600 point SAT. Being Latino gets you 130 points and being Asian gets you a penalty of 140 points.

Colleges are clearly taking race into account in admissions. This is a policy I agree with. In 1951, blacks made up approximately 0.8 percent of the students at elite colleges. Today, they make up about 8 percent of Ivy League students. Undertaking this kind of transformation has meant recognizing the impact of race on a student’s life chances—in particular, its impact on early life opportunities.

The result has been nothing short of a revolution in the racial composition of elite colleges, one made possible through “race conscious” admissions practices. To undo these practices would be to bring us much closer to the racial composition of the 1950s (with the exception of a massive increase in Asian students).

Why are colleges taking race into account but not class? Why are they race conscious but need blind? Why are students awarded or punished based on the wealth of their families?

Next Page: What About Class? →

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For colleges, being economically representative of our nation would spell financial ruin. Let me use my own university as an example. (The reader should note: Columbia University is one of the “best” elite universities in the nation when it comes to its class composition.) Half of our student body comes from a family that is able to pay the $55,000 in total expenses for a year at Columbia. It represents more than the yearly earnings of the average American family. It is such a staggering amount of money that even if a family makes $150,000 a year—placing them within the wealthiest 5 percent of our nation’s earners—they are still likely to receive some financial assistance.

Further, about half our students come from among the richest 5 percent of Americans. And to change our admissions practices to be economically representative of our nation would add well over $150,000,000 to our annual financial aid budget (a move that would increase our financial aid three-fold). Given its current expenditures, Columbia cannot afford to be economically diverse. For colleges, using race as a proxy for diversity is far less expensive than using race and class.

Elite schools are disproportionately a place for the rich. Unlike the comparably hopeful story about the racial composition of colleges, the class composition of our top colleges is only getting worse. In the last 30 years, the number of students from the poorest 25 percent of American families attending top colleges has held steady at 10 percent. At the same time, the richest 25 percent of American earners are taking up more and more seats.

There is a missing revolution in our nation: one in which poor and average Americans can have a fighting chance of acquiring the kind of education and advantages that elite education provides.

As a regular contributor to GOOD, I will think through the role of elites in our nation and the impact of elite schooling on this process. I encourage you to respond with comments, questions, or critiques. I will try to address them as the series unfolds.

This article was originally published on GOOD.com.

8 Offbeat College Majors

Allison Ford | Divine Caroline — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:33:00 -0700

Whatever happened to plain ol’ communications? When I was a new college freshman back in the olden days of 1998, I regarded my roommate’s math major as highly unusual.

I was flabbergasted not only by the fact that a person could actually major in mathematics, but also that anyone would choose to do so in the first place. Most people I knew were majoring in English, education, or political science, so it was not every day that I met someone with an unusual concentration.

Perhaps the myopia that I developed by attending an urban East Coast university is to blame, but over the years I’ve always been surprised to learn about the offbeat programs that other colleges around the country are offering these days. Picking a college major is a decision that influences the rest of a person’s life, but current university catalogs list classes in hotel and restaurant management, meteorology, and even yoga. Of the many odd and exotic-sounding curricula out there, some of the weirder options just might train students for the jobs of the future, but others are nothing but educational and professional dead ends.

The Useful

Turfgrass Science

It’s not just about choosing which fertilizer to put on your backyard; turfgrass management involves learning how to properly maintain and manage all types of outdoor grass areas—athletic fields and facilities, golf courses, and, yes, home lawns. Turfgrass specialists perform water and soil testing, guard against erosion, eradicate undesirable pests, and oversee all aspects of preventing botanical diseases spread in the grass. Being a groundskeeper at a golf course or university can be a lucrative position for someone who likes the outdoors and working with her hands. The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Turfgrass Science offers the oldest turf-maintenance program in the country; in addition to courses like Soils 101, students take classes in biology and chemistry.

Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies

At colleges like New York’s Colgate University, students combine topics in psychology, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy to learn about war and peace across the world. Understanding conflicts and how different nations negotiate and resolve disputes can be an invaluable learning experience for someone whose career plans include working for an international nonprofit or in the diplomacy or international-relations field.

Homeland Security

It’s a true sign of the post-9/11 world that students can now major in thwarting terrorism. Students in Homeland Security programs like the one offered at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University don’t just learn the finer points of searching luggage. Coursework includes learning about legal precedents in cases of terrorism, intelligence gathering, managing disaster zones and formulating disaster plans, and studying the psychological profiles of terrorists and suicide bombers. Graduates usually aspire to management positions within the Department of Homeland Security, but some also work in the private sector at consulting or security firms.

Sustainability

If your goal is to work in just about any “green” job, a bachelor’s degree in sustainability is a great first step. At Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, students study the interaction of social, economic, and physical systems and learn how to reevaluate humans’ relationship with nature and our resources. Sustainability majors go on to design green buildings, build innovative packaging systems, and work in green marketing, and can find jobs in many environmentally based industries and nonprofits.

Next Page: The Useless →

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The Useless

Family Resource Management Studies

If your college goal is simply to get your MRS degree, then this major may be for you. Programs such as the one at Ohio State University teach students basic nutrition, consumer studies, how to allocate a family budget, and other household skills. Sample classes include Parenting, Consumer Problems, and Family Development. Anyone with a graduate degree in the field can go on to be a home-economics or early-childhood teacher, but most stay-at-home moms do those things without a degree that cost $22,000 per year.

Retail Floristry

People who really, really like flowers have found their calling. At Mission College in Santa Clara, California, students in the retail floristry program learn all the ins and outs of working in a flower shop. They take courses called Plant Identification and Intermediate Floral Design, plus electives like Holiday Flower Arranging, Ikebana/Oriental Style, and Advanced Silk Flowers. If your goal is to work the register at a flower shop, something tells me they’ll consider you even without the certificate.

Bowling Industry Management

To make a career out of renting shoes and resetting pins, get your bachelor’s degree in bowling industry management, offered by Indiana’s Vincennes University. Students learn about cutting-edge bowling technologies, along with how to manage a pro shop and promote league development. The university features an eighteen-lane “learning laboratory” (read: bowling alley) for students to practice in.

Adventure Education

Vermont has always been known to attract its share of outdoorsy types, but students at Green Mountain College can actually turn their interests in hiking, biking, camping, rafting, and other activities into a bachelor’s degree. Students in the adventure education program learn a variety of outdoor activities, as well as emergency medical training, survival skills, and the foundations of running an adventure-based business. They can become scuba divemasters or master kayakers by taking such courses as Essential of Paddling or Foundations of Adventure. Ideally, the degree prepares students to start their own business or work as a guide, but it wouldn’t be surprising if many graduates didn’t simply end up rock climbing around Europe for a few years after school.

A college degree is what you make of it—sometimes premed majors end up working at Starbucks, and some journalism students end up running investment banks. Most people agree that no matter what major a person chooses for college, the life experience gained during those years is what’s really valuable. That’s my opinion, anyway, but then again, my degree is in theater.

This article was originally published on DivineCaroline.com.
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How Volunteering Can Boost Your Career

Tai Goodwin | CAREEREALISM.com — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:59:00 -0700

Income…$0. Value…Priceless.

It’s always a good thing to give back. Whether it is doing hands on service with a group like Habitat for Humanity, or assisting in the back office of a local non-profit, there are benefits beyond money that come from volunteering. Apart from just the positive feeling of sowing good actions into a cause you believe in and the impact on the lives of the recipients, volunteering can also help your career. Here are six ways volunteering can help your career:

1. It can fuel your passion. If your current job is not your ideal work, volunteering at something you enjoy is an alternative source of the passion you can’t get from your job right now.

2. You can practice new skills. No opportunity in your current job to stretch or learn something new? Find a volunteer opportunity that allows you to explore new roles and skills you’d like to develop. You can add this experience to your resume.

3. Volunteer your way into a potential job. Maybe you don’t have the experience to earn the paid position yet. Signing on as a volunteer gives you a chance to learn the organization, build relationships there, and show you have what it takes to do job.

4. Volunteering is an opportunity to expand your network. Not only will you meet people who support the same cause, you will find people that have personal and professional connections that can help you – especially if you are looking for a job.

5. Exposure to new ways of doing things. Seeing how another organization runs things, and being exposed to different ways of managing, brainstorming, solving problems, can provide a fresh way to look at the challenges you face in your paid position.

6. You can use it as a team building experience. This one goes beyond just you. Do you lead or work with a team? Finding a group volunteering opportunity can be a low-cost way to do good and re-establish positive connections with your team.

Looking for volunteer opportunities? Here’s a few links to jump-start your search:

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Idealist.org
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1-800-Volunteer.org
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Network for Good
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Volunteer Match
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Volunteer.gov: Powered by Network for Good has additional volunteering info on main site
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Global Volunteer Network: Volunteer abroad
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BoardNet: Serve on a non-profit board

Tai Goodwin, “The Career Makeover Coach”, is a life and career coach who works with professionals who need a professional reinvention. She is the Career Coach Examiner for St. Paul, MN and host of Career Makeover Strategies on TalkShoe Radio. You can find more articles tips and resources on her blog: www.careermakeovercoach.com.

This article was originally posted on
CAREEREALISM.com

3 Ways Unpaid Internships Pay

Greg Barrette | CAREEREALISM.com — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:12:00 -0700

Like many college students, I didn’t understand how vital internships are until late in my academic career. I had that natural student mindset that, “everything would be okay” and, “I’ll land a job somehow after graduation.” If I hadn’t attended a professional development workshop supported by my fraternity’s alumni association, I would have learned the hard way I’m not entitled to anything.

I was on the phone with my mother when I received an e-mail announcing a career workshop being arranged via my fraternity. I asked her, “Should I go to this?” She laughed and simply responded, “Why wouldn’t you go? What’s more important than your future?”

So, I went. Lo and behold, it changed my life. Thank you, Mom!

Navigating the Career Seminar→

Featured Author: CAREEREALISM.com

CAREEREALISM.com provides timely, honest answers to today's toughest career questions. Only 'approved' experts who meet a set of professional criteria are able to contribute to the site, ensuring readers get refreshingly real advice from proven advisers. Using the latest online technologies, the site also offers tools and resources, including free webinars and tutorials, to help job seekers get up-to-speed on the best way to find work and advance their careers. Visit them today at CAREEREALISM.com.

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The career seminar entailed one eye-opening lesson after another. Everything I learned immediately caused me to say to myself, “Jeez, I wish I knew that when I was a Freshman.”

While the workshop taught me a number of things related to personal and professional development, the one thing that stuck out for me was the noticeable fact how unprepared I was for life after graduation. I was lacking a critical variable: experience.

I had prior workplace experience, but none of it was relevant to any of the industries I was curious about getting involved in. I knew I had to make-up for lost time so I went wild my last semester of college and got three separate internships. One was in radio, the other in marketing, and ironically, the third was with CAREEREALISM. I was worried though, because none of them were paid internships. I was in college and didn’t have much money!

Wow, was I wrong. The internships may not have contributed to my life in a monetary way, but they sure paid-off in other ways. The following explains how a single internship experience compares financially against the benefits of a full-time position at a business.

Benefiting from Interning→

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Paycheck = Exposure to Acceptable Workplace Conduct

In a full-time job, you’re compensated for the work you do by virtue of money. In an unpaid internship, your compensation is witnessing the realities of the workplace environment first-hand. For many of us, proper etiquette in an office setting comes natural. For others, it doesn’t. By working in an office, you’ll be exposed to some or all of the following:

•Appropriate dress code

• Co-worker team work

•Acceptance of authority

•Humility or understanding your role

•Development of office-phone behavior

Benefit Packages = Permanent Branding Opportunities

Owning a good benefits package is extremely comforting for any employee. It’s something you know will remain static as long as you stay employed, and you can rely on it when necessary.

Obviously, no intern is going to be offered medical or life insurance. So, what sort of comparison can we make? Well, what about references? Any person you establish a positive relationship with during an internship, can be used as a reference for further employment opportunities. Having those connections is the same as owning professional benefits, they’ll always be there when you need them.

And, let’s not forget the benefit of having something to actually put on the resume. These internships showcased me as a young professional, not as a hourly part-timer. All three of them supported my efforts to properly brand myself. The benefit of looking good on paper (and on-line) made me more confident and secure in my abilities to succeed.

It must be nice to have a company car and parking space close to the building. Or, to be able to write off your car mileage. What about putting things on the company card? That’s probably cool too. I’ve never experienced such utilities but I bet it emits a feeling of ease. Well, the same can be said for an internship.

One profit of an internship is the fact there is no long-term commitment. Participating in an internship offers the convenience of tolerating a number of career industries before getting stuck in one. Wouldn’t you agree that supports a feeling of ease?

Actually, you know what would be best? If we engaged in internships prior to declaring a college major so we could pick a major affiliated with our industrial interests. Shucks, I wish someone told me that in high school.

Greg Barrette is the Brand Development Manager for CAREEREALISM. Feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn and/or Twitter.

Featured Author: CAREEREALISM.com

Spring-Semester Timeline for Landing a Summer Job

Peter Vogt, Monster Senior Contributing Writer — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:29:00 -0800

Want to land an extraordinary summer job? College career counselors have some blunt advice for you: Get going. Now.

"I emphasize with job searchers that it takes three to five months to find a summer job," says Andrea Dine, associate director of the Career Development Center at Macalester College.

Becky Hall, central career development coordinator at the University of Minnesota and a consultant with the university's Health Careers Center, concurs: "There are a lot of career fairs happening on campuses right now. If students don't get on the ball, they'll miss out on a lot of good opportunities.

A methodical approach will boost your odds of success, Dine says. By planning now, you won't have to settle for "just a job" or suffer through a last-minute summer job search. Use this timeline as your guide:

February and March

Determine the type of summer job you want. Develop a list of criteria, including:

Where you want or need to get a job.

How much money you'd like to make.

Key skills to build.

Areas of interest and/or organizations to explore.

* Assess your current skill set, either by yourself or with a counselor at your school's career center, to determine which key skills an employer might need this summer.

* With guidance from a campus career counselor, develop a basic resume and cover letter to apply for summer positions.

* Begin looking for specific job opportunities using:

o Online resources like Monster.

o Friends, family members, relatives, professors and others who can direct you toward job possibilities.

o City-specific resources.

April

* Continue looking for job opportunities.

* Start applying for jobs, being sure to follow the employer's directions. Some companies require a resume and cover letter. Others want you to fill out a company application.

* Ask professors, previous coworkers and supervisors, and others who know you professionally if they'll serve as references. If possible, have each person write you a one-page letter of recommendation to give prospective employers.

* Follow up with companies you've applied to. Make sure your materials have been received and that each company has everything it needs to consider you.

* If possible, schedule interviews with companies of interest.

* Start researching housing options for summer if applicable.

May

* Practice answering summer job interview questions, either with a friend or a career center counselor at your school. Research companies and jobs before the interview.

* Finalize summer living arrangements.

* Schedule job interviews.

* Go on job interviews, and follow up with thank-you notes.

* If the right job is offered, accept it.

* If you don't have a solid line on a job, get some help from your school's career center -- preferably before spring semester ends if your summer plans will take you away from campus. You can also step up your networking efforts. Ask your parents, friends, professors and others if they know of available summer jobs.

June

* Show up for your first day on time and prepared.

* Talk to your new supervisor about the skills you'd like to further develop.

* Go beyond the minimum to make a good, lasting impression on your supervisor and coworkers.

This article originally appeared in Monster's Career Advice Section.

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Students Learn Entry-Level Skills & Network in D.C. Internships

The Patriot-News — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:01:00 -0700

Oct. 19--Brynn Conapitski got the idea that she might have a career in sports public relations while doing an internship with the Hershey Bears.

Now, as an intern at Brotman Winter Fried Communications in East Falls Church, Va., she's even more sure she'll pursue the field after she graduates from Shippensburg University this spring.

Conapitski, 22, of Myerstown, snagged the internship through the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's partnership with the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.

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More than 250 State System students have participated in the center's internship program since 2002.

The State System will be honored today by the Washington Center as the university system of the year for its commitment to sending students to Washington, D.C., for internships with government, business and nonprofit organizations.

Shippensburg and Millersville are among the 14 public universities that make up the State System.

Pennsylvania students have interned with such organizations as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Library of Congress and the Peace Corps. The State System also will be recognized today at the center's annual gala at the National Building Museum. The gala, which will be moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News, helps raise scholarship money for the program.

Joseph Johnston, the center's senior vice president, said the center receives more students from the State System than from any other state.

"These students have the competencies to compete with anyone, but sometimes they don't have the connections they need," he said.

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Conapitski said that although she's heard the job market is tough, the internship has given her a confidence boost heading into a post-graduation job search.

Conapitski, who is earning 15 academic credits for her internship, said one of the highlights of the program is that the Washington Center connects applicants with professionals whose jobs the students would like to have in five years.

"It helps establish networking and makes me feel better prepared, ahead of other people," she said.

Search for internships on MonsterCollege!

21 Places to Look for Green Volunteering Opportunities

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:49:00 -0700

We always encourage students and grads (and everyone else!) to volunteer with environmentally-focused organizations/initiatives in order to network, get some green experience on their entry-level resume
and do good as they’re job searching.

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So, you ask: What opportunities are there to dive into a green career through volunteering?

Non-profits: Given the state of the economy, non-profits need a lot of help right now and could really value your volunteer time. Find a non-profit in your area that works on issues you’re interested in - policy, water issues, international development, etc. Do keep in mind that it’s better to focus on a specific project that you are willing to help with or spearhead. Idealist.org has an extensive list of volunteer opportunities that you can sort by interest and location to get a sense for what’s out there. Find your local Sierra Club chapter; Green for All has resources on how to support green jobs growth in your local community.

Get down and dirty: Add some manpower to a green building project and get industry exposure at the same time. GRID Alternatives is popular in the Bay Area, where volunteers help install solar panels on low-income housing. Habitat for Humanity has some green building related projects as well. Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco asks for volunteers to help with tree-planting. Find your local community garden project or farmer’s market and offer to help out. Join AmeriCorps for a year of service. Go help clean up your local park, or find a summer or seasonal job in a National Park through The Student Conservation Association.

Get political: Find your state PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) and help them canvass and push green legislation in your state (we’ve got Environment California here in the Bay Area). Apply to spend a year working with GreenCorps, a year-long hands-on training program around the U.S. that breeds the country’s top environmental organizers (and has a really strong job placement program and alumni network to take advantage of at the end).

Go abroad! Foundation for Sustainable Development places students and recent grads in internships in developing countries around the world. You are placed in a domestic non-profit there depending on your development-related interests and can design your own project, seek funding, and get some great hands-on experience… all while experiencing a new culture. Ecoteer.com connects you with green volunteer opportunities around the world. Join Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and spend some time trading your work for room and board in one of many countries around the world that hosts a WWOOF network.

Take a “pay the bills job” and volunteer for a company you’re interested in. Make sure you have a specific project suggestion to put in front of them, rather than just willingness to work. For example, a 2007 graduate named Ajay sent us this note about his efforts to get “green” experience. He works for a utility, and offers a few days a week for free to a solar company in the area, who he reached through a contact there (go network!). As he says, “The more I work with this solar manufacturer, the more people I meet and the more people know my name.” Troll green job boards such as Treehugger and GreenBiz for unpaid internships or volunteering; use contacts at these organizations and others to find out whether you can lend a hand.

Network: Another example is helping to organize green networking events in your city. Green Drinks is a great monthly meet-up that has chapters in many cities. Contact your local chapter to help organize; if none exists, start one up! We’re working with an amazing team of Green Drinks volunteers here in San Francisco that are helping set up a “Green Careers Connections” event - by doing so, they’re networking with eachother and getting to reach out to lots of companies that they might be interested in working for themselves. We’re also big fans of Net Impact - lend a hand with your local chapter and get connected to passionate professionals.

Conferences need volunteers. When you hear a green conference is coming to town, find out ways to volunteer with the organization and actual conference. Green Festivals needs lots of hands on deck; keep an eye on GreenBiz’s list of events for whether anything’s being planned for near you.

If you’re already out there volunteering, send Bright Green Talent a success story of how it’s helped you in the job search process!

Get more entry-level resume advice!

Off-the-Beaten-Path Internships

Peter Vogt: Monster College Career Coatch — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:44:00 -0700

If you're in an off-the-beaten-path major -- like musicology, or global or medieval studies -- you may think only college students in common majors like accounting, business administration or computer science find decent internships.

Think again.

You can find a great internship that fits your unique interests, whatever your major, if you're open to doing a bit of digging.

Take Johanna Smith, for example, now an assistant professor of theatre education at California State University at San Bernardino. About 10 years ago, she was an undergraduate at Miami University in Ohio studying interdisciplinary studies, a program that allowed her to essentially develop her own major.

"Being an unusual student, I thrived in the program," Smith says. "Plus, I was able to combine my interests in zoology and theatre arts."

She soon found herself wanting to do an internship. But could she find one that blended her two almost opposite passions?

"I found the best possible internship: I interned for three summers at the Philadelphia Zoo's Treehouse, a sort of playhouse of the environment," she says. "They have larger-than-life habitats made out of fiberglass, such as a giant beehive and a giant rainforest. They surround children with the sights, sounds and even the smells of these habitats so the children can pretend to be the animals from their perspective.

"I led songs and creative drama sessions and did live animal shows where I also served as a zookeeper for the show animals."

How did she land such a perfect opportunity? By making a phone call to the zoo after a friend saw an announcement about the internship in a packet from the Miami University career center.

Tim Kane had a similar internship experience, though in a much different setting and under far more difficult circumstances. Kane, who graduated in 2002 with a geography degree from Salisbury University in Maryland, landed an internship for the summer of 2001 with the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in New York City. He spent his time doing digital mapping in preparation for various potential emergency situations, like power outages and heat waves as well as special events.

Then September 11 happened, and Kane was asked to return to New York to help in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

"When I returned on September 13, my work didn't concern mapping as much as logistics," he says. "A mapping center had been set up, and when there was time, I returned to the computer to help with that. But I spent most of my time figuring out where, when and how all of the supplies were going to be shipped and stored at Ground Zero."

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Kane visited Ground Zero practically every night for two weeks, putting in about 200 hours of work in that time and grabbing a few hours of sleep whenever he could. His performance under those incredibly taxing circumstances is part of the reason he now works full-time for the OEM in New York.

He found the internship by spending his 2001 spring break with his older brother in New York City, and becoming a research fixture at the New York Public Library. "I went from agency to agency looking for ones that might be able to use my skills," Kane says. "I applied to about five of them, and OEM responded and hired me."

Good internship possibilities await you no matter what your major, as Smith, Kane and thousands of others learn firsthand each year. You may not always see them listed on MonsterCollege, posted at your campus career center or highlighted in a printed internship guide, but they are out there if you're willing to go looking for them.

Find more resume advice here.

Texas Students Find That Washington Internships Can Open Doors for Jobs in Future

The Dallas Morning News — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:02:00 -0700

Aug. 31--WASHINGTON -- Internships have always been touted as a way to build resumes, gain experience and network. But in the grim economy, they have added appeal as job leads.

Though the positions often carry only meager stipends, they hold the promise of better paychecks to come. So with full-time jobs scarce, many interns from Texas are scraping by in Washington this summer -- finding free entertainment, picking up extra work on the side, and saving on whatever they can.

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While looking for a permanent gig in broadcast journalism, Kennea Anderson of Houston is interning at Capital Wire Public Relations. The 23-year-old, who recently graduated from Clark Atlanta University, had planned on doing an unpaid internship this summer but said the financial hardship of that decision hit her recently.

"I've been going online, finding part-time things to do to make ends meet since I've gotten here," Anderson said. She has considered working in a restaurant for extra income.

Anderson has had internships at media outlets in the past and hopes those connections will translate into a job.

It'll be tough: A National Association of Colleges and Employers survey found that less than 20 percent of 2009 college graduates have jobs, down 6 percent from last year. But 73 percent of those who had been hired completed a college internship.

Lynne Milburn, director of the Career Exploration Center at the University of Texas, advises jobseekers like Anderson to intern at places they hope to work. Companies prefer to hire internally, and if a position opens up, a good intern's at the top of the resume pile.

"To do a postgraduate internship is not a bad idea if they feel like they can't enter through the traditional door," Milburn said.

In the meantime, an internship is a test of survival.

But Washington can be the perfect place for interns with light pocketbooks, thanks to the availability of plenty of cheap entertainment. Matthew Simari from Plano has searched out the city's bargains in his down time from the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States in nearby Alexandria, Va.

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"The economy's rough, but there's definitely opportunities out there; it's about how creative you can get," Simari said. "This city is built around lowering costs."

Simari's frugal outings include trips to the Smithsonian museums (free) and Washington Nationals baseball games ($10 for upper deck in the outfield).

In another cost-cutting measure, Simari, 19, will receive free room and board at Wake Forest as a resident adviser in the fall. Though making ends meet isn't easy, Simari considers the internship an investment in his future, which he hopes will include graduate school for international diplomacy or law.

"When you look at these grad schools, they're huge on experience," Simari said. "The more experience I got, the more viable of a candidate I am."

Law school aspirations were one reason Tommy Perkins from Dallas applied for an internship with U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Democrat from his hometown.

Perkins, 21, receives a $3,000 stipend for his nine-week stint. He's tried to conserve money for the end of summer and his senior year at Amherst College but refuses to skimp on all the city has to offer.

"You don't really have the opportunity to do this again, so you've got to live it up when you still can," Perkins said.

Dallas resident Juan Facio, who wants to be an advertising agency art director, is among the 80 percent of graduates who remain unemployed. In the meantime, he's lending his graphic design skills to the Department of Defense.

Loose lips sink internships when you do classified work for the Pentagon, but Facio, a 27-year-old University of North Texas graduate, can disclose at least one minor scandal -- it involves him. He spent part of his first day lost in the Pentagon before someone spotted the plight of an intern and led him to his office.

"We just look at each other and you know -- you can see the fear," Facio joked.

Facio, whose father works in the security department for The Dallas Morning News, receives a small stipend, which he said barely makes ends meet. Still, he prefers this internship over a permanent position and views the job market's impenetrability as an advantage for undecided grads.

"Right now with the economy, it's the perfect time to test the waters and see if there are other opportunities out there other than what I studied," Facio said.

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Like his fellow Dallas native, Perkins knows internships aren't about money, but about experience -- even adventure. He and some of his colleagues ended up somewhere most interns can only dream of.

"We were on the House floor and apparently interns aren't supposed to be on the House floor," Perkins said.

The repercussion? "[Speaker] Nancy Pelosi's people kick you out."

This Part-Time Job Can Pay Off Big for Students

Star Tribune, Minneapolis via Yellowbrix — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:24:00 -0700

Teens have faced one of the toughest job markets in decades this summer, leaving college savings accounts hungry for deposits. But students without steady paychecks can feed their college coffers without having to sell their possessions on eBay. I'm talking about scholarships. Like finding a job in a recession, competition for these awards is fierce and growing. Scholarship America, the Bloomington, Minn.,-based organization that administers scholarship programs for corporations and other groups, said applications for the 1,173 scholarship programs it manages were up 15 percent for the year ending June 30, while the number of students receiving awards went down 16 percent.

Still, scholarships can be well worth the effort and the reward can far surpass the amount of cash earned by scooping ice cream or selling clothes at the mall.

Ask Jason Lum, now the president of ScholarEdge College Consulting in St. Paul, Minn. He won $250,000 that paid for a bachelor's degree, a Harvard master's degree and law school. He said he didn't have perfect grades or test scores, but was "persistent as all heck" and didn't take rejection personally if he wasn't selected. Instead of moping about his losing bid, he'd call the scholarship's administrators and say "I'm not calling to complain ... I'm calling to find out what I could have done better so that when I apply next year, I can put in a stronger application." Lum said the effort paid off more times than not.

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Finding scholarships is easy. Finding the less-known ones takes work. Everyone starts the search on the Web at free sites such as fastweb.com and scholarships.com.

But Lum says casting a wider net is critical. "Look where other people are not looking. If you look where everyone else is looking, you expose yourself to the maximum number of competitors," he said.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education's site getreadyforcollege.org provides useful information on many aspects of the college experience, including state grant and scholarship programs.

Never pay to apply for a scholarship. The Federal Trade Commission shares that tip and more about scholarship scams online: www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt009.shtm.

Offline, obvious places to scope for scholarships include the high school guidance counselor's office, parents' employers or union groups, churches, civic groups, major corporations and the colleges themselves.

Also, check with "groups that are in their possible fields of interest," said Amy Weinstein, executive director of the National Scholarship Providers Association. These associations hand out money because they have an incentive to get good students through school and into the workforce.

Don't stop with the big-name associations. Lum suggests that an aspiring doctor, for example, should call the American Medical Association and ask for suggestions of lesser-known professional organizations in the field with scholarship programs.

So-called free money for college costs time and effort. Lum tells his clients that they should spend at least 10 hours a week on their scholarship endeavor. That includes research, form-filling, essay writing and engaging in the extracurricular activities that will make a student an appealing candidate.

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Before filling out a single form, conduct a "brain dump" where you "sit down and figure out every darn thing you've done," said Carrie Jo Short, director of grants and program services at the Minnesota Community Foundation and the St. Paul Foundation.

This is a worthy exercise for sixth-graders with years until college as well as undergrads eyeing a master's degree. Include participation in formal groups such as the track team and National Honor Society, as well as informal activities such as organizing friends to regularly visit a neighbor in a nursing home.

Students should also take time to assess their electronic image. The content on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter can send damaging messages. E-mail addresses can give the wrong idea, too. One time, Short read through a great application only to see that the applicant's e-mail address was lazyjane@yahoo.com (the name has been changed).

Then there are the obvious to-dos that don't get done, said Pei-loh Lo, director of training for Scholarship America. Turn applications in on time. Read the instructions and follow them.

Answer the questions completely. Know something about the scholarship in play. Spell-check. Use complete sentences.

These tips may sound so obvious that they aren't worth repeating. But these are the mistakes that leave Lo and Short banging their heads on their desks.

School's out for another month. So put down that remote control. Step away from the Wii. And start the scholarship search.

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Maybe You Can Get Paid at an Unpaid Internship

Peter Vogt MC Career Coach — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:26:00 -0700

The idealist in you wants to take that great but unpaid internship you heard about the other day. After all, it will give you critical experience in your chosen career field that will help you land a job after graduation. But the realist in you rightly argues, "How are you going to pay your bills?"

The unpaid internship dilemma is one thousands of college students face each year. Sadly, many students reluctantly pass on such internships, unaware of potential ways to get around the financial obstacles involved.

Is a lack of funding standing between you and the unpaid internship you really want? If so, look into these possible strategies for overcoming the no-money no-internship dilemma.

See If Your School Offers Grants for Unpaid Internships.

Many colleges and universities around the US have established special programs offering funding to students who want to pursue unpaid work experiences. At Barnard College, for example, alumni-sponsored internship grants are available for anywhere from $500 to $2,500. Similarly, the University of Evansville in Indiana offers Internship Subsidy Grants of up to $650. To see if your school has a similar program, set up an appointment with a career counselor or financial aid advisor.

Check Out Published Resources on Individual Grants, Scholarships and Fellowships.

Organizations around the US and world offer special programs that will help you pay for educational experiences relating closely to your career. The Harvard College Office of Career Services at Harvard University publishes a handy compilation of such opportunities, The Harvard College Guide to Grants. Another good source is the book Foundation Grants to Individuals, published by the New York City-based Foundation Center.

Consider the Bank of Mom and Dad.

Your parents (or other relatives) might be willing to help you out financially, either by giving you money outright or loaning it to you, especially if they see the money as an investment that benefits both of you. From their perspective, the payoff usually means you won't be living back under their roof someday, jobless and miserable.

Get Extra Financial Aid.

While you may not exactly like the idea of adding to what may be an already huge future debt load, getting extra financial aid so that you can take an unpaid internship is another possible option. If you conclude that the internship you want offers you a reasonable chance of gaining valuable experience, and perhaps even a future job, then getting extra financial aid may be a calculated risk worth taking. Talk the idea over with a financial aid advisor to learn about all of the potential pros and cons.

Get a Part-Time, Paying Job, or Another If You Already Have One.

The short-term impact of this approach can be, to say the least, exhausting. So proceed with caution. But again, if you conclude that the internship you want merits some sacrifice on your part, maybe an extra part-time job is worth the hours you won't be able to devote to your schoolwork and social life.

An unpaid internship certainly isn't the best work scenario you'll ever pursue. But it can and often does lead to much bigger and better things: relevant work experience, important personal contacts in your chosen field and, often, a full-time, paying position with either the same organization or another one. So don't let an internship's lack of funding stop you, at least not without some research on your part. With just a little digging, you may well find a way to make that unpaid internship pay off after all -- in more ways than one.

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To-Dos for Landing an Internship

Peter Vogt MC Career Coach — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:18:00 -0700

MonsterCollege's five-step guide to landing an internship.

Sad, perhaps, but true: If you want any internships, you need to start planning at the previous year's end. In some cases, application deadlines are only weeks away. You need to remember that fellow students nationwide are competing for the same internships, and before you know it, you'll be swamped with your spring-semester/fall-semester courses and activities. You need to act now.

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Step One: Evaluate and Plan

* On your own or with your school career counselor's help, identify the key skills and essential experiences an internship could provide.

* Determine what geographic range you'll consider.

* Pinpoint when you'll be able to start an internship, given your classes and other commitments.

* Choose a few broad areas of interest to help you begin researching internship possibilities.

Step Two: Explore and Examine

* Explore your internship options by talking to a career counselor; chatting with your instructors, fellow students and alumni; paging through internship directories at your campus library or bookstore and checking out internship Web sites.

* Develop three internship possibility lists: your top-priority dream internships, second-best and third place, but still acceptable, position.

* Read and talk to people to help research your top-priority and second-best internships in depth.

* Ask your career counselor, instructors and fellow students if there are any internship opportunities or organizations you've overlooked.

Step Three: Apply and Follow Up

* With the help of your career counselor, academic advisor or an instructor, develop a strong basic resume and cover letter. Each internship you pursue will require a customized resume and letter.

* Get at least three letters of recommendation from people who can speak highly of you professionally or academically, such as instructors, employers and advisors.

* Apply for the internships that interest you most. Remember, if in doubt, apply. It's better to be rejected than to have no chance because you didn't even try. Keep track of your applications.

* Follow up with each organization shortly after its internship application deadline passes. Follow up sooner if you feel competition will be stiff or to make sure the company received your materials.

Step Four: Research and Interview

* Study each organization that invites you to interview for an internship carefully. Out-research your competition by reading about the organization in the media and trade publications. Your campus reference librarian can help you find the articles few others will track down.

* Work with a career counselor to make an educated guess as to the questions an interviewer will likely throw at you. Do a practice interview with your counselor to work on your responses and demeanor.

* Come up with specific examples to prove you have the skills, traits and experiences you say you do. Consider developing and using a career portfolio to back up your claims.

* Invest in professional interview clothing.

* Send thank-you notes after each interview. You'll stand out, because most internship seekers forget this classy move.

Step Five: Accept and Prepare

* Accept a desirable internship offer both verbally and in writing.

* Continue studying the organization you will be working for. Ask your future supervisor if there's anything you can do now to prepare for the position.

* Invest a little more money in appropriate internship clothes. Your future supervisor can tell you what's expected of you for dress.

* Explore and then finalize any necessary living and transportation arrangements. Practice getting to your internship site a day or two before you actually start to avoid being late your first day.

* Show up well-dressed, well-groomed, well-rested and a few minutes early on your first day.

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Turn Internships or Co-Ops into Full-Time Jobs

Peter Vogt MC Career Coach — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:17:00 -0700

If you want to land an entry-level job at a specific company after graduation, the best way to do it is to first prove yourself at that company through an internship or co-op.

But you can't expect to turn an internship into a full-time job just by showing up for your assignment with a pulse and a clock to watch the time go by.

"As an intern, you are in competition with other interns for full-time openings," says Christi Lehner, director of college relations for Abbott Laboratories, where 53 percent of the company's eligible interns were hired for full-time jobs. "You need to set yourself apart and show your value to the organization."

Here's how.

Take Your Role Seriously -- Very Seriously

"Treat your internship as if it was a real job," says Megan Elias, public relations graduate from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Elias interned with Animal Friends, an animal shelter in Pittsburgh, before landing a full-time job there last summer.

"Whether it's a full or part-time internship -- paid, unpaid or for college credits -- take it seriously," Elias says. "Work hard. Just because you're an intern doesn't mean you shouldn't take your duties seriously."

Elias knows whereof she speaks. During her special-events planning internship at Animal Friends, she coordinated a "Bark 'n' Brew" social event, handling everything from making contacts and developing a budget to publicizing the event and even working with the participating dogs.

"Be proactive," says Jessica Eichner, special events coordinator for Animal Friends, and the person who closely observed Elias during her internship. "If you see something that needs to be started or can be improved, ask your supervisor if you can take on the job -- and then start working."

Go Above and Beyond the Minimum

Anne Bennett, a chemistry graduate from the University of Colorado at Denver, is now in a full-time psychiatric research position at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. But she says she wouldn't have gotten the job without first demonstrating her commitment to the Center's work through her internship there.

"First and foremost, I showed interest in the subject matter and offered all of my spare time to doing projects around the office," she says. "I tried to get involved in everything, and I was here as much as I could be. I was only scheduled to work 20 hours a week, but I worked, on average, approximately 30 hours per week."

Build Strong Relationships by Listening and Learning

It's critical for you to understand that, as an intern, you don't know everything, says Cory Otto, industrial engineering graduate from the University of Minnesota at Duluth who interned at the Fridley, Minnesota, site of weapons manufacturer United Defense.

"Listening ties in to the ability to comprehend the tasks assigned to you," says Otto, who is now an associate operations engineer for the company. "It's important that you never assume you know what your boss wants. If you have any questions, ask."

"Interns need to be willing to learn something new every day," adds Kate Marzinske, an accountant with McGladrey & Pullen in Minneapolis who interned with the firm before landing a permanent position there after graduation. "If someone asks you to do something, don't be afraid to say, 'I've never done that before, but I'm certainly willing to give it a try.'"

Tell Colleagues You Want to Stick Around

If you want a full-time job at the organization where you're interning, make sure the people there are aware of it. Never assume, stresses Bennett.

"When I knew I was graduating, I approached one of my superiors -- specifically, the administrative person who handles the money -- and asked if there was extra money to hire me as a full-time employee," Bennett says. "She made the balls roll and talked to my boss -- and I was hired."

Now it's your turn.

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Internships Job Search Tips

Monster.com — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:42:00 -0700

Each year, students obtain interesting, substantive, and career-related summer jobs and internships. The keys to their success: preparation and an early start in the summer job search process. Your search for an internship or summer job should be conducted in the same manner.

* Determine Your Priorities.
Do you want career-related experience? The opportunity to travel? Funds to support tuition fees?
* Identify Prospective Employers.
Organizational directories, the Yellow Pages, and local newspapers can be used to pinpoint organizations of interest, including traditional summer employers: hotels, camps, convention centers, government agencies, etc. The Career Center also maintains both electronic and paper listings for internships and summer jobs.
* Develop a Resume to Emphasize Your Skills.
A resume can effectively present your background and distinguish you from other job seekers.
* Start Contacting Employers Early.
If you seek a career-related position, it is appropriate to contact the manager of an organization in your area of interest, as well as the Human Resources department, as early as three or four months in advance. Call or write to request information regarding internship and summer job opportunities.
* Complete Application and Be Prepared for Interviews.
If you are seeking a general, non-career-related position, you may be asked to complete and return a formal application. Be sure to complete these forms neatly and thoroughly, typing them when possible. If there are currently no positions available, request referrals to other employers in the field. Should you be granted an interview, be prepared to answer questions about your background.
* Follow-up All Interviews.
Always send a thank-you letter to the interviewer expressing your appreciation. If you were not granted an interview, follow up your application with a phone call, a letter, or even a visit. Your interest and enthusiasm will distinguish you from other job seekers.

Finding an Internship or Summer Job That's Right For You

In a competitive job market, a career-related summer job or internship can make the difference in obtaining a full-time position. More employers are using work experiences as screening devices to assess the skills and abilities of prospective employees. Skills learned on the job supplement the skills learned in the classroom. A career-related summer job or internship is likely to give you a competitive edge when you seek your first job.

Summer jobs and internships provide you with opportunities to:

* Gain valuable work experience before graduating.
* Develop skills.
* Evaluate personal likes and dislikes that will enable you to make sound career decisions.
* Develop professional contacts.
* Gain confidence in your abilities.
* Build a stronger resume, which will help you later in obtaining full-time employment.

Clarify the following before accepting an offer:

* What is the name of the individual to whom you will be responsible while you are involved in the experience?
* What are the working hours and how flexible will your schedule be with regard to your specific responsibilities?
* Will you be paid and/or receive academic credit? Keep in mind that some students choose volunteer experiences.
* What kinds of day-to-day assignments can you expect to receive from your supervisor and others?
* Are there any special requirements in connection with the work, such as medical examinations, overtime work, or personal expenses?
* Where will you be working throughout your experience?
* Will travel be necessary as part of your responsibilities?

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Students Describe the Benefits of Internships

Peter Vogt MC Career Coach — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:34:00 -0700

If you're on the fence about whether or not to pursue an internship during college, the statistics alone should convince you to do one. Employers overwhelmingly point to internship experience as the most important factor they consider in hiring new college graduates for full-time positions, and they have a variety of self-serving reasons for feeling that way.

How do you benefit from taking part in an internship? Here's what a few of your fellow students and recent graduates had to say:

Gain Industry Knowledge You Won't Learn Anywhere Else

"Being able to talk with people working in the industry I'm studying to work in is priceless," says Jared Smith, a 24-year-old junior at Shasta College, beginning his second Web development internship for Redding Electric Utility in California. "I was able to spend the day in the control room at the power station, which was amazing for me. I was also able to see the data that is going to be important to me in my career. I learned about things I'll never find in the classroom. Now I can focus on my studies and strive for the knowledge I'll need in tomorrow's workforce."

Accumulate Evidence of Your Abilities

Eugenia Sozzi, a 21-year-old senior at the Catholic University of America, majoring in human resource management, says her recently completed internship at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, DC, "Gave me many opportunities to test and refine my skills." She spent her summer creating, implementing and managing a new internship program for the organization.

As a visionary, she says, "I had to create a program from scratch, setting down its foundations through a mission and vision statement and creating the core aspects of the program accompanied by the supporting details. As a saleswoman, I needed to sell this program to the supervisors and directors who had better things to be doing than supporting this program and even allocating resources to it."

Now, Sozzi says she can demonstrate her leadership talents to future employers, her ability to work well with different types of people and her skills in seeing projects through from start to finish.

Make Critical Professional Contacts

"One of the benefits I took away from my internship was the personal references I can use when [future] employers ask for them," notes 22-year-old Michael Charron, a recent communications graduate of Worcester State College who interned for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette newspaper during his senior year. "That's important, because now I have an actual reference letter from a work-related person rather than a family friend. Plus, I've also been able to do some networking and get prospective leads on other workplaces that might be hiring."

Your Confidence Will Improve

Michelle Jost is a 22-year-old senior at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who will graduate with a degree in conservation. She's interned as an animal educator at the New England Aquarium in Boston, as an assistant for Natural Health magazine in Boston and as an attractions hostess at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.

"How have my internships benefited me?" says Jost. "I'm in the process of finding a job right now, and my resume rocks! I'm not concerned about finding a great position in the field I want. I'm going as a Disney-trained, internationally published educational presenter who has the New England Aquarium as my main reference. So I have the confidence of someone who's been in my field for several years, and I have the names, references and organizations to back me up."

Possibly Land a Full-Time Job

Forty-seven-year-old Wendy Stubbs is now a career development specialist at the University of South Dakota, thanks in great part to the internship she completed at the USD Career Development Center last year as a graduate student. Meanwhile, 24-year-old September McIntyre, who just finished her master's degree in public relations at the University of North Texas, landed her new job as a public relations specialist for BSMG Worldwide in Dallas following a six-month internship with the company.

Research shows that 85 percent of companies use internships and similar experiential education programs to recruit for their full-time workforces.

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Navigating the Career Seminar→

Benefiting from Interning→

Spring-Semester Timeline for Landing a Summer Job

February and March

April

May

June

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See If Your School Offers Grants for Unpaid Internships.

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Consider the Bank of Mom and Dad.

Get Extra Financial Aid.

Get a Part-Time, Paying Job, or Another If You Already Have One.

To-Dos for Landing an Internship

MonsterCollege's five-step guide to landing an internship.

Step One: Evaluate and Plan

Step Two: Explore and Examine

Step Three: Apply and Follow Up

Step Four: Research and Interview

Step Five: Accept and Prepare

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Turn Internships or Co-Ops into Full-Time Jobs

Take Your Role Seriously -- Very Seriously

Go Above and Beyond the Minimum

Build Strong Relationships by Listening and Learning

Tell Colleagues You Want to Stick Around

Internships Job Search Tips

Finding an Internship or Summer Job That's Right For You

Summer jobs and internships provide you with opportunities to:

Clarify the following before accepting an offer:

Students Describe the Benefits of Internships

Gain Industry Knowledge You Won't Learn Anywhere Else

Accumulate Evidence of Your Abilities

Make Critical Professional Contacts

Your Confidence Will Improve

Possibly Land a Full-Time Job

Research shows that 85 percent of companies use internships and similar experiential education programs to recruit for their full-time workforces.

More From Divine Caroline:

Seven Tips to Turn Your Budget into a Cash Flow Projection

What Makes Women Different Investors Than Men?

Making Frugality the New Splurge

More From Divine Caroline:

Why Use Online English Courses

West Virginia Nonprofit Combats Illiteracy

Cohabitation: Shacking Up for a Happy Future?

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Maybe you can get paid at an unpaid internship

Which internship is best for you?