Category Archives: Career Advice
The Job Search and Dating: More Similar Than You’d Think
After I graduated, I was still in the midst of my job search for an âadultâ job/career. So I continued at my internship and working retail, searching for that coveted full-time position. At the same time, I navigated the dating world, trying both online dating sites and various events to meet people.
I noticed uncomfortable similarities between dating and my job search. Here are the two biggest lessons I learned.
Both parties won’t immediately reveal their true intentions.
Most of the time, on that first or second date, you won’t be completely honest with each other. You won’t say that youâre hung up on your ex, and youâre trying to date to forget them. Your date wonât say that theyâre just lonely because theyâre living by themselves, and have no intention of talking to you after this date because they have commitment issues. But you both feign interest, and warily …
I Didnât Want to Go to Career Fairs â But Hereâs Why You Should
As students, plenty of you donât want to go to your college career fair. I certainly didnât. It takes away from valuable free time, you have to change into something other than sweatpants, and spend time awkwardly interacting with people. But it wasnât until I started representing my organization at career fairs that I gained a new perspective. Career fairs are actually incredibly important.
My Career Fair Experience
I attended career fairs maybe two or three times during college, all during my freshman or sophomore year. The only times I ever went was when my professors made me go. They made us do assignments based on the career fair (writing about our interactions, collecting a certain number of business cards, etc.). I thought going was a massive waste of time when I had such a busy schedule.
I was wrong.
Now that I occupy a position where I represent my …
State of Change: Why Itâs Important to Share Your Story
âState of Changeâ is a documentary that aired Sept. 6 on WFYI. For those who missed it (itâs now available online), the film follows three Indiana students â Shannon, Dengke and Jaedyn â as they take a road trip around the state, interviewing different professionals in some of Indianaâs leading industries. Each student comes from a unique background and has questions about their future that theyâre looking to answer.
It shows a time many know well, whether youâre a high school or college student; an entry-level or seasoned professional. The transition from graduating high school to entering college and charting the path for your future can be a difficult one.
The interviews led to valuable lessons: the path to your ideal career doesnât have to be linear, a career fieldâs work might differ from your assumptions and the importance of interacting with a variety of people in a field youâre …
Tips to Become an Intern-to-Hire Success
At Indiana INTERNnet, we love a good intern-to-hire story. Weâre always on the lookout for tales of individuals around the state who were able to turn their internship into a full-time job offer. As a senior in college, I enjoy these stories on a personal level for the hope that they bring me. Throughout this summer, Iâve heard of several different people who were hired after their internship was over, and itâs made me wonder â what could I do to help make that happen? So, for both your benefit and my own, here are some tips to help all of us interns (hopefully) get hired:
Take Initiative
It is not unusual for interns to run out of things to do at work. Rather than give in to the temptation of playing on your phone or doing other non-work-related activities on your down time, find ways to be productive. If …
The Benefits of Socializing with Co-Workers
Depending on how much you enjoy your co-workersâ company, you may or may not find the idea of hanging out with them appealing. However, taking the time to get to know fellow employees while youâre all away from your desks can improve everyoneâs work performance and bring the team closer together. An article from SUCCESS Magazine says that socialization among employees creates a âculture of connectivityâ that regular work days do not necessarily foster.
There are certain precautions that you should take when spending time with your co-workers outside of the office. After all, youâre going to see them every day when you come into the office, so you need to be mindful of how you carry yourself and what you say â even if youâre just swapping stories on your own time. Avoid oversharing to prevent your new friends from feeling uncomfortable and avoid speaking negatively about your …
Should I have a Mentor?
Although the idea of having a career mentor is not new, the notion has grown in popularity in recent years. I had heard the word thrown around before, but I wasnât quite aware of the popularity of this tactic until I read Sheryl Sandbergâs book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, last year. Successful professionals from a variety of backgrounds have endorsed mentorship and credited these types of relationships for a portion of their achievements.
So, what purpose does a mentor serve?
The Balance defines a mentor as someone who âbecomes a source of wisdom, teaching, and supportâ for young professionals seeking guidance. Ideally, this would be a person that you could go to and ask for advice when facing work-related dilemmas and they could guide you based on their own experiences. While not completely necessary, it helps if this person works or has worked in the …
Resources for Young Professionals
There are a lot of different tools out there to help students better their careers during and after college, but sometimes you may not know where to start. Each of the resources below can help you find experiential opportunities, expand your network or prepare for graduation.
Career Services Offices
If youâre still in college and preparing to graduate, itâs a good idea to connect with someone at your universityâs career center if you havenât already. These offices can provide multi-faceted assistance with your post-graduation job hunt. A representative can look over your resume or cover letter for free and give you feedback. Sometimes, universities will offer a mock interview service so that you can practice answering tough questions and become more aware of your interview behavior. If you feel nervous about the job search process or want to brush up on your skills, career services is a good place to …
From Intern to Founder: Wyatt Wells
Wyatt Wells is co-founder and chief marketing officer at The Bee Corp, an AgTech startup in Bloomington. Wyatt graduated from Indiana University in 2016.
âWhat do you want to be when you grow up?â
If you asked me this question 10 years ago, I wouldâve replied, âIâm going to play third base for the Boston Red Sox.â If you asked me three years ago, my answer wouldâve been, âLet me get back to you on that.â
Itâs the clichĂ© question nearly all students dread hearing. Responses tend to fall into three categories: the vague (âI want to work in [medicine/software/sales]â), the naĂŻve and oddly specific (âIâm going to be a senior cloud systems engineer at Facebookâ) and the aimless (âI just want to do something that makes me happyâ).
Flashback to 2015
Entering my senior year at IU, I belonged under the aimless category. I became an expert at …
How to Overcome the Afternoon âWallâ
I am always at my most productive in the morning. Armed with a hot cup of coffee and a delightfully full to-do list, I can sit down and start tackling tasks left and right. It feels great to cross multiple things off my list before lunchtime! Without fail though, I come up on an anti-productivity wall in the afternoon. Sometimes even by 2 p.m., my creativity feels used up and Iâm craving a refill in my coffee mug (which is not necessarily a healthy solution). Based on my experience and research, Iâve come up with a few things that make it easier to overcome âthe wallâ.
Move!
When your work requires that you be seated at a desk in front of a computer, itâs important to take time to get up every once and a while. Taking a lap around the office can …
Factors to Consider When Choosing Between Two Internships
There will be a multitude of points in your career where you will have to make difficult decisions, including throughout your college years. If youâve applied to many internships, for example, you might be faced with having to choose one position over the other. A number of factors should be evaluated before you make your decision, and each of them weighs differently for everyone. Here a few things to think about if youâre currently facing this dilemma:
Your Resume
Review the job descriptions for each opportunity. Is one or the other more likely to bolster your resume or portfolio? For example, if the main task for an internship is to schedule one social media post every day for the company, but you already have experience orchestrating entire social media marketing campaigns, it might not be the best move for you. On the other hand, if youâre qualified for …
Common Interview Questions & How to Answer Them
Interviews are often the deciding factor for whether you get a position, no matter how well-qualified you may appear on your resume. It is very normal to feel nervous before your interview, especially since a lot of the common questions asked can feel like trick questions. The best way to excel in an interview is to come across as confident. To accomplish that, you should prepare for the interview as much as possible. Start out by simply considering what your answers might be to common questions like the ones below.
âSo, tell me about yourself.â
Almost every interview will start off with this type of prompt; do not be thrown off by the apparent open-endedness of it. Employers want to understand why youâre there, sitting before them. An easy way to answer this question is to backtrack: start off with the earliest fact about you that is still relevant to …
Keep in Touch: A Guide to Following Up
You faced your fears and attended a networking event â perhaps it was one of Indiana INTERNnetâs summer engagement events â and made a great connection. You feel as though you navigated the conversation successfully, kept your stories relevant, and bonded with the person. You even went so far as to remember to ask for their card, so you have all the information necessary to follow up with them. How do you go about doing it?
Following up with someone, whether it is a stranger you met at a conference or a past supervisor you had for an internship, does not have to feel awkward. It can seem daunting to put yourself out on a limb and reach out to someone that you donât know well or that you havenât spoken to lately. The main thing that will help in either of those situations is to be confident in what …
Post-Graduation Internships
Perhaps you were busy with other responsibilities during undergrad and you didnât have time for an internship. Or maybe you changed majors part of the way through your college career, and it set you back a little bit. Many students pursue internship positions during college, and assume that once they graduate, they will be done with them. While that is the case most of the time, there is nothing wrong with accepting an internship post-graduation. Hereâs why:
The job market can be tough, especially if youâre are seeking employment in a small city where there is lots of competition â namely, your fellow graduates. Full-time positions can be scarce, depending on the economy, your profession and the area in which you live. An internship can help to provide you with some money and additional experience as you search for a salaried role.
Oftentimes, graduates instinctively accept job offers that do …
How To Handle Feedback Like A Pro
Being an intern can be hard. Youâre juggling school work, internship work, along with the other aspects of being in your 20s. Sometimes youâre doing so many things you question if youâre doing them right. This is why feedback is the most important aspect of your internship, but sometimes it can be hard knowing what to do with it. Below Iâve included three strategies to use feedback to its fullest potential.
Take it and run.
Feedback from your supervisors and peers can be a great asset, especially if itâs in a form of a mid-term review or working feedback. The best thing to do with feedback is to take it and use it. If your supervisor says that your work needs to be double checked, you should make sure to double check your work in the future. This will not only show your supervisor that you value their opinion, but …
Tips For A Successful Job Search
Itâs spring, and you know what that means: the search for summer internships is in full swing. Sometimes searching for internships can be hard. Youâve applied, but it seems like your resume has been lost in the mix. It seems like youâve done everything you can. However, there is no need to worry! There are so many resources and actions you can take to make your internship search successful.
Check job boards often.
Most schools have a job board or internship website. For example, IUPUIâs website, Jag Jobs, has both part time positions and internships available for students to apply to. Also, our site, IndianaINTERN.net typically has more than 900 positions available during the peak summer season. Did you that Indiana INTERNnet shares internships with nine different colleges and universities around the state? So you may even see some internships from the site while browsing your schoolâs job board.
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