Tag Archives: Career Services

Educators: Best Practices to Welcome Students Back

Entry by Pat Patterson

Summer break is quickly coming to a close, and students will soon pack up their belongings and return to their college campuses.Ā  As educators, it is best to engage these students in career services activities as soon as possible.Ā 

The following are a few ideas to help career services professionals welcome students back to campus and encourage them to visit the career office:

Create flyers to distribute in living units and common areas, which list the first few career services events of the year, engage in social media by advertising your Facebook, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn pages, host a beginning of the year cook-out or ice cream social (perhaps the ā€œfeeā€ for attending can be that students have to bring a resume for review or take a Myers-Briggs Test, etc.), reward the first hundred or so students who visit the career office with t-shirts, professional resume paper, …

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Take Me Out to the Career Game

Entry by Pam Norman, Indiana INTERNnet Executive Director

Last week I had the good fortune to enjoy baseball, hotdogs and career conversation.Ā Ā  A beautiful Indiana evening at Victory Field proved to be the perfect setting as university career services professionals and employers met to further relationships to benefit the students of Indiana.Ā  Sponsored by Career Development Professionals of Indiana, the College Career Center Consortium, Harrison College, Indiana University Career Development Center, and Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, the event attracted 106 attendees representing 59 employers and 25 college career centers.Ā  While networking was the ultimate goal of the evening, many stayed to cheer the Indians on to a 9-1 victory over the Durham Bulls.Ā 

As I think about the conversations I participated in, it was evident that higher education staff members work as advocates for Indiana students in a variety of ways.Ā  Discussions surrounding employer campus visits, internships, and talent …

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Employers: How Do You Choose the Right Candidate for a Virtual Internship?

Entry by Pat Patterson

In the June INTERNnetwork, we included an article about virtual internships, hiring on an intern to work outside of your organizationā€™s office. Although there are many benefits associated with hiring a virtual intern (no office space or personnel needed for constant supervision), not every student can excel as a virtual intern.

I included this checklist in the e-newsletter, which identifies some key characteristics of a student who may be more likely to excel as a virtual intern:

Checklist of Ideal Virtual Intern Characteristics Previous internship experience Self-motivated Independent/ability to thrive with minimal supervision Technology savvy Interest in electronic communication Flexible Value/goal driven Trustworthy Timely/ability to meet deadlines More certain of career aspirations

Although this list may not be an exhaustive list of characteristics, and all students are unique, it may be a beneficial reference to use when deciding who you may hire.

With the growth of …

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Educators: Intern Site Visits

Entry by Pat Patterson

Intern site visits are a great idea for career services professionals who are interested in the work of their summer interns or who would like to build a better relationship with an employer(s).

A visit does not need to be formal – all you need are a few questions prepared in advance to ask your student and the employer about their experience. You may also choose to take a few photos to include in a story about a student’s experience to highlight in marketing material, your career services’ website, or your school’s blog.

Here are examples of some questions you may ask:

SITE VISIT QUESTIONS

Intern:
Tell us about the work youā€™ve been doing during your internship experience.
What will you take away from this internship experience?
How has this internship experience influenced future career goals?
What has been the best/most challenging …

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