InternshipRatings.com

By Michael Harari
Go-Getter, University of Miami 2010
Advertising and Psychology

Spring semester is officially over. The summer is upon all of us – you know what that means: Reality show clip time! Oh wait; this summer won’t be spent watching re-runs and new episodes of “The Soup.” Nor will it be spent wasting away like a beach bum (no matter how much we want to). In this economy, and in the emerging world of business, internships are becoming more important.

Let’s take a look at finding an internship, and how if at first you don’t succeed, you clearly didn’t try hard enough. There is absolutely no reason for you to turn your back on finding an internship. Some firms look for experience. Some look for enthusiasm and drive. Some look for a combination of both. The fact of the matter is you never know what a company is looking for. And you never will understand it either.

Last summer I was fortunate to have an internship at an amazing advertising agency in New York City. I was going for art direction and was placed in print production. While this wasn’t my first choice, I was flexible, and I still got to be part of the creative process. My resume wasn’t anything special, and quite frankly, my portfolio was on the shitty side. However, something in my cover letter and my interview had set me apart from the other applicants.

It’s a year later. I’ve sent out my resumes and cover letters. I followed up and sent my portfolio (which is better than last year, but still could use some work – those who tell you their work is perfect, need to get off the meds and receive a slap of reality). Funny thing is, I had another internship during school, boosting my resume credentials, and a better portfolio, and yet I couldn’t hear back from a large percentage of agencies I contacted. I thought I had the qualifications they were looking for, but I guess I didn’t. Just goes to show, you have no idea what companies are looking for. One year you have it, and the next you can’t receive a response.

That brings me to the main topic of this discussion: if at first you don’t succeed, you clearly didn’t try hard enough. It is discouraging when agencies/companies/firms don’t get back to you. You want to yell and curse their names into the ground, but you realize there’s a more constructive way to take revenge. You strive. You strive to get a better internship. So when you apply for a job there, they can see that you had a kick-ass internship when they didn’t take you on.

Lesson #1: Don’t isolate yourself geographically; unless you are geographically isolated.
This is simple to understand: broaden yourself to other cities. If you live in Chicago and go to school in Boston – apply in both cities. If you live in South Carolina and attend school in Virginia – apply in both states. Basically, do not limit yourself to your home-state. That is, unless, you live in New York and attend school in Manhattan – still apply outside the state, but you may have a home field advantage (some agencies love taking students from SVA or Pratt because they have a reputation of great design skills). Those who are geographically separated have a much wider selection of companies to apply to. Yes, it may mean living in your crappy apartment by school for a couple more months, but you are gaining valuable knowledge. The more opportunities you have to send out your resume, the better chance you have of getting that interview.

Lesson #2: There is no magical resume number to follow.
I wish there is an easier way to lay this one out. Over the course of January to May 2009, I have sent between 40-50 emails to various agencies in Miami and New York. Some people, such as my father, believe that number is too small. He rather have me send out about 20 resumes per week. 20 per week in a month. That is close to 80 resumes in a month, for 5 months, and you’re looking at 400 resumes being sent out. You have to be meticulous and completely OCD to not completely screw it up and send out information to the wrong company (nothing worse than doing that). But I felt comfortable with the 40-50 resumes that I sent out. It’s all at matter of your comfort level in your abilities, your resume, and your opportunities. But don’t be stubborn: if you think you are semi-qualified, still send out the resume. The response may amaze you.

Lesson #3: Be persistent. But don’t be a pain in the ass.
There is nothing worse than a pain in the ass. We all know the type. They get up in your business all the time, track you down, and overall, piss you off. You want to be persistent, but you do not want to piss the company off. If you send your resume out and do not receive a response, send a follow-up e-mail or phone call a couple of days later. Make a simple statement: “I wanted to touch base to make sure you received my resume. Please confirm that you have received it. If not, I have attached it to this e-mail.” HR reps are constantly busy and bombarded with too many e-mails. There is a chance that your e-mail got through the cracks and was overlooked. By touching base, you can engage in a conversation with the company; this conversation can lead to an interview and the possibility of landing the internship.

Lesson #4: Don’t limit yourself to what you know. Check other online postings.
A simple online search for finance companies, advertising/pr agencies, etc., can only get you so far. There is no harm in checking Craigslist job postings. Yes, they have more than just cheap furniture being listed. You would be surprised at the number of listings posted each day. My internship this year was found through Mediabistro.com. For those of you interested in advertising and marketing, take a look at Talentzoo.com. Check Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com. Basically, use the Internet the way it was intended to be used: to connect with millions of people around the world. Find any opportunity you can. The best internship could come from a small posting on a site you never heard of.

The truth remains: if at first you don’t succeed, you clearly didn’t try hard enough. You are all brilliant college students, who understand the complex world we live in and continue to influence. If you don’t hear anything back from the first round of resumes sent, send more out. If you are satisfied and think “you know, I sent out 15 resumes this month and I’m content,” guess what, you will be sorry. You have every opportunity to succeed. Don’t let it go to waste by not trying your hardest to get what you want.

Of course, there are several more lessons and rules to follow. I am but a simple college student sharing my experience with you. Take what I say to heart, or tell me I’m full of shit and disregard it. At least consider what I have said; who knows, one day you’ll look back and say “That Mike. He knew what he was talking about.”

By Phillip Merrick
Co-founder
VisualCV, Inc.

With the summer and graduation right around the corner, you are sure to see a lot of students in the midst of updating their resumes. As someone who has hired thousands (literally) of people, I know how frustrating resumes can be. It’s hard to demonstrate your experience in black and white on one page. And, it’s very hard for hiring managers to determine a good fit when evaluating that one page document. This frustration is one of the many reasons my co-founder and I created VisualCV, Inc.

A VisualCV is an online resume that best represents professionals by bringing their skills and backgrounds to life where you can include graphics, photos, video and relevant links to showcase educational achievements, internships, work experience, volunteer work, interesting projects, professor recommendations. Additionally, you can have multiple VisualCVs and are in control of their privacy settings. This means that you’re in control of your information…not us.

Typically the posts on Take Note offer a piece of internship advice. Not surprisingly, my advice is around your resume (or VisualCV). Hiring managers and HR representatives are busy individuals. You are wise to help make their lives easier. Give them all the information they might need the first time they review your information. If the internship description says that writing skills are important, include a writing sample in your VisualCV to back up your claim to being a solid writer. If the position requires references, include that information in your VisualCV. If you need to send in work samples of previous designs, add them along side the text within your VisualCV. Do what you can to give the hiring manager all the information they need to know about you up front.

And, remember to highlight certain non-work and non-academic activities, in particular sporting or community involvement. I think this goes a long way, because employers hire people, not resumes, and anything you can do to show your well roundedness will help you stand out. And many hiring managers like to see participation in sports or community activities, because they promote values like team building that are important in the workplace.

Writing a resume of any sort can be difficult which is why we had career expert Louise Kursmark write a free instructional e-book, available at www.visualcv.com/insidersguide. The book explains how to write a powerful resume and also has a special chapter for recent and pending graduates.

We’re often asked what kinds of professionals use VisualCV and how they use it. I for one am astounded at the great uses of our product by our members. VisualCV is gaining significant traction among job seekers, recruiters and corporate HR execs alike. With the number of layoffs expected to continue to rise in the coming months, standing out from the crowd has never been more important for candidates – regardless of which step in the corporate ladder they are on. VisualCV helps all types of job seekers including:

• Pending college graduates. Helps them get a “leg-up” on the competition and create a solid online resume—even thought they might be light in the job “experience” department.
• Senior executives, to musicians, to reporters etc. Helps established workers distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack.
• Stay-at-home moms and dads. Helps them to re-enter the workforce and fill in resume gaps by highlighting non-traditional skills that may have been learned from volunteer work, online training, etc.
• Passive job seekers. Allows people who are currently employed to prepare for a possible layoff as VisualCV allows them to network and market themselves as publicly or privately as they feel comfortable.

You can see all kinds of professionals in our Member Examples Directory.

The incredible talent coming out of schools in the coming years means a competitive environment for the foreseeable future. To help you get ahead of the competition, a VisualCV (as one tool in your toolbox) is a smart and easy investment to make. And, it’s a tool that you can use for lifetime, altering it as you advance your career. If you do try the entirely free service, please let us know what you think. And, to see what we’re talking about these days, please check out our blog.

Nancy DeCrescenzo
Director
Office of Career Service
Eastern Connecticut State University

Students seeking internship should always attend campus career fairs. With rising recruiting costs, it is fair to assume that if an employer pays to attend, and releases human resources to such events, they have positions to fill. Most companies who participate in campus career fairs do so to meet prospective interns, as well as entry-level candidates.
Simply attending a career fair, however, is not enough. Students should be well prepared to take full advantage of the opportunity. Below are suggestions for what should be done before, during and after the event.

Before:
• Examine the list of participating employers and research, in advance, those that you will target. Most student schedules do not allow time for meeting all of the representatives in attendance. Moreover, meeting bankers and accountants when you are a social work major is an ineffective use of time. Know about the company and positions available before engaging with the recruiters.
• Update your professional resume and have it reviewed by a Career Services staff member.
• Invest in professional attire. Students should dress for job fairs as they would for job interviews.
• Attend pre-fair events sponsored by your Career Services staff. Alleviate any anxieties you may have about attending career fairs by getting some last minute coaching from your career counselors.

During:
• Navigate the fair alone. Do not attend with a group of friends, your parents or your puppy! You can portray confidence, initiative, and ambition by doing so.
• Turn off your cell phone, take off your coat and hat, and leave your book bag at the door.
• Be friendly and professional. Offer a firm handshake, maintain eye contact during conversation and smile.
• Introduce yourself to everyone you meet. Career fairs are networking events with many opportunities to interact with new people. Prepare a brief introduction that includes your name, major, career goal and purpose for attending the fair. Collect business cards.

After:
• Organize the materials you collected at the career fair.
• Send an electronic resume to any recruiter who requested one accompanied by an email message that references the conversation at the fair.
• Complete on-line employment applications as requested by recruiters.
• Send thank-you notes to any representative that gave you extra time, advice or guidance.
• Design a follow-up strategy based on important dates and information gathered at the event.

Career fairs are one of the many recruiting events hosted by your university. Your participation offers you the opportunity to explore new industries, assess hiring trends, and expand your professional network. These events are a great way to learn about internship and other employment options in the comfort of your own campus. Get to the fair and get hired!

By Suzanne K. Daley, Recruiting Manager, Wenham, MA
John White, Recruiting Manager, Winston-Salem, NC
Mullen

Getting your foot through the door, for an internship or an entry- level job can be a daunting task at any time and especially during a weakened economy.  We put together our best tips for helping you find a job (or internship) you’ll love.

Overall, you need to be engaged in the process—in the search, the interview, the follow-up.  You really have to want to be at the agency and to make a difference every day. Sincere enthusiasm and interest always shines through.

Your resume – it all starts here…

Your resume tells a story about you (and your interview should confirm that story).  It should be clean, easy to read/ digest, and one page (do not spill onto 2 pages—edit if you must!).

1. No grammar/ no spelling mistakes.  At all.  Ever.  You will end up in the recycle bin.  Proof, proof, proof your resume and then pass it to someone else to proof it again.

2. Don’t “over –embellish” your prior experience. If you waited tables, list just that and maybe one brief sentence. Don’t write things like, “assisted customers with menu selections and tabulated receipts,” it’s unnecessary.

3. Be sure to include any school activities or internships that are meaningful to you as it will show us more than just your academic background. However, if you only did a one-day charity walk, don’t bother to include.  We seek sincere commitments, not one time deals!

4.  It’s okay to be creative even if you’re not applying for a creative job.  The basics remain the same- perfect spelling/ grammar, easy to read layout, etc., but it’s okay to add personality to your resume— maybe use an interesting font for your category labels or put your name in a color, etc.  Be yourself and you’ll be fine.

You’ve got your version of the perfect resume, now it’s time to do prep work and figure out what great agencies you want to work at, what they seek, and all you can about them.

Agency research

1. Google!  There are no excuses if you don’t know the client roster, latest news, any big awards etc. anymore; you must know all you can about where you apply to work.

2. Read the job descriptions!  Don’t apply for every opening just for the sake of increasing your odds.  If anything, you’ll come off looking scattered.  You can’t be entry level and a Senior Vice President at the same time. Review the posted job description and really dissect it line by line to make sure it matches with what you want to do.

3. Network—ask pals, friends of your family, professors, fellow college alums, anyone in your network if they know someone who works at your dream agency and see if you can connect with someone in-house to learn more about the agency and how they got to where they are.

You made it to the interview stage, now what?

1.   Try and think of the interview as a conversation— these are the people you’d potentially be dealing with and interacting with a lot. As much as you can, try and make your time with them as friendly and normal in tone as possible. Also, if you’re asked “Do you have any more questions for me?” don’t say: “No. You’ve answered everything.” Ask your interviewer how they got their start in advertising, ask them about their role in the organization, how/if you’d be working with them etc.  Be engaged!

2.  Take notes during your interview.  This will help you with your follow up thank you notes as then you can mention specific conversation items.

3.   Remember that manners go a long way— have a firm handshake, make eye contact, show up early, etc.  If it means doing a dry run the night before to make sure you know where you’re going— do it! Also, be presentable and dressed in business attire. You don’t always have to wear a suit and tie (depending on the interview), but definitely look like you’re going somewhere special.

4.   Send a thank you note— email one once you get to your computer and post a handwritten one that evening.  It’s so competitive and these little things will make you stand out from the crowd.

Finally, good luck and enjoy agency life!

By E. Chandlee Bryan

Careers in Context

www.careersincontext.com

If you are graduating in 2010, don’t miss out on one of the biggest opportunities of the year: Summer internship recruiting begins now!
Many corporate employers use internships as a primary pipeline for hiring for full-time positions. As a result, they will keep their internship programs strong even in a down economy. According to annual surveys conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, it’s quite likely you’ll land a full-time job from your internship: the percentage of interns converted to full-time employees increased from 35% in 2001 to 50% in 2008, with almost 70% of interns receiving full-time offers in 2008.

I spent over eight years working at campus Career Services offices where my job was to learn about employer needs and help students apply for positions. In the process, I made a few observations on how you can best prepare for the process:

If you haven’t started already, this is a great week to begin. Many campuses don’t open for spring term until mid-to-late January, but a majority of staff at Career Offices are back at work. If your school offers individual counseling appointments or resume critique services, now is a great time to get a quick appointment. If you’d like outside help, you may also want to consider hiring a resume writer or career coach-but keep in mind that you will need to follow resume guidelines set by your campus.

Research potential opportunities. Given the high conversion rate of interns to full-time employees, you want to make sure you like the place you work enough to stay there full-time. Therefore, it is important to carefully evaluate opportunities. Read about career fields, position types, and determine the best work environment for you. Then research employers to create a short list of ideal organizations. Apply for multiple opportunities: don’t limit yourself to only those employers who are interviewing on-campus-apply for other internships as well. (In addition to your campus internship database, check out company websites and aggregators including indeed.com.)

Discount the myth that no one reads cover letters. Competition can be stiff, and employers often use cover letters to assess your writing skills and your level of interest. A great cover letter can help you get noticed.

Show that you understand the position and industry. Contrary to popular myth, employers don’t always use GPA and major as the first screening criteria when evaluating internship applications. A little research on current company initiatives, products, or work environment can go a long way. News aggregators (e.g. Google News Alerts, RSS Feeds) and research tools such as Hoovers, Lexis-Nexis, and Factiva can help you quickly find items worth mentioning. (You may also want to look for key indicators on company health and performance-factors that can help you assess your long-term employment prospects.)

Write your materials from the employer’s perspective. In most organizations, employers scan application materials quickly to seek answers to the following questions:

• How did you learn of this position? (They want to know if their ads are working!)

• How do your skills and experience align with the job description?

• Why are you interested in the position? How does it fit in with your long-term goals?

• Why do you want to work for us? (What interests you about our company versus our competition?)

Quick tip to ensure you’ve written from the employer’s perspective: Count the number of sentences in your cover letter, than the number that start with “I.” Aim for less than 50% of sentences to begin with you.

These strategies are designed to help you “stand out” in the applicant pool while also demonstrating how you “fit in” to the company culture and organizational structure. Have any additional tips or success stories of strategies that worked? If yes, please share!

E. Chandlee Bryan, M.Ed., is a certified professional resume writer and career counselor at Careers in Context. A former Ivy League career counselor and recruiter, Chandlee specializes in providing services and career advisement to emerging professionals; she also serves as a consultant to employers on best practices for recruiting and training millennials.

By Malia Lawson
HR Professional/Recruiter
HRbrain4hire@gmail.com
Boston, MA

I’ll start by admitting that I also seriously considered the title: “How to Get the Attention of an Insanely Busy HR Professional” because…well…this is, sadly, the lens through which I currently see all applicants. While I have certainly not lost perspective and gotten self-important in the least, and I actually would love it if I had time to speak with all of the drop-by visitors who are clever enough to find our corporate offices, there is just not enough time!

However, when I met the creators of this site, they immediately earned my respect with their novel approach to the age-old office drop in, and were rewarded (?) with 15-minutes of my best stream-of-consciousness material on the benefits and challenges of corporate internship programs. It went something like this.

Introduction

Most of you readers are eager students just trying to get that ‘foot in the door’ that could one day help you to get your entire body in and create a full-fledged career. So how do you get that clog, flip-flop, loafer, converse, or high heel wedged into the small space separating college from the ‘real world’ you’ve heard so much about? Well, the good news is, if you’ve managed to get into college; getting an internship should be easy!

Nevertheless, going in armed with a little inside information can’t hurt either, right? Working as an HR Professional/Recruiter for the past 10 years in this area, I must admit that while I enjoy working with folks like you who are new to the workforce more than almost anything, there are certain things that drive me absolutely berserk! Do I like a curmudgeon? Oh well.

First Impressions Begin WAY Before Your Interview

How did the folks from Internshipratings.com manage to coax me out from behind the alarmed door that most offices nowadays when so many try and fail? First, they were polite to the person working at the front desk and gave her clear, concise, persuasive information as to the purpose of their visit.

Pretty simple, right? This might work for prospective interns as well (wink, wink), but it might not. If you cannot get a live person to come out and speak with you, do not be offended. try asking the person sitting behind that desk about the best way to get your resume to the right person in the organization. What few people realize is how much a busy person in my shoes relies upon the impressions made on the person out front, whether the candidate calls, emails or arrive in person. Never, ever be rude to the receptionist!

Do Your Homework

* Research the company & industry. And for goodness sake—look at their website!
* Understand which internships are open; the requirements from your school before you even apply. It is not the company’s responsibility to know all the details of your school’s internship program. Knowing this information from the start impresses employers and shows maturity.
* Write down questions (good ones) that will get you more information and reveal how smart you are, but that do not sound as if you are sucking up. How do I know which are good ones? Good questions are original, sincere, specific to the company, and those which you are actually interested in hearing the answers to. in the answers. Some say that flattery will get you everywhere, and they are often right.
* Know what you expect to gain from the internship ahead of time. Having your own personal, professional goals in mind up front will dictate to a large degree whether or not you will meet them

Resumes, Applications, & Interviews

Here are some of my own personal Do’s and Don’ts (other may disagree):

DO

* Attach an updated resume in Word or PDF—Always follow application directions carefully!
* Write a customized cover letter; spell the name of the company correctly.
* Email a resume to the HR dept or jobs email address, even if you “Apply Online” through a career site (not the company’s website) such as monster, craigslist, etc.
* Spell and grammar check your resume and cover letter; (http://www.english.uiuc.edu or http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html or this book is worth buying for all of your studies). An applicant once mass faxed a resume with “Shift Supervisor” misspelled in big letters at the very top of the page (Sh*t Supervisor) to every fax machine in the building. A funny story for me; bad news for that candidate!
* Begin to build a “Skills” section and keep it brief and bulleted.
* Put your education or your work experience at the top, depending on which is more impressive at that stage in your life/career. For green folks, usually that will mean the Education section comes first. (No high school)
* Include portfolio if you are a designer, writer, artist, etc. (don’t make the recruiter ask)
* Be on time for phone and in-person interview, better yet early (no more than 30 minutes).
* Leave time for the employment application, bring a cheat sheet of phone numbers and addresses with you if they are not already programmed into your cell phone. Signed, paper applications are still requirement at many companies. Just fill it out to the best of your ability and print nicely!
* Bring extra copies of resume, skip the fancy paper unless a law firm (save those pennies)

DO NOT

* Wonder if you have a dud of a resume. These days there is so much free information on the internet that buying a “For Dummies” book is really unnecessary. If you must, just go to a bookstore, school library, or career center for an hour and thumb through a book.
* Use colored ink, cartoon backgrounds/stationary, paper resumes, faxes(!), small or cursive fonts, and heavy graphic elements in your resume.
* Include more than 1 to 2 pages unless you are 10+ years in; however, the rule about 1-pager is a myth, especially overseas.
* Spam companies with generic emails. Grrrrr.
* Include an “Objective” section unless you have a very clear idea of you want. Never say that your objective is “to work for your awesome company”—that is just cheesy, even if it is true. Save it for the cover letter and the interviews, tiger!
* Include high school employment or extra-curricular activities unless you have not done anything since or are still early in your college career; including college extra-curricular or volunteerism is a plus.
* Brag too much or overuse the word “I” in a cover letter; A little confidence and a touch of humility goes a long way, especially for “Gen Y” applicants. Y’all get a partially unjustified bad rap in this department.
* Send a glossy photo of yourself unless the internship involves modeling. Yes, I have seen these. Exception is for some international jobs.
* Say “References available upon request”—of course they are.
* Have a strange/confusing/music-only voicemail on your phone or a weird email address such as honeybunny65@geemail.com when you are in a job search.

Not Worth the Coffee? Try to Fix it Yourself–It Could Make You Stand Out

Once you are in your internship, keep your eyes open and your brain and hands busy! Speak to your manager if you are confused; have run out of things to do, or are truly unhappy at the workplace after the first few weeks.

Sure, you will need to do some entry-level tasks in order to learn the business, but you should also be able to find appropriate and practical ways to take initiative and keep busy. This is one sure way to secure a good reputation and have people remember you after the semester is over.

I have never said “No” to an eager intern or entry-level employee with a good idea for improving the business, and I likely never will.

Good luck to you!

Malia

By Lauren Borgaro
Human Resources Manager
PAN Communications

You find a promising PR internship opening. Excited, you send a well-crafted cover letter and resume and wait for a response. Four weeks later, you’re still waiting, your enthusiasm has waned, and you’ve concluded your resume has fallen into a black hole.

Our intern candidates frequently come to me and ask questions in how to better craft a resume that will stand out. I will say, that in an industry where people excel in creating targeted communications, it can be a struggle when it comes to writing about yourself on a resume. When you’re a college student trying to write a resume, especially your first one, you’ll face questions you typically won’t find addressed in the blinding blizzard of online resume writing sites.
In my experience, I’ve seen many versions of the following resume-related questions. Below are some helpful answers when putting together that all-important resume.

1) Should my resume be one page or two? If you read enough books or talk to enough people who “know” about resumes, you’ll come across a rule that your resume should be only 1 page long. It’s time to let the myth go, along with the resume handcuffing it creates. It’s great if you can do this. But if you end up leaving out so much good material that you wipe out your interview chances, what good have you done?

2) Should the Education section go first or last?
Usually, it makes the most sense to put the Education section at the beginning of your resume since you’re a college student or recent grad. But if you have some great PR internship experience, position your Experience ahead of education.

3) Should I include my GPA on my resume?
If it’s above a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) YES. If not, try to make it looks better by highlighting your major GPA instead of your cumulative one.

4) Should I put down my school address, permanent address, or both?
If in doubt, list both—as long as you can actually be reached at both. If not, use and address that an employer can reach you within the time frame of a couple months.

5) Should include pre-college information on my resume?
Normally, no—perspective employers aren’t likely to care about it much. Of course, there are exceptions. Suppose you won a special award or recognition in high school or accomplished something note-worthy. Then highlight it, especially if it’s related to the communications field.
Remember, creating a resume is much more art than science. Just as you would with an art project, express yourself in a way that works best for you and the information you’re trying to represent. Consider that your resume is your voice and can speak volumes on your behalf. Equipped with a well constructed resume, you’ll also be ready to update your resume when you graduate. Good Luck!