News Archives
âNever too old to learnâ
This is a guest post by Marie Dunlap, former intern at Stone City Counseling. She was a psychology student at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College who graduated on Dec. 15, 2012. She is 63 years old.
As a psychology major considering a career in mental health, I was able to do my internship at Stone City Counseling Center, in my hometown of Bedford, Ind. Stone City Counseling (SCC) is a small, private practice.
My internship supervisor was Becky Kleihege, who holds a bachelorâs degree from Butler and a masterâs degree from Indiana University Bloomington. Over the course of my internship I became familiar with hers and the other therapistâs credentials. More than that, she was a wonderful mentor, which seems a little strange, considering Iâm senior to her by quite a few years! But weâre never too old to learn.
Becky held several positions before coming to SCC. Because of that she …
The potential of virtual internships
Are you an employer low on office space? Do business nationally or internationally? Office located far away from major cities or college towns?
Are you a student with an academic course load that doesnât lend itself to an office internship? Canât find any internships near your campus?
If you answered âyes,â a virtual internship could be a great option for you. Itâs a trend that is picking up steam because the benefits are numerous. In 2012, there were 58 new virtual internship positions posted to our website.
Virtual internships are a great way for employers to nurture talent in soon-to-be professionals and for students to secure full-time employment post-graduation. Take it from our friends at Ativio, an information technology and business process outsourcing solutions company in Indianapolis.
âWe work in virtual environments all the time,â said Susan Nierste, vice president of business affairs. âWe know what we need as a …
Internship tips from a Journalism-major-turned-English-major
This is a blog post from Kelli Vorndran, the Communications and Media Intern for EmployIndy. Kelli will graduate from IUPUI in the spring with a bachelorâs degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing.
Most of todayâs college students understand the value of an internship. Interning has become so commonplace that many employers actually expect to see this kind of experience on a college gradâs resume. In addition to this newer idea of a ârequiredâ internship, I was eager to enter the professional world as an intern just to gain experience.
One thing that may turn students away from an internship is the idea that it is all workÂâwith no pay. This is never the case! As clichĂ© as it sounds, an internship pays you in experience, if not only as a rĂ©sumĂ© booster. If you are lucky enough to land a paid internship, hooray! Bask in it for a …
National Group Names IUPUI Senior ‘Intern of The Year’
This story was posted on Inside INdiana Business.
The largest group of engineering educators in the world has selected Kirk Barber, a School of Engineering and Technology student at IUPUI, as its intern of the year. Barber received a $500 cash award and a recognition plaque, and he attended the American Society for Engineering Education‘s Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration in Mesa, Ariz.
Barber, who is expected to graduate in May with degrees in mechanical engineering and motorsports engineering, has completed three internships, including two consecutive summer internships at Allison Transmission Inc. in Indianapolis.
“Kirk is very capable and can achieve anything he sets out to do,” Bill Klenk, executive director of off highway and hybrid operations at Allison Transmission, wrote in a letter nominating Barber for the American Society for Engineering Education’s Intern of the Year Award. “He has an extremely high level of self-motivation and a strong …
Feeling the IMPACT, Part II
Indiana INTERNnet hosted the seventh annual IMPACT Awards Luncheon on Feb. 6 at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. This year, we received more nominations than ever before, and it was a sold-out crowd. This is the final recap blog, focusing on the inspiring keynote address from Caroline Dowd-Higgins, particularly her words to employers. If you didnât join us this year, we hope to see you in 2014!
Each year, the IMPACT Awards Luncheon is our opportunity to celebrate the significance of internships and spotlight the success stories. The focus is on the interns and how they are working to become the best and brightest in Indianaâs workforce. We were inspired by each story of accomplishment and believe our âRock Star Internsâ theme couldnât have been more fitting.
This year in particular, though, we were reminded that itâs not only up to the interns to be rock …
Feeling the IMPACT, Part I
Indiana INTERNnet hosted the seventh annual IMPACT Awards Luncheon yesterday at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. This year, we received more nominations than ever before, and it was a sold-out crowd with 250 attendees. Weâll recap the event over the next few days. If you didnât join us this year, we hope to see you in 2014!
Gerry Dick, host of Inside INdiana Business and IMPACT Awards emcee, tweeted us immediately following the event yesterday: âDonât think thereâs talent out there? Should have been at the IMPACT Awards. Wow. Impressive young professionals.â
We couldnât agree more. Indiana is a hotbed of intelligence and talent, and thatâs exactly what we celebrate every year at the IMPACT Awards Luncheon. This year, we were blown away by our rock star interns, employers and career development professionals.
College Intern of the Year Cody Adams made significant contributions to Rocheâs HR …
Internship pulls one student out of comfort zone
This is a guest post by Sara Hollinshead, former intern at Pace Community Action Agency. She is a student at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
This semester I had the privilege to be a marketing intern at Pace Community Action Agencyâs corporate office in Vincennes, Ind. Some of my responsibilities were to provide new marketing and advertisement strategies for Pace. Pace is a local not-for-profit Community Action Agency that offers services in three counties â Knox, Sullivan and Daviess. Because Pace is a Community Action Agency, it supports area programs that are beneficial to the community. Underneath this Pace organization umbrella are several programs including Head Start, WIC, Energy Assistance, Neighborhood Stabilization, and even for profit businesses like CaptTech Consulting.
One of my duties at this internship was to come up with different marketing strategies for various events that Pace was sponsoring and implement those strategies. One area where I thought Pace …
Internship helps solidify career goals
This is a guest post by Constance Chasteen, former intern at Summersville Regional Medical Center. She is a computer information systems student at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Wabash Valley, Ind.
For my internship, I was asked to either revamp or rebuild Summersville Regional Medical Centerâs Intranet site. Since their existing Intranet was only partially completed using Microsoft FrontPage 2003 (an outdated Web building program), I decided to implement a Content Management System (CMS) that could develop along with them.
I took into account that budgeting can be a struggle at small community hospitals. Therefore, I decided to use WordPress as the CMS of choice. It is a free, open source CMS with many plug-ins to expand functionality to meet the hospitalâs growing needs. Because others may need to modify what I have done, I did not want it to be excessively hard to use.
There was really no place for …
From intern to full-time employee
There is no better case for the value of internships than the rate at which they lead to full-time jobs. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, approximately 60 percent of 2012 college graduates who held paid internships received at least one job offer. Today, I join that group.
I began a full-time, paid internship in September with Indiana INTERNnet, a program managed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. This was my second post-graduate internship, following three months spent at the Indiana State Fair. Iâll admit that even I â a huge advocate for internships â was a little leery of doing a second post-graduate internship.
One of our mantras at Indiana INTERNnet is âIntern Today, Employee Tomorrow.â We say it because itâs often true.
After about two months into my internship with Indiana INTERNnet, I was offered a full-time job with the Indiana Chamber as an assistant …
The Forty-Year-Old Intern
This is a story by Felicia Edlin that ran in the Little Pink Book newsletter on Nov. 7, 2012.
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton
Not so long ago, internships were reserved for college students. That’s changing.
With high unemployment rates, many women are switching careers with the help of internships to learn fresh skills and widen their network.
These days, mid-career internships are viewed as an investment to a new career, not as a regression. Ideally, an internship could lead to a full-time position.
If not, it’s a way to keep up skills in between jobs.
Career expert J.T. O’Donnell says in-depth discussions with mentors and career advisors are essential to discovering what you are interested in.
O’Donnell suggests digging deeper into why you want to make the transition. Mid-career internships are most successful for those who plan a way …
Internship experience builds confidence, skill sets
This is a guest post by Nicole Francis, former intern at the Council on Domestic Abuse, Inc. (CODA) in Terre Haute. She is a psychology student at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
The goal of an internship at CODA is to gain a greater understanding of the field of social services by working to empower survivors of domestic violence. After the intern successfully completes the training program, interns begin to work at the emergency shelter, transitional housing or the CODA courthouse office.
Some of the things that I did during my internship experience include: talking to the residents, listening and letting residents voice their concerns to me. I was not confined to one area because there are several cordless phones in the house, which allowed me to move about the residence and be prepared for any calls at the same time. Interns were able to work in the donation room, linen closet, …
Discovering your career path, Part IV
This is the final installment of the series discussing methods to narrow down what jobs youâd like to pursue post-graduation. For previous entries, see personality, exploratory coursework and career aptitude tests.
You wouldnât buy a car without taking it for a test drive. You wouldnât marry someone without getting to know them.
Why would you jump into a career without first completing an internship or a similar form of experiential learning?
Experiential learning is a key step in your career development and is becoming less of an option and more of a necessity (see this USA Today College story). Not only can you âtest driveâ a career, but you acquire skills and complete real-world work in addition to what you learn in the classroom.
With that said, the goal is not to land just any internship. As you begin your search, there are several factors you want to keep in …
Discovering your career path, Part III
This is Part III of a four-part series discussing methods to narrow down what jobs youâd like to pursue post-graduation.
If youâve taken an in-depth personality test, you have insight into how you naturally behave and in what situations you are most comfortable. If you have a college transcript with a broad range of coursework, you probably have an idea of what subject matter interests you.
Now, do you have an understanding of how you work best and what kind of work environment you might enjoy? Career aptitude tests are a great way to unearth your preferences.
One of the most trusted resources among career development professionals is the Strong Interest Inventory. This assessment enables you to identify specific courses, jobs, internships and activities youâre likely to enjoy. It helps you pinpoint your interests, preferences and personal style so you can prepare for a satisfying career. You can visit your …
Discovering your career path, Part II
This is Part II of a four-part series discussing methods to narrow down what jobs youâd like to pursue post-graduation.
One of the great things about college (that you often donât appreciate until after you graduate) is the unbridled access you have to an immense amount of diverse knowledge. Iâm not just talking about the library or free Internet access. Each college and university offers hundreds of courses with fascinating subject matter, and you never know what lessons, skills or new interests you could take away from a class off your beaten path.
Iâve talked to many people about their careers who have said something like, âI majored in XYZ in college⊠but I donât do anything related to that now.â I found that unbelievable until I entered the job market and began to understand the concept of transferable skills. You can find a piece of knowledge in each class …
Avoid âscaryâ intern personas
Happy Halloween! Though your internship supervisor is likely expecting (and maybe even looking forward to) frights and scary surprises tomorrow, you donât want to be one of them in the workplace.
Make sure your Halloween costume doesnât symbolize your internship persona! Here are some scary internship characteristics to avoid:
The Werewolf Intern: An employerâs nightmare! This intern looks fantastic on paper and interviews extremely well. He or she promises a great work ethic and the ability to help implement improvements within the organization. But when the full moon rises⊠or rather, when the intern is hired, he or she morphs into something unexpected and undesirable. Make sure you live up to what you advertise on your rĂ©sumĂ© and in your interview.
The Frankenstein Intern:Â An intern who may act like they were born yesterday (eek!). You are smart, creative and accomplished for someone your age; thatâs why an employer tapped …