Recent News

Entry by Pat Patterson

Before you host your interns this summer, make sure you are prepared – appointing an individual as an intern supervisor will enhance the internship experience for both your organization and your interns. 

An intern supervisor will familiarize interns with your organization, provide assignments and serve as a “go-to” person for questions.  It is best if the intern supervisor is connected with the type of work the intern will perform (e.g., the marketing director supervising a marketing intern) to provide appropriate guidance for the intern’s assignments.

As a general guide, an intern supervisor’s responsibilities will include:

taking part in an intern’s application, screening and interview process; conducting an intern’s orientation; developing an intern’s work plan; periodically meeting with an intern to evaluate performance and if needs/goals are being met; and assessing the internship program’s success.

Are you …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

Are you still having trouble finding a summer internship?  With employers planning to hire more interns this year, perhaps you are just looking in the wrong places:

Employers expect to hire 7 percent more interns for 2010-11 than they hired in 2009-10, according to results of NACE’s latest internship survey.

Ninety-three percent of employers responding to the NACE 2011 Internship & Co-op Survey reported plans to hire interns.

The survey was conducted January 15 – March 1; 266 employers responded, for a 30.8 percent response rate.

Indiana INTERNnet has nearly 2,500 internship opportunities available from more than 3,800 employers across the state.  If you have not done so recently, log on to your student account and search our database – or if you don’t have an account, get signed up with us today for free!

With most summer internships starting in …

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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 …

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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 …

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Jennifer is a 2008 Ball State University graduate with a degree in Human Resources Management.  Throughout her college career, Jennifer worked for a business fellowship program through the Ball State Career Center.  She has extensive internship experience, confirming her HR passion through internships with Aldi as a District Manager Intern and at Red Gold as a Human Resources Intern.

Jennifer accepted a full-time position with Red Gold upon graduation in a truly generalist role, as she managed payroll, benefits, employee recognition and recruitment.  Then, after relocating to Indianapolis, Jennifer worked as a project manager for Walker Information, conducting large scale training sessions for global clients.

Now pursuing a graduate degree, Jennifer joined IUPUI as the Student Employment Consultant for the Office of Student Employment while enrolling in graduate courses for Adult Education.   She works full-time with IUPUI students who are seeking part-time employment.  Through presentations and one-on-one sessions, Jennifer mentors …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

Aside from the usual interview preparation – researching the organization and opportunity, preparing answers to questions, dressing in appropriate professional attire, etc. – the key to performing your best at your next internship interview is to get enough sleep the night before, so be prepared to catch some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzs………

According to studies discussed in Brain Rules, a book by molecular biologist Dr. John Medina, sleep helps our brains function at peak performance:

To highlight this, Medina refers to a study in which math graduate students were given a problem and told the way to solve it. 

“It was a bonehead solution,” Medina says. “Unbeknownst to students, there was a much more elegant way to solve the math problem.”

The researchers, who wanted to study the effect of sleep on cognition, broke the students into two groups, Group A and Group B. With 12 …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

Each year, the Indiana INTERNnet IMPACT Awards honor businesses and individuals demonstrating internship excellence. On February 10, top honors went to the following:

International Center of Indianapolis – Outstanding Employer of the Year (not-for-profit)
ExactTarget – Outstanding Employer of the Year (for-profit)
Jeremy Podany, School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University-Bloomington –
Outstanding Career Services Professional of the Year
Fangfang Li – Outstanding Intern of the Year (college)
Emily Miller – Outstanding Intern of the Year (high school)

Check out the March/April issue of BizVoice® magazine for brief profiles of the winners.

Nominations for the 2011 awards will be accepted in September and October. Please make note of that timeframe to submit your nominations – it is a great way to recognize employers, employees and interns for their internship successes.

Indiana INTERNnet announced today the arrival of Janet Boston; she most recently was the director of marketing/director of regional services for the Arts Council of Indianapolis. Boston has a bachelor’s degree in business from Indiana University and an MBA from Butler University.

Boston brings extensive management, communications, marketing, planning and fundraising skills to the executive director position, according to Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. The Indiana Chamber has managed the Indiana INTERNnet program, which is funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment, since January 2006.

“In particular, we believe Janet’s track record of leadership and relationship-building in the community, non-profit and corporate worlds are ideal for working with the various interests involved in Indiana INTERNNet – be it the students, businesses or universities.”

Indiana INTERNnet was formed in 2001, shortly after a series of studies done in collaboration with the Indiana Chamber, the Indiana Commission of Higher Education and the …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

Do you need help creating a new or enhancing an existing internship program?  Look no further, Indiana INTERNnet recently updated a valuable resource – Intern Today, Employee Tomorrow: The Indiana Employer’s Guide to Internships.  The guide details how to start an internship program within your organization – from why you should hire an intern to developing your program, recruiting and managing your intern, and any human resources issues to consider. 

The guide is now available from the Indiana INTERNnet home page, www.workandlearnindiana.com, under “Events, Forms and Reports.”  Paper copies are available upon request.  Don’t forget – you may also contact Indiana INTERNnet at (866) 646-3434 to schedule a custom internship program assessment focused on your organization’s specific needs.

Entry by Jennifer Weinmann, Student Employment Consultant for the IUPUI Office of Student Employment in Indianapolis, IN

As a Student Employment Consultant, one of the biggest issues I come across is students who are uncomfortable networking.  Whether it’s a part-time position, internship, or full-time position, networking is increasingly the best way to make connections that could land you a position.

If you’re like me, you may not consider yourself an extrovert…and that could mean anxiety at the thought of attending a networking event.  For those who shy away at the thought of meeting and greeting in a room of strangers, I’d like to suggest a “baby step” to a public gathering: LinkedIn.com

Many of you may know of the site.  For those who are not familiar, the main objective of the site is to bring professionals together and provide an online environment for networking.  …

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From the Indiana Chamber

(INDIANAPOLIS) — Indiana INTERNnet, the statewide resource for internship opportunities from the Indiana Chamber, recognized achievements in internships and mentoring today at the 2010 IMPACT Awards Luncheon. The honorees are:

Outstanding Employer of the Year (not-for-profit) – International Center of Indianapolis
Outstanding Employer of the Year (for-profit) – ExactTarget
Career Services Professional of the Year – Jeremy Podany, School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University – Bloomington
Outstanding Intern of the Year (High School) – Emily Miller, Brownsburg High School
Outstanding Intern of the Year (College) – Fangfang Li, University of Indianapolis
The awards were presented during the annual luncheon event in downtown Indianapolis.

Students who intern at the International Center of Indianapolis (ICI) participate in foreign dignitary visits. They help plan prestigious galas and accompany leaders from around the world to local events. Participants receive assignments …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

Let’s say you are a basketball player and would like to take your game to the next level. Now, let’s say you have an opportunity to practice your jump shot on a regular basis with Larry Bird as your coach. Would you pass up that opportunity? Of course not.

Now, apply that same logic to your career. It doesn’t make much sense to pass up an opportunity to learn from a professional who has the career you aspire to have one day. That’s where mentors come into play.

Mentors provide career and personal growth coaching. If you want more information about a particular industry or are hesitant about pursuing a certain career, you can benefit from working with a mentor.

A mentor can assist you in the following areas:

Identifying career interests and goals Assessing your strengths and weaknesses Understanding a particular industry …

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Entry by Pat Patterson – from the January 2011 INTERNnetwork

You never know when opportunity may come knocking on your door. Nick Ewing is a great example. A few days before graduating from Columbia City High School, Ewing received an unexpected call. Working at a Dairy Queen with no intention to attend college, Ewing received an internship offer that would soon alter the course of his life.

As a student at Columbia City High School, Ewing was involved with numerous video projects, as he completed more than 10 video related courses and worked as a lead anchor for his school news. When the Whitley County Community Foundation needed an intern familiar with video, Ewing’s name was mentioned, and the director of the Foundation was impressed with his work that she viewed on YouTube.

When Ewing was introduced to the Whitley County Community Foundation’s opportunity, he did not know too much …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

The Indiana Department of Education is currently reaching out to Businesses and Industries throughout the state to create awareness of College and Career Pathways.  College and Career Pathways are an aligned sequence of courses that prepare high school students for college and career success.

The pathway plans focus on easing a students’ transition from high school to community college; from pre-college courses to post-secondary programs; and from community college to university or employment.

The Indiana Department of Education is also providing opportunities for companies to review the curriculum that has been developed.  Their goal is to ensure the pathway plans designed for Indiana students meet employer needs in a growing and changing economy.

Input of business and industry representatives who understand the type of courses/content that will prepare our Indiana students upon graduation from high school is essential to their goals.

If you would like to …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

The “dead fish handshake” – Always shake your interviewer’s hand firmly and confidently (just make sure you don’t over do it). 

The “poker face” – When you answer questions, do so with a smile on your face and at least appear as if you are enjoying yourself.  A pleasant attitude is contagious, and your interviewer will remember you as a positive person if you are pleasant. 

Forgetting to breathe – I don’t mean literally forgetting to breathe and passing out (I hope no one is that nervous during an interview) – I mean try not to talk too quickly.  Take some deep breaths and slow your speech enough to be understood.  If you think you may be speaking too quickly, there is a good chance that you are.  Practice answering questions with a friend to gauge a good talking speed. 

“Thanks Tom, uhh…I …

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