Category Archives: Career Advice
Always Remember to Say Thank You
Entry by Pat Patterson
Just as your mother had advised when you were growing up, it is important to always say please and thank you.Ā More specifically, after your summer internship is over, donāt forget to send a thank you note to your host organization.
The Intern Queen has some great advice for Thank You notes in her blog, I AM INTERN:
If you work for a small company and have been introduced to the president at one time or another, I do think you should send him/her a thank-you note along with another note to your direct supervisor and any other executives that have helped you over the summer. Below are a few quick Thank You note tips:
Either purchase your own stationary or go the store and pick up professional looking Thank You notes in the card section. Get something basic that says Thank You on the front …
Let Your Interests Guide Your College/Career Choices
Entry by Pat Patterson
If you have not declared your college major yet, try not to be persuaded to pursue a degree solely based on the current economic conditions.Ā Statistically speaking, in our current economy, students with certain majors have landed more job offers after graduation than students with other degrees.Ā However, it is important to pursue a major that you are interested in, and let your passions guide your career decisions.Ā After all, you are more likely to perform well when you have an interest in what you are studying, and it is uncertain which courses of study may āincrease your oddsā of landing a job one, two, three, or four years from now.
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune echoes this sentiment:
The key is to think ahead about which jobs would also let you capitalize on your interests. And the earlier you start, the more opportunities …
Highlighting Your Summer Internship on Your Resume
Entry by Pat Patterson
Now that your summer internship is complete or may come to an end soon, there is no better time than now to update your resume.Ā It is a great idea to update your resume with your recent internship as soon as possible because your experience will still be fresh in your mind.Ā
Remember to highlight your tasks, major projects, and also the results of your work.Ā Whenever possible be specific and quantify your work.Ā For example, instead of stating, ācoordinated company networking eventsā, be more specific, such as, ācoordinated three separate networking events, one for each month, which led to a 10% increase in client leads.āĀ Also, if you are still at your internship or keep in contact with your employer (which you should be doing), you can ask your supervisor to review the information you add on your resume to ensure it accurately reflects your …
Transitioning from Intern to Full-time Employee
Entry by Courtney Sampson, Marketing and Communications Intern, Indiana State Fair
I havenāt submitted an entry to Indiana INTERNnation in awhile, but thatās because Iāve been extremely busy taking advantage of the 12ā¦15ā¦18 hour days that my internship requires! Itās been really fun working at the Indiana State Fair; I canāt believe weāre finally in full-swing. As I write this, the State Fair is at the Ā½ way mark. Whatās this mean for you? It means you get to read an entry from me, and it means if you havenāt attended the Fair yet, time is running out ā what are you waiting for?
Donāt worry, Iām finishing pitching the Fair. In other newsā¦Iāve had a few opportunities come up throughout the past week. The good news? Potentially a job. The bad news? Iām still taking it day-by-day at the Fair! But, as internships wrap up, it got me thinkingā¦how …
The Final Countdown
Entry by Ali Norman, Career and Technical Education Intern, Department of Workforce Development
Last week was my final week at The Department of Workforce Development. As I have been wrapping up the last couple days by taking down personal touches to my little cube, I have to say that Iāve been a bit nostalgic while doing so. My experience has been nothing short of great this summer. Iāve had a wonderful job experience, done some great networking, added to my resume and made fabulous new friends along the way.
Iāve also been thinking about my favorite parts of this internship and came to this realization: You get what you put into your experience. My experience this summer was so stellar that I would recommend it to anyone. All the qualities of a great internship any college student would want was included: versatility in projects, a great work atmosphere, participation and …
How to End Your Internship on a Good Note
Entry by Pat Patterson
It is that time of the year again ā your internship is wrapping up and it becomes harder for you to focus, as thoughts of the upcoming school year flood your mind.Ā But before you pack up your materials, say your goodbyes, and take that final step out the door, it is important to make sure that you leave your internship on a positive note.Ā You may have learned a lot, contributed significantly to the organization you worked with, and made great connections and even friends, but the way you end your internship may ultimately be the way you will be remembered ā you donāt want to āpull a LeBron Jamesā and leave on a negative note with your former boss releasing an open letter expressing his disapproval after you leave (sorry about that ā Iām originally from Cleveland).
Anyways, with that being said, on AdAge.com …
Landing an Internship in a Tough Economy
Entry by Courtney Sampson, Marketing and Communications Intern, Indiana State Fair
No matter what the economists say, weāve got to face it. Times are still tough for Americans, and many companies simply arenāt hiring full-time employees. With that said, I feel pretty lucky to be a Hoosier; many of my friends who live in other states have had a difficult time finding minimum-wage jobs, and they have college degrees!
Iāve had plenty of phone and face-to-face conversations with friends about ālife after college.ā What are the options if you donāt have a full-time job after graduation? Well, if youāre a fan of waking up early, you could head down to the local Starbucks and see if theyāre hiring any baristas. For night owls, perhaps thereās a local 24-hour diner or even the corner pub!
But if youāre trying to enter the āprofessional world,ā maybe Starbucks isnāt your best betā¦or maybe …
How to Find a āHotā Job
Entry by Ali Norman, Career and Technical Education Intern, Department of Workforce Development
I have to say, I am extremely happy and somewhat surprised with how much I am enjoying my internship this summer. Yes, some things take some time getting used to, like the commute to work, or the new schedule (my friends have been nice enough to adjust our evening get-togethers to starting at 7pm instead of the usual 9 pm, thank goodness), but I canāt speak enough about how much I believe that having internships is going to help me be prepared and succeed after graduation. I know I still have 2 years left but I bet itāll be here before I know it!
Speaking of graduation, this week I had a pretty interesting assignment. I did some writing for DWD for GRAD magazine (http://www.gradind.com/ -check them out college seniors!) regarding DWDās soon-to-be-published āHoosier Hot 50 Jobs …
Lessons from the Corner Office
Entry by Courtney Sampson, Marketing and Communications Intern, Indiana State Fair
You know, nothingās typical at the Indiana State Fair. Weāre the biggest fair in the state, attracting nearly 975,000 visitors throughout 17 days. Weāve got āthe worldās largest boarā and a 25-foot tall sculpture based upon Grant Woodās āAmerican Gothic.ā Weāve even got gigantic pumpkins, big deals and steep discounts, and real-life bears. (Oh my!)
Not that Iām biased or anything, but weāre the biggest and the best! And we sure arenāt typical. So, let me share a secret with you. Itās been a lifelong goal of mine to reach the ācorner office.ā You know, once you get to the corner office, it means youāre the big kahunaā¦the big cheeseā¦youāve made it to the top! Well guess what, folks? It may all be downhill from here ā cause Iāve got the corner office at the Indiana State Fairgrounds!
Really, …
Keep Your Eyes Wide Open During Your Internship
Entry by Anastasiya Elaeva, Indiana INTERNnet Intern
The fun part of interning is that you never know what events you will have a chance to attend and what people you will get an opportunity to meet.Ā If you keep your eyes wide open, your internship can extend beyond your primary responsibilities and the department to which you are assigned.
After my Washington D.C. internship in international affairs did not work out because of differences in mine and the companyās schedules, I was desperately looking for something in Indiana.Ā I picked up the phone and called the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. To be honest, at that point of time, in mid-May, I did not expect that there would be anything available.Ā I picked up the phone because I thought that trying every single opportunity would be the right thing to do.
To my surprise, I was offered an exciting internship assisting …
Transitioning from Internship to Career
Entry by Pam Norman, Indiana INTERNnet Executive Director
Yesterday I had the privilege of serving on a panel that provided advice to thirty downtown Indy interns.Ā The event was sponsored by the International Center of Indianapolis, and the interns represented corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors.
Takeaways from the discussion included:
ā¢Ā Improve your skill set by taking on more than you think you are capable of
ā¢Ā Track internship projects so it will be easy to update your resume
ā¢Ā Develop your professional network; opportunities are just a business card away
ā¢Ā Seek advice from management; people enjoy talking about their path to success
ā¢Ā Dress for success; dress for the job you want, not the one you have
ā¢Ā Be authentic; consider your internship a ten-week interview
ā¢Ā Soft skills are important to Indiana employers; make sure your skill set contains them
Iāve already received emails …
Personal Branding: Dress to Impress
Entry by Pat Patterson
This month, the blog entries I included were all about professional branding, focusing on how to brand yourself through online media.Ā Although it is important to be aware of how you brand yourself in the virtual world, donāt forget to be mindful of how you present yourself in the real world.
Whether you like it or not, people are going to judge you on the way you present yourself, specifically how you dress.Ā Most of you have heard ārules of thumb,ā such as ādress for the job you want, not the job you haveā or āit is better to be overdressed than underdressed.āĀ A business friend of mine directed my attention to an internās perspective on internship attire ā among the few reasons why Hetrick intern Sean Litke overdresses for his internship, Litke mentions:
Third, even as an intern, I feel taken more seriously when I …
An Internship: What Itās Really Worth
Entry by Colleen Borgmeier and Andrew Stoelting, Summer Coordinator Interns, PACE Community Action Agency
For all of you skeptics out there who are wondering whether or not an internship is worth your time, we are here to tell you that it is most definitely worth your time, and money in some cases!Ā Some universities, like Ball State, require that you have an internship for most majors.Ā Other universities donāt require it, but it is highly recommended.Ā Anything that can add to your resume, especially an internship, shows that you have more specific job skills in your career area.Ā
Andrew and I are working to organize a volunteer day, Race to PACE, where the community comes in and volunteers their time to help benefit Early Head Start and Head Start.Ā We were given this opportunity to coordinate this event about two weeks into our internship.Ā With no prior …
Students: How to Communicate Successfully during a Virtual Internship
Entry by Anastasiya Elaeva, Indiana INTERNnet Intern
In Mondayās blog entry, I provided you with Interactive Intelligenceās perspective on virtual internships.Ā I also recently spoke with one of Interactive Intelligenceās virtual interns, Courtney Guard, who would like to share her advice on having a successful internship experience.Ā An economics major at Purdue University with minors in business management and political science, she is currently doing an internship in the office of Interactive Intelligence, a global provider of business communications solutions.Ā However, last fall she worked for the company from her campus, assisting with the management of Interactive Intelligenceās customer accounts.
Courtneyās started as a regular summer intern in Interactive Intelligenceās office.Ā When her term at the company was over, she talked to her manager about the possibility of keeping her job over the fall while working from home.Ā Courtney really wanted to have a professional job in the fall semester, …
Communicating Effectively at Your Internship
Entry by Courtney Sampson, Marketing and Communications Intern, Indiana State Fair
Last Tuesday, I shared with you a āTop 10 List of Things Iāve Learned about the Indiana State Fairgrounds.ā While there is plenty more where that list came from, this week Iām shifting my focus to writing. Sounds thrilling, doesnāt it?
Seriously, whether or not youāre studying communications (like me), employers across the board will take you more seriously if you can write well. But how can you write well if you donāt know where to begin?
Well, you can start by reading and asking a lot of questions. Just ask my boss ā Iām sure heād confirm that I ask plenty of questions. Because Iām an inquisitive person, I feel like Iāve learned a lot about the State Fair, agriculture education, the 4-H, FFA, and even musical acts set to perform at this yearās fair, like Drake! As …