Category Archives: Career Advice

First day on the internship

Today marks Day 2 for me as the Marketing and Special Events intern with Indiana INTERNnet. I just read an excellent blog post by Megan Schuman, last summer’s intern, and by the sound of things, I’m in for an incredible experience!

This will serve as my eighth internship, so I am a huge believer in the benefits and take-aways these experiential learning opportunities provide, and I am beyond excited to talk about this for the next several months. I know I am indebted to all of my internship supervisors and mentors for the great experiences they afforded me and all the wisdom they passed to me.

Internships can be downright fun. I’ve had the opportunity to work for the 500 Festival, the Indiana State Fair and Sen. Richard Lugar’s office in Washington, D.C. I gained practical field knowledge, but I also have a host of fun memories from these experiences, …

Continue Reading »

Marketing, Social Media, and Event Planning – Oh my!

This is a guest post by Emily Fauber, summer intern for Miller White Marketing.

I interned at Miller White Marketing in Terre Haute, Indiana. Miller White is an in-house marketing company with two locations: one in Indianapolis and another in Terre Haute. Miller White has been around for more than thirty years and has seen the evolution in marketing. Today, Miller White focuses on marketing, research, public relations, advertising, audio/video, SEO/SEM, interactive and social media. They work with clients to develop creative and relevant strategies to connect the clients with their customer.

I was hired on as an intern to help with College Goal Sunday.  Miller White works with College Goal Sunday to help develop marketing and advertising strategies. College Goal Sunday is a volunteer program that provides free information and assistance to high school student and their families who are applying for financial aid. This is a one-day event held …

Continue Reading »

First-time intern gets top-notch experience at Juvenile Detention Center

This guest post is from Krista Rangel, a St. Mary-of-the-Woods student majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Sociology and Psychology. Krista will graduate in 2013.

My internship at Chicago Juvenile Detention Center was not only my first internship, but I was also the first intern to my site supervisor. I can honestly say this was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I learned about so many facets of the system — from the judges to simply being in the building; I would not have been able to gain these hands-on experiences in a classroom.

My internship at the detention center allowed me to see the system’s process first-hand. Working in a big building with a bunch of lawyers and judges was initially intimidating because I had never been in a corporate environment. After a few weeks, I got to know some of my co-workers and realized that although they have “big …

Continue Reading »

How Interns Could Save Your Life

OK, so maybe interns can’t “save” your life, but they sure could improve it. Recently, the Wellness Council of Indiana teamed up with Indiana INTERNnet to better understand the positive affects interns can have on the workplace.

 Check out the five dimensions of wellness and how hosting student interns can boost each category.

Career well-being: how you occupy your time and liking what you do each day

Interns increase productivity: Interns bring needed resources to achieve what couldn’t otherwise be accomplished; from promoting the organization and gathering market intelligence to improving operation effectiveness and supporting client needs. Secure future employees: An internship program enables businesses to recruit, qualify, and train potential employees.

 Social well-being: having strong relationships

Interns are energetic, not only in their work, but also in their lifestyle. They can bring fresh ideas and a new perspective. Networking: Interns are engaged—they love to socialize …

Continue Reading »

The Roaring Twenties: Developing a Post-Grad Community

This is a guest post from Sarah Eutsler. She is a freelance writer, the founder & editor of twentysomething Indy, and owner of On a Good Note Designs, an online stationery and gift shop. She’s a proud DePauw grad and active Delta Gamma alumna, serving on the board of the Indianapolis Alumnae of Delta Gamma and as an alumna volunteer for the Purdue and Butler chapters. When she’s not busy running around trying to do everything, she’s fueling her addictions to magazines and How I Met Your Mother or trying to blog here. Don’t be shy! Follow her and say hello on Twitter.

When I graduated from DePauw last year I was prepared for a lot of things: to work, to pay those dreaded bills, to spend weeknights going to bed early instead of doing homework (or splitting pitchers of Blue Moon at the campus bar with a few …

Continue Reading »

From Intern to Young Professional: The Who, What and Where of the Social Shift

A successful internship experience is a catalyst for work placement and community involvement for the young professional.  This means focusing on a positive experience outside the office as well. So, Indiana INTERNnet provides opportunities for interns to network, socialize, and help the Indianapolis community.

Indy Interns, Indiana INTERNnet’s community-engagement initiative, provided a number of opportunities this summer, including an outlet to share internship experiences, learn about financial wellness, give back to the community, and explore the local Indy culture. But, what’s next?

For the “pre” young professional, the real world is a mysterious place. Shifting from college student and intern to young professional is about engaging in a new vibrant community, getting involved in community discussions, and creating a new social network with fellow young pros. It may sound logical—perhaps even simple—but it requires time, effort, and knowing where to look for opportunities. So where should one …

Continue Reading »

Intern Yesterday, Employee Today

This is a guest blog written by Drew Van De Wielle of. Drew graduated from Ball State University in December 2011, with a B.S. in Public History/Business Administration & Marketing. He worked as an intern at the Museum from January through May. He is a 2007 graduate of St. Joseph’s High School in South Bend, and has also worked at United Beverage Distribution Company. Drew enjoys learning about South Bend’s rich industrial heritage and playing on a softball team for Barnaby’s.

Hello my name is Drew Van De Wielle South Bend native and Curator at the Studebaker National Museum.  Before being hired for the full-time position of Curator, I was an intern from January through April.

My internship was a well-rounded experience.  I was originally hired to gain experience with handling museum collections and to get an idea of how a successful small museum is run on a day-to-day …

Continue Reading »

Indy Interns Meet Pete

Interns from Central Indiana arrived at Interactive Intelligence to hear Pete the Planner share his words of wisdom. Pete broke down the secrets to good credit, how to pay off debt, three keys to budgeting, and ten ways to create financial momentum. Check out his website for more information, or even invest in one of his books—you won’t regret this purchase. He managed to fit in a toilet paper analogy, what the heck a 401k is, and what your parents have been wrong about all in a one hour.

If you couldn’t attend and you’re looking for a real takeaway, check out Pete’s ideal budget. It’s simple! If you spend less than the allocated percentage in one category, you can reallocate that money to another category (whether it is paying student loans or the new pair of shoes of you’ve been eyeing).

Thanks to Indiana Council …

Continue Reading »

Lessons Learned as a 24-Year-Old Intern

Ali Turner is a professional writer and career blogger.  She’s also the managing editor of Campuses to Careers, a blog that helps young people make informed career and education decisions.  Topics covered on the blog include careers for shy people and how to follow up on a job application.

I am now proud to say that I was a 24-year-old intern.  But I didn’t always feel that way.  After graduation and struggling to find job prospects in this dismal economy, I decided to take an unpaid internship at an international non-profit.  I knew that I needed more experience, and I decided that an internship related to public relations, the field I wanted to get into, was better than something completely random.

My admission to being a post-graduate intern was met with a little shock and even some snickering and eye-rolling.  This negativity mostly (but not always) came from members of the older …

Continue Reading »

The Top 10 Questions I’ve Heard as Chancellor of WGU Indiana

This is a guest post written by Allison Barber, the Chancellor of WGU Indiana, the state’s accredited, non-profit, online, competency-based university. WGU Indiana is celebrating its two-year anniversity. The university has helped more than 2,600 students either finish their bachelor’s degree or earn a master’s degree. During the past two years, WGU Indiana has had students or gradutes in 90 counties of the state.

In this piece, Chancellor Barber reflects on some of the most common questions she’s heard in the last year years about WGU Indiana.

1. Why do you drive that crazy “WGU” car?

I decided in the middle of our first year to have a car wrapped in our university logo. It’s the equivalent of driving a billboard! I drive that car all across the state and up to 1,000 miles a month. No matter where I travel folks often come up to me to ask about WGU …

Continue Reading »

Social Media—Opportunity or Obstacle for Young Professionals?

According to Online Colleges Columnist Michael Lemaire, 37% employers use social media to research job candidates. Let that sink in. I’m talking Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites such as the popular Pinterest or even YouTube. Why should this scare you a little? Well, hiring managers say they’re using social media to discover more than what is usually revealed during a traditional interview.

Allow me to attest for the majority of college students out there regarding Facebook and Twitter—employers, on many occasions, will be seeing the things potential employees actually try to hide in interviews. Even more serious for us students—65% of employers use social media sites to see if the candidate presents himself/herself professionally. Professionally? This calls for some editing.

However, this study also reports that 79% of college students are likely conformable with their online profiles being reviewed because they’ve cleaned up their pages and created …

Continue Reading »

Do you “know how 2 go” to career success?

This is a guest post written by Sara Hess, Campaign Coordinator and Editor at Learn More Indiana

Career success means different things to different professionals. Whether your industry defines success as products sold, media markets reached or something else entirely, there are smart steps students—in high school or college—can take to ensure success in their chosen field.

The KnowHow2GO Indiana 2012 campaign kicks off this summer with tips, step-by-step guides and goals for students of all ages to prepare them for college and career success. There’s even a fun contest to help you win $100 for college expenses!

Of course, one of the smartest things students can do to prepare for their future careers is to intern or job-shadow a professional. While interning will give you a deeper perspective on whether you’ll enjoy a specific career path, job-shadowing for just a day or afternoon can also give you a glimpse …

Continue Reading »

Your internship is only a couple weeks away
Are you ready??

An interesting article came across my desk recently – 10 Ways to be a Terrible Intern.  So this got me thinking; you worked really hard last year, kept up your grades, scored a great internship, and passed your finals.  So right now are you just sitting around and waiting for this rock-star internship experience to start in June?  How many of you are taking the time to get ready for your internship?  Now I know that you might be thinking that the whole reason you got the internship is so that YOU can learn from US, and that’s right!  But I’m a firm believer that you will get more than any of your classmates out of an internship if you go in from day one with the right attitude, objectives, and research.

So the article above is a good starting place, and full of pretty obvious “do-not’s” for any intern.  …

Continue Reading »

The Mystery of the Young Professional

The “young professional.” To the rest of the workforce, it’s a cryptic—even daunting—term and generation. Who are they? What do they want? What do they value?

To me, it seems simple. They don’t want your job; they want to help you do your job! The “young pro” wants to learn, assist, and prepare for the day they have their own job. Young professionals are recent college graduates or currently-enrolled college students. They seek new employment opportunities or internships. This group is young and energetic. They have experience with social media and new forms of technology you didn’t even know existed. They’re driven and creative. They all have different skills, talents, and interests. But, the bottom line is they are willing to work, and they want to learn. Young professionals are the future after all.

As supervisors and managers, don’t you want your future to be ready? If you answered …

Continue Reading »

Ben Davis University student applies classroom skills to real world internship

Tyler is a guest blogger who wanted to share the lessons learned as a high school intern. Indiana INTERNnet supports experiental learning for all individuals, including high school students, traditional college students, and career changers.

Hi, my name is Tyler. I’m a senior at Ben Davis University High School, a school where students take high school and college courses–not just a course or two–but two years of college courses. With the help of MSD of Wayne Township and Vincennes University, in just a few days, I will be graduating with my Core 40, a Technical Honors diploma, and my Associate’s Degree in Information Technology. Just about all my classmates will receive their college degrees in one of four majors: including Health Careers, Business, Liberal Arts, and Information Technology. There are 75 of us who will earn this honor.
I’ve been applying my classroom skills to real-life projects in an internship …

Continue Reading »

Feedback