Category Archives: On The Job
College student finds meaning in higher education internship
This guest post was written by Kaitlin Owings, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods student. Owings reflects on the challenges and exciting moments during her internship in a college admissions office.
When many college students think about future internship possibilities, large companies in “Corporate America” seem to come to mind. However, when I thought of doing an internship in a higher education office, I thought of no better place than Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, my home at heart.
The Office of Admission at SMWC accomplishes many tasks throughout the year. One would think that the function of this office is simple because their main goal is to either admit or decline prospective student applications. While this may be their main task, how they get to this point is complicated and requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Recruiting these prospective students takes a considerable amount of time and energy to travel to various high …
Reconnecting With Your Internship Network
This guest post is from Jennifer Weinmann, Student Employment Consultant at IUPUI.
In recent weeks, I have been helping my sister (who will soon be graduating) implement strategies for her upcoming job search. In my recent conversations with her, networking has come up time and again. As many of us are aware, networking today most often consists of LinkedIn and other electronic sources of reaching out to individuals. Striking up a conversation with an old contact sometimes seems hard to do in an online environment.
That is the question I wanted to help answer:
How do I reach out to my internship network for help with my job search?
In my sister’s final years of her undergraduate degree, she completed two internships and two immersive learning projects. All of which have left her with a great deal of knowledge and an excellent group of contacts in her LinkedIn profile. …
A “Mental Health” Internship – Challenging, Unique, Fulfilling
This is a guest blog post, written by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods student, Shandi Gerkin, who interned with IU Health Bloomington Hospital Behavioral Health Unit.
For many of you, a behavior health clinic is not something with which you are familiar, so first, let me share my perspective on my internship environment. The IU Health Bloomington Hospital Behavioral Health Unit is an acute care facility that services Central and Southern Indiana. The Behavioral Health Unit provides acute care to individuals who are experiencing crisis or extreme stress in their daily lives and who need a positive healing environment in which to recover their own stability. The Access Center of the Behavioral Health Unit addresses calls for admission made to the unit. The Access Counselors provide an initial assessment of the patient’s problem in order to identify the type of help that is needed. When a patient requires acute inpatient care, they …
Stretch Your Mind in 2012 with WGU Indiana
The guest post is from Allison Barber, Chancellor, WGU Indiana. If you are not familiar with WGU Indiana’s programs, please visit www.indiana.wgu.edu to learn more about Indiana’s only fully-accredited online university.
P.S. @WGUIndiana on Twitter; WGU Indiana on Facebook and YouTube!
The New Year approaches, many of us resolve to takes steps to become healthier and to stretch our minds. We set goals we dare to achieve in the coming year. And for the 840,000 Hoosiers who have some college but no degree, why not set a goal of going back to school to finish what you started? The sense of satisfaction and pride felt by college graduates is enormous as they can say “I did it!”
For those who started college but didn’t finish, their dream for a college degree never died. Life just got in the way. We hear from them that they need individual encouragement coupled …
WGU Indiana features Indiana INTERNnet program
Happy Tuesday, INTERNnet fans!
Did you know Indiana has 53 colleges and universities — many with multiple locations — from which you can choose to attend? With a plethora of options, there is one that may best fit your needs: our state’s newest college, WGU Indiana.
WGU Indiana is a fully-accredited online university and is specifically geared towards working adults and/or career changers. Our own Janet Boston spoke with the folks at WGU about how Indiana INTERNnet can help both traditional and non-traditional students by providing a free resource to locate an internship.
Check out the video to learn more: Janet Boston WGU Indiana Interview
Are you a non-traditional student who needs assistance in locating an internship? Leave a comment or feel free to contact us!
Networking: College’s Best Kept Secret
I’m passionate about a lot of issues, ideas, and organizations, but one thing I enjoy more than anything else is talking with and listening to people. I genuinely enjoy learning and making connections between people. This has bode well for me thus far in my short career tenure; I’ve landed jobs because I enjoy networking and putting forth my best effort. But — networking isn’t exactly something they teach you in college, unfortunately. It’s a skill that must be learned, and it takes work, patience, and sometimes a few bucks to attend quality events.
Looking back on my college experience, the last thing I wanted to make time for between classes, homework, student organizations, being an RA, and interning was figuring out how to network; however, I made it a priority, beginning my freshman year by joining student organizations related to my major and keeping my social media profiles professional. …
Indiana INTERNnet’s take on Career Fair “Do’s and Don’ts”
If you’ve seen the Indiana INTERNnet staff out-and-about during the last few weeks, it’s because we’ve been on-the-road, attending career fairs throughout the state. We’ve seen everything from South Bend to Bloomington to Evansville, and it’s not over yet!
Now that we’ve seen several different types of career and job fairs, we’re here to offer a few thoughts on the “Do’s and Don’ts.” Let’s face it – career fairs can be intimidating and overwhelming. There are tons of companies from which you can choose, and the recruiters can practically interview you on-the-spot. But never fear – check out our tips so career fairs do not overwhelm you!
The Do’s
Do find out which businesses will be at the event and thoroughly research those that interest you in advance. Do check out social media profiles, forums such as Glassdoor.com and company websites.
Do maximize your time by only visiting recruiters from …
A Volunteer Experience by Any Other Name…
Entry by Cynthia McCullough-accountant with 25 years experience; currently Corporate Accounting Manager with Grote Industries; senior-level Accounting Information Systems student in Woods External Degree program at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
…is an internship when it is completed under the auspices of the “Social Marketing Experiment,” a new type of internship designed by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) and funded by a Ball Brothers Foundation Venture Fund grant. SMWC is conducting a team internship program which brings together campus and distance students to work for local not-for-profit organizations.
The specific assignment for the interns is to create and implement new marketing strategies using social media to benefit the not-for-profit. A significant feature of these internships is the “virtual” meeting, in which Adobe Connect Pro web conference software is used to facilitate communication between team members, faculty advisers, and the not-for-profit contact person. The balance of communication is handled through emails and conference calls.
…
Making Your Internship Work for You
Entry by Jennifer Weinmann – Student Employment Consultant for the IUPUI Office of Student Employment
Many times, students are focused on finding a part-time job or internship to “get experience”. However, once they’ve landed that position, they are not sure what to do to start gaining the skills they will need for their future career. Sure, the job itself will help them gain skills, but an active approach to learning transferable skills will add an even greater benefit in the long run. Here are my tips to gaining skills in an internship that will transfer to the professional work environment:
1. Learn what skills are needed for your future career field
Knowing the skills that will be valued in your career field will help you focus your energy on gaining the most valuable transferrable skills. I highly recommend visiting O*Net: http://online.onetcenter.org/. Simply enter an occupation in the search box, select …
College Student Explores Social Marketing With Virtual Internship
Entry by Pat Patterson – from the February 2011 INTERNnetwork
For many employers, deciding whether to hire an intern is not easy. A lack of office space or time, for instance, may prevent some businesses from doing so. The same applies to students – because of time or distance, they may not be able to complete an internship when and where they desire.
A project at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College known as the “Social Marketing Experiment” addressed these issues. Funded through a $15,000 Ball Brothers Foundation Venture grant and the Lilly Endowment, it allowed on-campus and distance students to collaborate and construct social media marketing campaigns for local nonprofits.
As part of the “Social Marketing Experiment,” students worked virtually for various nonprofits, communicating either through phone or e-mail. This was an ideal arrangement for Annessa Rentschler, a Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College senior and mother of one. As an intern, she worked with …
Making Yourself Indispensible in the Workplace
Entry by Jennifer Weinmann, Student Employment Consultant for the IUPUI Office of Student Employment in Indianapolis, IN
While working at a University, I have the opportunity to learn from both students and staff. Since many on-campus staff are also student employers, I hear about a variety of things that occur in the workplace. Because a part-time job or internship can often be the gateway to full-time employment, it is important that a student employee be aware of the way he or she behaves in the workplace.
For many students, they know that getting a job can be a challenge, but they don’t often think beyond this first step. Once they have secured a position, they may be at a loss for the next steps to take in their newly found position.
Here are a few things I have determined will make you stand out and show how …
An Internship May be Your Best Personality Assessment
Entry by Pat Patterson
From the November INTERNnetwork Intern in Action Spotlight.
Determining your future career is no easy task. While personality assessments can be extremely beneficial, practical experience in different industries and jobs may help narrow your choices even more. Just ask Alissa Fricke, a University of Evansville junior who has learned more about her interests and passions through interning.
As a communication student, Fricke first sought work experience to gain knowledge about various careers and boost her future hirability. “I want to be able to set myself apart when I begin job searching,” she remarks.
Since she has always enjoyed traveling, her first internship was with a local Evansville travel agency, where she worked with social networking and other new media marketing. Not completely sold on the travel industry, Fricke’s next internship was with the University of Evansville athletics department, where she …
Let’s Wrap It Up
Entry by Brittney Horn, Membership Intern, Greater Lafayette Commerce
And I’m not talking gifts here people! Though the holidays are coming up quickly, for some of you that fateful time that your precious internship ends is looming in the near future as well. Yes, I know I’m excited for all of the traditions I celebrate, but don’t let these last few weeks go by without accomplishing any work with your internship! These last few weeks are the time to make all of your hard work count by following these few tips:
Wrap up any projects/assignments you have. Please do not be that intern that leaves unfinished work left for a new intern to finish. It’s hard enough on your first day at your internship and they really don’t need to be tidying up your leftovers. Get a recommendation letter. Any notable intern supervisor will gladly write you …
Email and Texting: The Technology That Knows No Boundaries
Entry by Valerie Petrey, Public Relations & Event Planning Intern, Purdue Liberal Arts Career Development
All of my weeks tend to have a topic that consistently comes up in classes and at my internship. This week the trending topic is email and texting.
Our generation would much rather send an email or text than talk on the phone, and that’s okay for most people because time is precious and it’s nice to read something at one’s leisure. However, where do you draw the line?
Is it acceptable to text your boss and tell him or her you aren’t coming to work? What about emailing a future prospective employer and addressing him or her with a “Hey what’s up?” Should you secretly blind copy (BCC) a person on an email, or copy someone who hasn’t been on that particular email string? The ethics behind email and texting …
Interning and Living in Indiana
Entry by Pat Patterson
Have you found an internship that is perfect for you, but you don’t know much about the region in Indiana where it is located? Are you only searching for internships in certain cities because you are more familiar with those areas? If so, make sure to check out Indiana INTERNnet’s regional page to learn more about what Indiana cities have to offer, including information about arts and culture, attractions, housing, networking groups, nightlife, restaurants, and shopping – after all, more likely than not, you will be living in the city where you intern.
Also, if you have your heart set on interning outside of the state, don’t completely disregard what Indiana cities have to offer. For example, according to Yahoo! Real Estate, Indianapolis-Carmel, IN is rated the 10th best city to move in America:
Indianapolis-Carmel ranked high on both stability and affordability. The average home …