InternshipRatings.com

Hey Interns,
 
We all know that there are many benefits from interning during your college semester or summers off. However, what it comes down to is getting your foot in the door and landing that job. Below you will find some advice from GlassDoor.com on how to turn that part-time internship into a full-time job.
 
Good luck!
-InternshipRatings.com 
 
Here’s a link to the full article: http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/turn-internship-fulltime-job/

By Jenny Yerrick Martin

YourIndustryInsider.com

@JennyYM

In the “new” economy (as opposed to the economy we older people experienced while you were children where people had stable jobs and showed up and did what was expected of them and collected steady paychecks), which journalist Tina Brown has dubbed “The Gig Economy,” more and more people are going from project to project without a permanent position.

There are pros and cons to this. The pros are a more stimulating work life and rewards based on successful completion of tasks, not trading hours for dollars as so often happened in that “old” economy. The big con to this one is the instability of the work life. As you embark on your career in the “gig economy,” here are five questions you should ask yourself:

1) Are you the first person they call to see if you are available?

2) Do they sincerely thank you when you are done working with them?

3) Do they refer friends and associates to you when those people need to hire someone?

4) If you have a job, are you the one they call to refer them to a friend because they trust your judgment?

5) Do they often say they want to hire someone “just like you”?

Having the answer to all five questions be YES is the surest way to make sure you stay employed and moving toward your ultimate career goals.

Jenny Yerrick Martin is a veteran hiring executive in the entertainment industry and the creator/writer of YourIndustryInsider.com, a website providing information and inspiration to students, recent grads, and others on breaking in, moving up, and making it in entertainment. She is also a professional resume writer and career consultant (www.momentumadvantage.com)

By Allese Thomson Baker
Community Manager
Wesabe

Internships. A word of many colors for the college student; potential job, waste of time, stimulating taste of the “real word”, an endless hell of envelope stuffing, networking extravaganza, unpaid misery.  I’ve had plenty internships, luckily more that fit into the positive rather than negative category. Still, finding an internship that’s not only worth your time, but pays off your time, is not an easy task.

I can attest to this as during my last year at UC Berkeley, I quit my very well paying job as a waitress (that is, well paying for a college student- tips! tips!), to take an internship at an Internet start up. At the time I struggled with the pay cut, but upon graduation, was offered a comfy salaried position, with job-description way more interesting than any entry-level job I could have hoped for.

By searching for an internship where I could showcase my skills and think outside the box and then doing everything I could to be a valuable asset to the team, I was able to maximize my internship experience. I believe anybody can do this, and to virtually any internship. Here are few tips that I believe we’re central to my success.

Consider applying at a start-up
While working at a new company may not have the same name-brand appeal as working for an established company, start-ups are a lot leaner and chances are you’ll get to do much more “real” work. Also, because the company is trying to get its feet off the ground, the work you do makes and impact and the “big bosses” can see it. During my Wesabe internship, I interacted with the CEO (and most everyone else in the company) nearly every day, and attended company meetings.

Do Your Homework
Prior to your interview, research your potential new company (spend time- I am talking a few hours, not a few minutes- on their web site or see where their product is at in a store, read up on competitors, etc.). Takes notes and keep all this information in a notebook. During your interview, give some thoughts/feedback that shows you know, (1) a lot about their company and (2) to do research and have analytical skills. Transform the interview into dialogue by asking thoughtful questions.

To ease those nerves and help with prep, I would suggest brainstorming a list of questions in your notebook about your prospective position and the company in general. During your interview and ask those questions- remember you’re interviewing them too.

Be The Go-To Person At All Times
When you start, aim to be that responsible go-to person that can efficiently and quickly accomplish any task asked.

When I started at Wesabe, the CEO left me at my new desk and said he’d email me my first task. The subject line read: Competitive Matrix. I opened it. The contents: “Please use this model as the basis for your list. Best, Jason.” Attached was a list of the competition.”

That was it. I friggin’ freaked out. What the f$%^ was a competitive matrix? There was nothing else, no direction, no how-to, no example. So, I got resourceful, began googling, called everybody I knew about that might know what a competitive matrix. I checked out the competition. I pieced things together. When I had a grasp of what this competitive beast and our competition, I headed back to his office and asked if I was headed in the right direction. Turns out I had some things right and some things wrong. But my research made me look capable, responsible and like self-starter.

Be innovative: Think before you ask
Before you say, “I don’t know” or “I need help”, think, where could I find this answer? What other resources could help me answer this? Every single time, I do this before asking a question, I almost always find it’s something I could answer myself.

Additionally, “I don’t know” questions are always better, when you posed as, “In response to x task, I checked a, b, and c, resources and found d, is this the direction you’d like me to follow?”
Think like the CEO

When in doubt, think about what you could do that would best benefit the company. Really think, brainstorm, about how you expand your duties to help the company succeed, and then do it without being asked.

Take Notes and Always Have To – Do List
Whenever you meet with your boss, bring a pen and notebook and take COPIOUS notes. After your meeting has finished, recap the major points/deliverables to your boss, so you can make sure your both on the same page.

After the meeting, I often summarize the contents of my notes and then try to think outside the box. Given these priorities, what else can I do to help the company succeed?  I add these to my to-do list.

If you’re going to take an internship, put in all you’ve got and chances are you’ll get it back two-fold. If you don’t feel you can do the extra work to maximize your internship (researching one that’s worth your time, preparing for the interviews, going the extra mile when hired), than it probably won’t be worth your time or not being paid. Putting that extra 110% means your actually exploring a career and building a foundation and network for your own career. And, that, I believe, is absolutely worth it.

Allese Thomson Baker is the community manager at Wesabe (www.wesabe.com), an online money management tool and community. Allese graduated this past May from UC Berkeley with a degree in the History of Art and transformed her student Internship into a full time job. She now lives in San Francisco and is usually found raving about contemporary art and social media, buried in a book or playing with her dog, Riley.

Samuel Talbott
The University of Iowa
B.A. History, expected December 2009

One of the best parts of having an internship while still in college is the connections you make with people in the workplace and beyond. But, one of the most important steps to take after leaving your internship is to keep these relationships and your network strong—not the easiest task while managing an academic calendar and perhaps a part-time job.

The hard part was getting the internship that you did, but your work is not through. You spent the time at your workplace taking in everything you possibly can in meetings, over lunch or coffee, around the office, happy hour with co-workers, every chance you got to grow you took it.

As your time winds down at your internship start to think about what you plan on doing down the road. Before the time for you to leave work arrives, make sure that you have contact information for your coworkers and supervisor and additionally for people you met while interning—believe it or not some of the best connections I made at my summer internship were formed in the elevator from our lobby to the office. Write thank you notes to all of the people in the office who had a part in shaping your experience. Not only will they be touched by your polite gesture but it also gives them another reason to remember you 6 months down the road if they can look at your note and recall the hard work you did.

It is also a great idea to give people your personal contact information as it is likely that you wont have access to work email when you return to school. This can be done in several ways. I am a big fan of personal business cards as they too leave a great impression and its nice way to keep track of people’s information. If you haven’t handed out business cards during your internship, no need to worry (but keep it in mind in the future), just keep a list of people’s contact email’s or phone number. After departing from your internship, keep in email contact with people you met during your stint. Build upon that first handshake a relationship that can work to your benefit as you enter the job market. Also be aware that many people may not remember you off hand so some foundational sentences are always good when starting correspondence:

“Dear Mr. X
You may not remember me but we met while I was an intern at XYZ and I wanted to write to say that I enjoyed working with you. As a student at Univ. Anywere I have been really interested in your line of work and was wondering if you might be willing to speak briefly to get any insight or advice you may have. I hope this finds you well.
Best,
Student”

Stay in touch with people who’s work interests you or who’s personal experience motivates you in some way. Take advantage of the web 2.0 world in which we live and once you have a comfortable relationship with them, try to connect on LinkedIn or Facebook (are your pictures job search appropriate?), or follow them on Twitter.
Most importantly, be sincere in your correspondence, don’t send an email every couple of months to say ‘hi’ if you don’t have a genuine connection, as that could sour the relationship. Just remember that the bridges you build and friends you make as you expand your network are only as strong as the effort you wish to put into them and the more time you take to foster relationships the more likely they are to help you out in the long run.

Sam Talbott is a senior at the University of Iowa from Santa Barbara, California pursuing a BA in history. He was named one of the American Express Foundation’s Nonprofit Leaders of America while interning at the Pan American Health and Education Foundation in Washington, DC in the summer of 2009. After graduating a semester early in December he hopes to work in development for higher education.

By Karla A. Stevenson
PhD Candidate
Department of Communication Studies
The University of Iowa

Sometimes a career in something you love could be right under your nose! It’s ok not to know what you want to do with the rest of your life right now – but interning is a great way to explore career options while not making huge, life-changing decisions. A good place to start is thinking about the brands you like, media you consume, and non-profits you support.
If there is a company you like, a product you use, a brand you can’t get enough of, or a cause you donate your time to, you might want to think about interning there. Even if it is not in the exact field you are getting your degree in, it’s a foot in the door and may give you the option of doing a second internship or getting an entry level job in your chosen field with that organization. After all, they will know you, know your work ethic and know that you have already acclimated to their company’s culture. So explore different possibilities within the same organization – it might lead you down a new career path!

For example: Say you’re a Marketing major and HUGE Miami Dolphins fan. You might want to explore possibilities with that organization, but even if all they have open is an internship in Sales, you might want to consider taking it. While you are there, give 110% to your sales internship responsibilities but also make friends with the staff in the Marketing Department while you’re at it. When the time comes for applications for Marketing interns for the next semester or summer, you will have contacts AND a knowledge of the organization that other applicants won’t have.

Plan of attack

1. Look on the company’s website and see if they have an internship program. If they do, follow the directions and apply. If they don’t, then call the human resource department and ask if they take applications for internships and if so, in what areas of the company. Also ask who the person(s) is that you address your cover letter.

2. Assuming you’re on Linkedin – you can search by company and see if you have any mutual contacts. If you do – ask them to arrange an introduction. If you don’t, spend some time looking closely at employee profiles. Find out where they went to school, what their majors were, and what groups they are members of. It’s ok to be nosy! There’s even a Linkedin application that allows people to post what books they’re reading. Use all this info to figure out what qualities you possess that they value!

3. Taylor your resume to the intern position in question, tweak your cover letter to argue that you are a great fit for interning there, proofread your resume and cover letter, convert both docs to a PDF and send that baby off! If you are mailing it in, remember to use nice, thick, expensive feeling resume paper.

If you don’t hear back in a week or so, follow up with an email or phone call.

By Nancy Sterling
Senior VP, Strategic Communications
ML Strategies

What attributes does a great intern possess and what pitfalls can he/she easily avoid?

I have experienced internships from all angles.  At Boston College, I was a teaching assistant to the Chairman of the Communications Department which meant that I had a voice in internship assignments.  Then I was an intern myself, first at the NBC station in Boston and then at its ABC counterpart.  I never would have been offered my first job in television, right out of college, if I had not had that experience.  At the latter job, I was in charge of managing the TV news internship program.  Finally, in my current position, we utilize interns in our crisis communications practice.

Let me offer five rules that may seem basic, but I have personally experienced interns who did not follow them and seen the impact on a professional environment.

1. Always have a notepad and pen at a meeting, whether it is a client gathering or a one-on-one with your boss.  I had one intern to whom I gave a pen and notebook during a session and she still showed up without those basics the next time!

2. Let your boss know your schedule and any changes as soon as possible.  He/she is trying to run a business and will likely be amenable to a change with enough notice.  However, the boss does not want to find out the week before the semester ends that this will be your last week!

3. Proofread your documents before you present them.  A supervisor is going to think a lot less of an intern whose one page document has one or more errors!

4. If in doubt, check it out!  No matter how proactive you are trying to be, if you are uncertain about how to handle an assignment, do not just plunge ahead.  Wait and double check.

5. Act like this is your real job.  Whether you are working for course credit or money, be the best all around employee that you can be.

These tips to the top will give you the tools to move from being an intern to being a valued member of the staff.

By Ian Spector
Entrepreneur and Bestselling Author
IanJSpector.com

Always take advantage of your situation. If you like where you’re at and might want to work there again, get to know the fully-employed people you work with, get to know their boss, get to know their boss’ boss if you can. If you do good work, and that’s the underlying assumption for all of this, these people will want to work with you again! Ask them questions, get deeply engaged with the work you’re assigned. Be (appropriately) fanatical. Impressive dedication to your work will make a long-lasting impression upon your superiors. You should also stay in touch with those people occasionally throughout the academic year after the internship ends. If you play your cards right, you might just land yourself a full-time gig when the time is right!

Ross Herosian
College Programs & Outreach Specialist
Sirius XM Radio
     At the risk of dating myself and sounding like my parents I start by saying “Kids nowadays are so much more connected.” While I vividly remember the soundtrack of incoming & outgoing IM messages through computer speakers in college, we now have text messages, Facebook, and Twitter (Sorry Myspace, I think they’re over you). It’s an important distinction to make that while students are more “connected” their ability to communicate is probably the same as it’s always been (if not worse).
 
   There are chunks during the year where my days are spent reviewing resumes of intern candidates and calling and/or emailing them. I am a pretty casual but professional person in both e-mail and phone conversations, but I am constantly surprised (strike that, depressed) that so many students feel that they can e-mail me using text abbreviations (lol, idk, etc.). I am a very forgiving and open – minded person so I usually just chalk it up to “this generation” and tell myself that if we do accept them into our program that I will break them out of this habit. This is an exception. I think the hardest thing for interns to grasp or learn during their internship is adapting to a “corporate” setting. I am not talking about dress code (Most interns dress nicer than me) or working hours but strangely enough the communication is usually the last thing to click.
 
      In the FB/Twitter world, simply scanning your Newsfeed/Timeline catches you up with what you need to know. Replying to these messages is a courtesy, not a requirement. In the corporate world, responses are an acknowledgement to the messages. A simple response to your co-worker’s e-mail will let them know you are engaged in you work and in-time to their needs / requests.
 
      Oh yeah, when you re: just be sure to use complete sentences. IDK why but even when my BFF uses abbreviations it doesn’t make me LOL.
 
About the author:  Ross Herosian is the creator and manager of Sirius XM Radio’s award-winning internship program (2008 Vault.com “Top 10 Internship In America) and is always on the look-out for passionate, creative, and talented interns.  To learn more about the Sirius XM Radio internship go to http://internships.xmradio.com or you can email Ross at internships@siriusxm.com .

By Joe Waters
Director of Cause Marketing
Boston Medical Center

A week doesn’t go by that I don’t get a call or email from four or five people looking for work.  Most of them come from marketing, advertising and public relations. Some are changing careers. Some just can’t find work in their chosen fields.  They all see opportunity in cause marketing, and they’re right.

This post is for all of you, because I know I haven’t gotten back to everyone.  And I know–despite your kind assurances to the contrary–that I haven’t been as helpful as I would have liked.  This post is also for all the people who haven’t contacted me, but I know will.  This will hopefully be a resource to them, as will all your comments, no doubt.

So how do you get a cause marketing job in Boston?  (I say Boston because that’s where I live and work but I suspect that what I’m about to say applies to a lot of other cities.  But correct me if I’m wrong.)

Cause marketing jobs aren’t so much born as they are made.Very few nonprofits in Boston have staff dedicated to cause marketing.  In addition to my own nonprofit, I can really only think of two other full-fledged cause marketing shops: The Jimmy Fund and Children’s Hospital.  The function just hasn’t been formalized within many nonprofits–yet.  Of course, you could work for “The mother of cause marketing” at Cone, Inc. on Boylston Street in Boston but that’s agency work and is different from doing cause marketing for a local nonprofit.

I suggest you be prepared to pitch a nonprofit on building a cause marketing program for that organization. Of course, very few organizations will hire you just to do cause marketing so be prepared to do other work: communications, major gifts, operations, etc. But pitched correctly cause marketing is a great value-add for any organization, and you should be bolstered knowing that close to zero of the nonprofits out there are doing the work.

It’s at this point that I ask that job hunter on the phone or across the table if they are skilled enough to pitch a nonprofit on building a cause marketing effort and experienced enough to execute that plan if they really got the job.  They almost always answer yes, but the real answer is usually no.  This leads me to my next point.

Get experience in cause marketing. Pretty brilliant stuff, eh?  Sadly, (but luckily for some, I guess) only a nonprofit would be dumb enough to hire someone with no experience to run their cause marketing program.  Believe me, I’ve seen it.  But it never works out so let’s not take advantage of someone and waste every one’s time, okay?  If you really want to work in cause marketing you should work in the field for a bit so you can learn the ropes and see what’s involved.  I hire volunteers all the time who become full-fledged team members, get real assignments, real experience and real recommendations when they apply for real jobs.  But you don’t have to come and work with me.  Volunteer with another organization for which you feel passionate.  Ask them if you can help them with cause marketing.  I’ll bet you a stack of paper icons it’s something they’re not currently doing.

If you don’t have someone to learn from, examples abound of successful cause marketing efforts.  Just look to nonprofits–of similar size and focus, if possible–and learn from what works for them.  When I first got into cause marketing I had no one to learn from except from what I saw and read.  Fortunately, I live in a City with two strong, local cause marketing teams, Dana-Farber and Children’s Hospital.  And it helped that my job was in a hospital too.  I started my own program by applying some of the things that had worked for them.  And you know what? They worked for me too!

I also learned a lot by reading whatever I could get my hands on, including every case study at Causemarketingforum.com.

But tapping someone else’s experience isn’t limited to one city.  It could really work anywhere.  There is a very talented young man on Twitter right now, @KyNamDoan, who is working hard to land a job in cause marketing in San Francisco.  He’s smart because he knows that he can’t just limit himself to cause marketing.  He also knows that while he’s very knowledgeable about the field, he doesn’t have a lot of experience.  After talking with KyNam on Twitter and then by phone I contacted a colleague at a public hospital in San Fran and asked if he could volunteer with them.  I wasn’t surprised by her response.

“He sounds great,” she said, “how much experience does he have running cause marketing programs.”

“Not sure he has any,” I replied.

“Joe, I appreciate the offer, but how does that help me.   I don’t need another intern to manage,” she said.

“You won’t have to manage him,” I assured her.  “I will.”

I realized I could help both KyNam and another public hospital because I knew exactly what both needed to do to be successful.  The effort would be win-win.  KyNam would get some valuable experience and cause marketing would become entrenched at a key public hospital in San Fran, the home of several important national retailers.  Not a bad deal for me as I would like to establish a national cause marketing program for public hospitals.

I’m still working to get KyNam in the door at that San Francisco hospital. I also think I could teach him cross-country what he needs to do to launch successful cause marketing programs. But the facts remain that most cause marketing jobs are made, not born. To work in cause marketing you need either some applicable experience or be a keen observer of the industry, preferably both. That’s it. That’s how it happens.

So for all of you who want to get into cause marketing, get started. As my brother, a teacher, likes to tell his students: “You have a wonderful future ahead of you. I suggest you get going.”

Joe Waters is Director of Cause Marketing at Boston Medical Center. He blogs on the intersection of business, marketing and philanthropy at Selfishgiving.com.

By Dexter Hawk
Author, Interview expert
http://dexterhawk25.wordpress.com/

With the national unemployment rate sitting at 9.4 percent, a quarter century high, employment-seeking folks are looking for that something extra to set themselves apart from the pack.  But in an economy where hundreds are vying for the same position you are, being qualified just isn’t enough.  So how do you get past the gatekeepers and land your dream job?

By telling the interviewer what he/she wants to hear.  That’s the way to get the job you want.  In the book “25 things to say to the interviewer, to get the job you want,” you learn the life-skills necessary to be successful in your interview, business, career and life.  So here are a few pointers to supercharge your career and get you started:

1.  I crank out more work than is expected of me.

I go beyond what is asked of me to produce professional work in order for my boss and my colleagues to trust me with more work, harder tasks and tighter deadlines.  The only way to win this trust is to come in early, stay late and put in all the hours I need to show my boss why he/she hired me.

2. I get to know and learn what everyone is doing in my company, especially, the movers and shakers.

I look at the big picture of my company.  I understand that my job is just one piece of the puzzle and in order to see the big picture, I must get to know who and how the pieces fit together.  Every company has character.  The character of a company is reflected in its people.  The sooner I know how and who does what, the sooner I can start to contribute to the character and goals of this company.

3. I’ll get to know people in my business.

Doing business with people you know is better than doing business with people you don’t know. I will establish a relationship with influential people the company does business with. My work, success, livelihood, my entire career depend on the support and goodwill of everyone in my business. This means I will do everything I can to add value for this company by becoming connected.

4. I stand up and take responsibility when things go wrong.

Bosses like people who stand up and say, “It was my fault. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it. And it won’t happen again.” Everyone knows things will go wrong eventually. So what we can control is our response. Accepting responsibility and telling your boss that you made a mistake is always better than pointing blame. This shows character, and character always counts.

5. I don’t cut corners.

I take pride in my work. What I turn out says a lot about me, my subordinates, my colleagues, my boss, my company. Because of the importance of the quality of my work, and how it reflects on the company, I will not finish a project with low standards. Ever.

These five statements will give your interviewer confidence in your ability to see a bigger picture than just working a 9-5. You want a job where you can hit a homerun, and these promises will offer to your future employer a confidence in you and your abilities.

For more from Dexter Hawk’s “25 Things to Say to the Interviewer, to Get the Job You Want,” find the audio book on Amazon.com.