Tag Archives: Indiana Intern

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

So, it’s now officially August, and if you’re anything like me, you’re looking at your summer reflecting on everything you’ve accomplished.  My full-time internship at Slingshot SEO has definitely been a contributing factor to my fast paced summer–but I honestly don’t mind.  It’s crazy to think that I worked forty hour weeks and actually enjoyed it!

Back in December when I was frantically applying for internships, IndianaINTERN.net helped me find exactly what I was looking for. The countless hours I spent searching for internships, researching companies, submitting my resume and hitting “repeat” on that very process finally paid off when Slingshot SEO offered me an internship. When I received the call from my (current) boss, I was elated! Little did I know how much I would learn in a few short months…
When I applied for the internship at Slingshot SEO, I figured it would be like the “typical …

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This week marks the end of my internship here with Indiana INTERNnet, and just by coincidence, it signifies a close to the Freddie Factor blog series. My goal with this blog series was to inform peers, employers, and educators about the opportunities that arise from interning.  

Hopefully, you’ve found this blog to be informative and gained a better understanding of why internships are beneficial. I’ve tried to give tips and tricks relating to interviews, resumes, and the latest-and-greatest Indiana INTERNnet website technology. The Freddie Factor or “FF,” as it is referred to in the “factor fan circles,” was also helpful to me…yes, there are factor fans. I did quite a bit of research when writing these blogs and learned a great deal about interning, as a result. With this final blog, I thought I’d recap my internship experience.

During my internship at Indiana INTERNnet, one of my assignments was …

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As you wrap-up your internship, you may find that you have a few treasured weeks of summer left. What are going to do during this time? Maybe you’ll vacation, eat pizza, catch up on the latest blockbusters, relax, or prepare your dorm room or apartment. While these are all great ideas, if you do have a few spare minutes, you should consider utilizing the time to work on documenting your professional experiences.

Here at the Freddie Factor, I’m hoping for an upcoming school year packed with interviews for full-time employment. During those interviews, recruiters and other interviewers will want to hear about your internship, personal, and academic accomplishments. They also want to see and hear that you’ve prepared for the interview by researching the company, the position, and tailoring your answers accordingly.

Now is the time to update your resume—demonstrating what you did during your internships and results that …

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Last weekend, interns working in Central Indiana came together to give back to our community by volunteering at Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana. Sponsored by ExactTarget, this event demonstrated how interns can use their “down time” to connect with their community, give back, and meet fellow interns.

It was also a challenge to ExactTarget’s Slingshot interns to implement a community-wide event. Because the event was such a success—about 50 interns attended—we’re hoping to see other Indiana companies consider sponsoring similar events. (Are you an employer interested in thinking about ways to bring interns together to give back or have fun in their community? Please leave a comment so we can contact you.)

If you’re not interning in Central Indiana, we have some great partners in the Ft. Wayne area, too. The Live, Learn & Intern series is a part of the Graduate Retention Program—an initiative designed to …

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It’s the latter half of July. Where does the time go? For some of you, your internship may be wrapping up in the near future. You should consider how you will finish your internship experience. For example—Do you need to begin “tying up loose ends” on projects? Should you schedule a “thank you” coffee or lunch with your boss? Have you kept a portfolio of your work thus far?

Your internship experience may lead to a job within the company, or it may be the last time you work for them. No matter the result, make sure you have networked with the people with whom you are working. When your internship ends, you will need references, and having a solid group of people who will provide you with positive references is an important final step in your internship experience. However—take note—references should be people who know you personally and can …

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As a college student, you put in a lot of time, effort and work during the school year. There are many late nights involving lots of studying, lots of pizza, lots of energy drinks, and little sleep. Some weeks seem like a year… and some tests seem like they were probably written in ancient Greek. But… through it all…you survive because there is a light at the end of the tunnel: SUMMER!

But wait. In order to best prepare myself for the “real world,” everyone suggested I take advantage of the summertime to work and gain experience through an internship. This is the process that I and many of my peers have gone through this year. But, I’m here to tell you, your summer internship will be worth every minute!

First, if you are unsure of what you want to do, having an internship can help narrow your field …

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Chances are, you’ve heard about virtual internships—but have any of you actually been a virtual intern? (I’m guessing no, but if the answer is yes, please leave a comment below, and tell us about your experience!) Personally, I was never a virtual intern, but I’ve had friends with great virtual internship stories to share, so I thought I’d do a little research and explain to you what I’ve learned.

Both The Wall Street Journal and USA Today recently covered the increasing popularity of virtual internships—specifically opportunities with start-up companies, which are more likely to be found on the coasts and in Silicon Valley. The articles indicate, as a result of the struggling economy, the job market is extremely competitive. Therefore, completing internships—virtual or in-person—is more important than ever. In addition, companies are trying to find ways to reduce their costs, so having a virtual intern is a win-win for both …

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With anything in life, the experience is what you make of it, and as an intern, it’s no different. You can only get out of an internship what you put into it—so consider your internship a chance to make a good impression, contribute fresh ideas, and “be a sponge” by learning from everyone with whom you work.

If you are proactive with the company and take charge of your own internship experience by seeking out mentors and using all of your resources for your work, you may have a great experience. However, if you stay put in your cubicle and never seek out help and advice, I’m guessing your internship is not going to be very fulfilling. You won’t have any fun, and you may walk away having not learned anything. I doubt you want to be “that person” who sits in his cubicle and watches YouTube all day!

It …

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An internship, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is “a student or recent graduate who works for a period of time at a job in order to gain experience.” The goal of Indiana INTERNnet is to be an internship-matching program linking employers, students, high schools, colleges and universities. It works—well, it did for me!

Here’s how:

Ever since my arrival as a freshman student at Indiana University, internships have been stressed by faculty and staff as important learning experiences. Not wanting to disappoint, that very year, I went on- the-hunt for the mighty internship. The process seemed straight forward: make a great resume, apply, and interview. How do you find the internship, though? Most colleges have career services, which provide help locating internships and jobs, as well as preparing your resume for career fairs and interviews. These services are invaluable. In addition to checking out my college’s career services offerings, I …

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You may have noticed a few changes taking place here at Indiana INTERNnet, and we’d like to take a moment to share them with you.

In the past two weeks, we’ve welcomed Courtney Sampson, our new program coordinator, and Fredrick Starks, our summer intern. Part of Courtney’s role is to manage Indiana INTERNnet’s social media presence, so in the coming months, you’ll see exciting changes and more activity within the social media space—especially this blog!

If we’re not yet connected, please take a moment to follow us:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IndianaINTERNnet
Twitter: @IndianaINTERN
LinkedIn Group: Search Indiana INTERNnet 

We’ve also launched a new website and freshened-up our logo to help celebrate our 10th anniversary! During the past ten years, we’ve helped retain Indiana’s talented students by matching employers, universities, and students with Indiana-based internships and experiential learning opportunities. (Don’t forget-our services are free for everyone!)
 
…

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Although wage should not be as important as experience when determining which internships to pursue, the idea of making a good chunk of change is always appealing. 

When I was still an undergraduate student, I would ask my fraternity brothers if anyone else planned on interning in the summer.  I remember asking a younger guy in the house if he planned on applying for any internships.  He replied, “No, I plan on working at a factory like I do every summer where I can make $15/hr, so that’s way better.”

He, like many other students today, didn’t realize that internships pay fairly well:

On average, bachelor’s degree students taking part in internships in 2011 will earn an average of $16.68 an hour, according to results of NACE’s 2011 Internship & Co-op Survey. 

At the master’s degree level, the average hourly rate is $24.21.

Aside from the possibility of making a …

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As many of you may already be aware, actor Charlie Sheen has been working with internships.com to hire a “winning” summer 2011 social media intern to monitor and manage his social media marketing campaigns – imagine having that experience listed on your resume…

If this is your first time learning about the internship, don’t get too excited; the competition/interview process is already in its third round, narrowing the some 82,000 applicants down to 250 individuals who have proven to have #tigerblood thus far.

21-year-old Julia Hatmaker is one of the 250 left.  She has made comments to The Patriot-News about her experience:

In the first round, she was asked to tell why she thought she should get the job. Her response was a twist on Sheen’s own words: “Winners don’t have to explain themselves. Only losers do.”

“I guess they liked that,” she said.

Although this answer is …

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From Inside INdiana Business

It’s easy to list specific reasons why an organization should start an internship program: increased productivity, enhanced creativity, effective recruitment – to name a few. But it’s the coveted notion of saving time and money while getting quality results that’s music to the ears of any employer.

In fact, these days when hiring for a full-time position, some organizations may not have the time or financial resources to recruit a seasoned individual. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) 2010 Internship and Co-op Survey (based on 235 employer responses), 83% of employers said that they use internship programs as a tool for recruiting entry-level talent, an increase of approximately 5% from 2009.

NACE’s survey also indicated that 44.6% of respondents’ full-time entry level hires from the class of ’08-’09 were from their internship programs, an increase of approximately 10% from the prior year.

…

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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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