Tag Archives: Colleges and Universities
Job-Ready Prep for College Students
Whether you are a bright-eyed freshman or a senior counting down the days until graduation, itâs never too late to learn the best techniques to prepare for the real world. And by real world, I mean the world outside of your dorms, where meal points disappear and your class schedule turns into a full-time work schedule.
When itâs time to transition from campus to career, students should understand that although a college degree can boost your earning potential and improve your resume, it is only a small part of the employment equation. Hiring managers look for applicants who not only have the skills necessary for the job, but also whether the applicant would be a good fit in their company culture. They look for professionalism, confidence, self-motivation and willingness to accept challenges. Many of these qualities arenât a pre-requisite for your diploma, but are learned through practice and experience. Internships, …
Doâs and Donâts: How to Make the Best of Career Fairs
August is slowly creeping around the corner.
Instead of being bummed out about school starting, get excited for what lies ahead! For students, this is prime-time career fair season. During the fall months as you prepare to head back to campus and get situated, itâs important to iron your blazers and dust off your networking skills.
When I was in school at Indiana University, whether I was a freshman or senior, I took advantage of career fairs every semester. I learned about job opportunities that were offered in my community and made valuable connections. A few even landed me a part-time job on campus.
Whatever you are looking for, career fairs are a great place to start. Here is a rundown of some doâs and donâts to keep in mind:
DO:
Your research! Look at what companies are attending the career fair first and narrow your options down to maximize …
Goodwill intern puts classroom knowledge to work
Victoria is a junior studying journalism and public relations at Indiana University. She is a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and is also the director of the Canvas Creative Arts committee on IU’s Union Board. In her free time, Victoria enjoys running and writing.
Last year, I worked as a student ambassador for Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana. As a student ambassador, I worked on marketing Goodwill to students at Indiana University and members of the Bloomington community. My work consisted of hosting events, utilizing social media and a lot of crafting.
Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana focuses largely on giving back to the community. They do this through donations at their stores as well as working to educate people at the Indianapolis Metropolitan High School and The Excel Center, a tuition-free charter school for adults.
At Indiana University, my educational focus is journalism and public relations. This student …
8th Annual IMPACT Winners Part II
We recognized six individuals and organizations that dedicated their energy and expertise to successful internships in 2013 during the 8th Annual IMPACT Awards luncheon, sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College. These are the second in a two-part series on winners.
Claudine Meilink
Career Development Professional of the Year
Since 2006, Claudine Meilink has played a key role in facilitating student-employer connections at Purdue University. She wears many hats within the Center for Career Opportunities (CCO), including career counselor, employer coordinator and data collector.
Meilink volunteers as a Faculty Fellow and has served on search committees for various departments on campus. She also serves as an at-large board member with the Career Development Professionals of Indiana and also held leadership positions with Midwest ACE (Association of Colleges and Employers), even chairing two of its conferences.
âClaudine is one of those people who makes working in career services at …
Internship Experience at Native American Museum Confirms Career Interests
Heather is a senior humanities major in the honors program with minors in French and history at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She a member of Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society and holds the position of editor-in-chief of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods’ literary arts magazine publication, Aurora. In her free time, she volunteers with the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, a ministry of the Sisters of Providence.
This fall semester I interned at the Native American Museum at Dobbs Park in Terre Haute, IN. The museum is run by the Terre Haute Parks Department because it resides on park property. Nestled in the woods, the Native American Museum serves the Terre Haute area through community education on the culture and history of the native peoples of North America, particularly on the peoples of the Woodlands and the Great Lakes regions.
The primary goal for the Native American Museum …
Virtual internships: a case study
This is a Q&A with Ativio Executive Vice President Susan Nierste about how their company benefits from virtual internships. Be sure to also check out our blog about the potential of virtual internships.
1.  How long has Ativio been offering virtual internships? How many interns do you typically work with at one time?
We started in Fall 2011. More than 500 United States (domestic and foreign), African and Indian students have participated in the internship. The number of students working at the same time on teams varies. Our team sizes range between 8 – 12 on a team, plus team management.
2. Can you briefly explain how your virtual internships work? What work do your interns complete?
We have different levels of participation within the virtual team environment. We start out by teaching a class on how to work within international virtual team environments at area Indiana universities. In the classroom, the team works on a static project with …
Behind the Scenes of the IMPACT Awards
The IMPACT Awards Luncheon was a great way to see some of Indianaâs brightest interns, professionals and companies. I had the opportunity to learn why Indiana is such a great place to work and intern.
Caroline Dowd-Higginsâ speech was very moving and inspired me to create my own career plan path. She stated that 70% of employees are disengaged and unhappy. This really spoke to me because Iâve always believed in finding a career I will love going to each day and where I can make a difference.  Her speech was relatable–stating that itâs okay to change your mind and that we are each a âwork in progress.â
As an intern myself, it was great to listen to three different rock star internsâ (high school, college and nontraditional) success stories. It demonstrates the work you put forth in internships directly affects your career path, making it that much easier to land …
Marketing internship provides applicable work experience
Megan Nelson is a student at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, Indiana. She is an employee at Lake Land College (LLC) in Mattoon, Illinois.
The goal of my internship was to use online marketing to increase the collegeâs non-traditional audience, expand its brand, and get noticed on the Internet. Part of my assignments involved using avenues like Google AdWords to reach this goal. I spent the majority of my first two weeks researching Google AdWords and how it worked before I determined the best way to learn was to “dive in head first” and create one. I generated three text ads on AdWords and conceptualized a single video ad to reach adult students from start to finish. I also explored the possibility of advertising on Pandora Radio by gathering demographic information and creating a survey via SurveyMonkey.com to help determine if that opportunity would be worth the investment.
During …
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. Iâm 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 Associateâs 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 …
6th Annual IMPACT Awards Wrap Up
February 21st marked the date of the 6th annual Indiana INTERNnet IMPACT awards, honoring outstanding employers, career development professionals, and interns. This year, the awards luncheon was held at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in downtown Indianapolis. The awards were such a popular event this year that it sold out!
The afternoon began with a delicious soup, salad, and dessert lunch. Nancy Ahlrichs, vice president of talent management at United Way of Central Indiana, spoke about the importance of interns and the outstanding employers willing to mentor interns. Next came a short video featuring interns and employers talking about their internship experiences.
The awards followed the keynote address. The first category was for outstanding career development professional. Several mentors were nominated for their excellence in assisting students with their career paths, however the award went to Saint Mary-of-the-Woodsâ Susan Gresham. Susan is the director of the …
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!
Ft. Wayne Graduate Retention Program to Host Breakfast
Our partners at the Ft. Wayne Graduate Retention Program will host a breakfast in November, and we want you to attend! Read below for all the details:
Who: You and the Graduate Retention Program of the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce
What: Annual Graduate Retention Breakfast
When: Wednesday, November 2nd from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time
Where: The Ft. Wayne Chamber of Commerce, 826 Ewing Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802-2182
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Why: To celebrate internships!
The keynote speaker for the morning is Dr. Michael Hicks, Associate Professor of Economics and Director of Ball State Universityâs Center for Business and Economic Research. Dr. Hicks will provide attendees with a great perspective on Northeast Indiana and its future. Amy Johnson from Northwestern Mutual and Matt Toler from Group Dekko, two regional employers, will speak about their internship programs.
This breakfast is FREE of charge and provides a great opportunity to …
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 weâve seen several different types of career and job fairs, weâre here to offer a few thoughts on the âDoâs and Donâts.â Letâs face it â 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 â check out our tips so career fairs do not overwhelm you!
The Doâs
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 …
Indiana INTERNnet crew hits the road!
Happy Thursday, Indiana INTERNnet readers. We know it’s been a few weeks since we last posted, but that’s because both we’ve been traveling throughout Indiana to present the new website to employers, and we’ve made the rounds to a few job fairs in August.
Are you interested in finding the perfect internship match; putting together a customized internship program for your company, or having the Indiana INTERNnet team provide a website demonstration, class presentation, or attend your job/internship/career fair? If so, please contact me, Courtney Sampson — csampson@indianachamber.com or 317.264.6863.
In the meantime, check out where we’re headed in September and October, and let us know if we’ve missed an event or if we’ll be in your neighborhood sometime soon!
Happy (almost) Labor Day weekend –
Your Indiana INTERNnet team
Does Working While in School Really Pay Off?
As a college student, you are given a lot of freedom in how you choose to spend your time. There are classes to attend and homework to finish. But as you decide how to spend your time, many students have to choose whether or not working fits into their school schedule. Before deciding whether a part-time job or internship experience is worth your time, consider the following:
The National Center for Education Statistics (Horn & Malizio, 1998) found that students who worked 1â15 hours per week had the lowest risk for enrollment interruption, even when compared with students who did not work.
Retrieved from: http://rer.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/76/1/63
What does this mean?
Working students are more likely to graduate on time vs. those who donât work.
In a study by Van de Water (1996), student grades tended to improve as students worked more hours per week, up to a total of …