Keep Calm and Intern

Hattie Hynes is a Recruiting/HR Marketing Intern with Milliner & Associates. She will graduate from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 2018.

What grade do I need to get on the midterm in order to get an A in the class?

How much sleep do I really need tonight?

I can’t wait for summer break…

Which classes do I need to take in the fall?

Should I change my major?

I need four hours of sleep to function.

Wait… what am I going to do over the summer? Classes? Internship? Work in *shudders* retail?

If you’ve thought any or all of these things in the past few weeks, you’re probably in the same situation as I am. My hope is that by the time you finish reading this, you’ll be a bit calmer and less frantic about the future.

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

Have you ever been asked that question in an interview? Or maybe not by an interviewer, maybe by a great aunt you hardly know or one of your parents’ friends? You sit there dumbfounded, because the farthest ahead you can plan is what you’re going to eat for dinner tomorrow. It’s a scary question, isn’t it? I’m here to tell you: It’s okay to not know what you want to do. You’re young, smart, and capable of doing anything you set your mind to. Don’t ever think that some achievement is unattainable. With the right determination, you can do anything. Stop stressing yourself out trying to figure out what you want to do in five years, because even if you make a plan, it will change anyway.

Now that I’ve addressed that, college is a time to explore what you want to do. While universities try their best to give you a feel for what the workplace in your desired field of study is like, they often fall short. The good news is that there are these wonderful programs that teach you real-world, practical experience in your desired field of study… What is this magical thing? An internship. That’s right… brush up your resume, do some online research; it’s time to start applying. Here are a couple of resources you can utilize to help you in your search:

1. You’ve already found one great resource: Indiana INTERN.net. Create a profile, do a search, then start applying to get your name out there. It never hurts to apply.
2. Most colleges and universities also have job boards in which you can run searches for internships, so get yourself on there, too.
3. Reach out to your school’s career services department… maybe they have a lead on an internship you could be interested in.

The greatest part about an internship is that it only lasts for a few months so if you don’t like it, you don’t have to stick with it. It gives you a good taste of what you want to do, or don’t want to do.

Bottom line: Keep calm (everything will work out okay) and find an internship! It could help you find a new direction or solidify what you already knew you wanted to do.