Tag Archives: internship

The last week of my internship with Indiana INTERNnet was bittersweet. On one hand, I am sad to leave this great environment of supportive people. On the other hand, I am excited for the next step in my career. Before I go, I wanted to leave you with a few tips on successfully wrapping up an internship.

1)      Connect with Mentor

From the moment I walked through the door, Janet has been there for me. She answered questions, assigned projects and gave feedback. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the No. 1 perk of an internship is having a mentor throughout the experience.

As I wrapped up my internship, Janet and I connected to assess my progress and make sure my goals were met. In the last section of the Employers’ Guide , the intern is recommended to provide feedback to the organization. I appreciated the chance to not …

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The chicly-dressed new program manager at Indiana INTERNnet might not look like it, but Ann Mears is a born and raised farm girl. Hailing from Delphi, Indiana, Ann grew up on a small cattle farm just east of town. When she was old enough to gather eggs from the chickens, she quickly found a way to make a return on her investment in this least-liked chore by selling the eggs to her grandparents and neighbors.

When it came to deciding on a major at Purdue University, Ann started out in Agricultural Economics, but quickly realized that her calling was in Hospitality and Tourism Management. To solidify her choice of studies, she dived into multiple internships throughout her college career.

Ann’s internship experience began with Indiana Packers Corporation, where she excelled at her human resources internship and eventually became the intern to the executive assistant. As the events intern with the …

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This is a guest post by Stephanie Dolan, an online student at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She is studying journalism and recently completed a virtual internship with {C} Magazine.

As a journalism and media studies major, an internship is integral to finding one’s niche as a writer. I’m thankful that writing allows me more freedom than being locked into one field of expertise; however, occasionally focusing on one area at a time can assist in narrowing down a writer’s strengths and preferences.

My first internship came during the winter semester. I was a newsletter writer focusing on news specific to one organization’s interests. This summer in my second internship, I was a contributing writer for an online entertainment publication, {C} Magazine.

Both of my internships have been virtual experiences, and – as an online student – maintaining a virtual presence was essential for me so that I wouldn’t have to …

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In the summer of 2012, I had just graduated with my MBA and was looking for my first big-girl job. I sent in my résumé to every job posting that I found online that fit my criteria. After a few months, I realized my efforts were futile. I had little marketing experience to penetrate the job market. I needed a place that would give me a fresh start and some hands-on training.

I was aware that internships are the new interview for a full-time job. I knew this applied to perhaps a larger company. In a small non-profit, I wasn’t as sure about the degree of this truth. Nonetheless, I knew the experience would be valuable no matter the size of the organization.

“I thought that building up my portfolio…was as good as it gets. Turns out, it gets better.”

When I started at Indiana INTERNnet in April 2013, …

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Just when I thought my internship with Indiana INTERNnet could not get any more exciting after our staff luncheon at Dick’s Last Resort, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce treated the entire staff to an Indianapolis Indians Baseball game right around the corner at Victory Field. I hurried to wrap up my work for the day before the noon hour. The air in the office was electrified with excitement and the prospect of socializing. The air outside, however, was humid and warm.

After taking my seat alongside my chamber-mates, I thought back to the last time I was at Victory Field. It must have been back in 2010 while I was interning with the Human Resources Department at OneAmerica. The JW Marriott had not graced the panorama of Indy yet.  And, I was ready for my first-ever baseball game. My boss at the time bought me a foam finger and …

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You know how the people in the Disney-Pixar movie, Walle, look? That is how I feel after a couple of hours of sitting at my desk at work. Some days, it feels like the legend of the Freshmen 15 has come back to haunt me – not that I gained all 15 pounds in college, but you get what I mean.

As any health conscious intern, I began to collect some tips on ways to maintain wellness while at work. Then, I realized the Indiana Chamber of Commerce has among its programs a state-wide Wellness Council. Hence, I went directly to the experts to help me compile a list of time-tested tips. Within five minutes of chatting with Adrienne Luegers, the Program Coordinator, I came to realize there is more to wellness than just the physical aspect.

Not only did Adrienne shed a brighter light on wellness in the workplace, but also …

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This is a post by Ball State University graduate Kelsey McPheeters. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in public relations from Ball State University in May 2013, Kelsey McPheeters joined LMV Consulting as the marketing and communications intern. Not only does she maintain client websites and update social media, but also develops newsletters, among other various tasks.

As graduation was approaching, I began my job search hoping to land an account executive position with a public relations agency in Indianapolis. Early in my search, it became apparent to me that the positions I wanted to apply for required agency experience, or post-graduation experience.

Although I had two non-agency internships (Special Events at Indiana State Fair and Marketing/PR at IU Health Ball Memorial) under my belt, I decided to turn to Indiana INTERNnet to look for a third. After all, the third time’s a charm, right?

…

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Every day, I settle into my cubicle space: my keyboard and mouse at a comfortable distance, my cup of water within reach, and a bag of almonds to satisfy the occasional craving. Within these quasi-walls, I find myself hungry for an external infusion of creativity to lift my thoughts to the extraordinary. This is where Pinterest comes into play.

“…I find myself hungry for an external infusion of creativity to lift my thoughts to the extraordinary.”

If you are unfamiliar with Pinterest, this social media site offers a virtual cork board of sorts where you can browse, pin, and later review items of interest. This act of pinning usually ends up making me hungry, wanting to exercise, and working on a craft project. None of the ideas turn out as good as they look on Pinterest. The recipes I attempt to replicate do not look as pretty. The fitness …

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This is a press release from Sara Palmer, senior technical writer at Leonard-McDowell.

Leonard-McDowell, an Indianapolis-based IT and business development firm, welcomes two bright new interns from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.

“Hiring interns injects fresh ideas not only into our company, but also into our clients’ companies,” said Frank Leonard, managing partner of Leonard-McDowell and 1986 graduate of Wabash College. “We give them the professional experiences they need to have their resumes stand out and they give us a different perspective on business, technology and culture.”

Tyler Owensby, a junior majoring in economics, brings a strong work ethic and a forward-thinking approach to his position as a business development and sales intern. His strengths pull from his natural ability to analyze, minimize and eliminate risk.

“I enjoy evaluating business practices and indicating the areas that can be made more effective to reduce risk,” Owensby said. “No matter what industry …

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The Life and Times of an Internet Marketing Intern is a guest blog post by Rachel Brown, the Content Marketing Intern at digitalrelevance. In this position, she produces valuable advanced content and contributes to the company blog. Brown expects to graduate from Butler University in 2015 with degrees in English Literature and French. This is her reflection on her rewarding internship experience with digitalrelevance.

An English literature and French major at a liberal arts university. Does that sound like someone who would throw herself into the world of Internet marketing? I thought that girl would be out of place and struggle to find her way in.

My time at Slingshot SEO and digitalrelevance proved to be quite the opposite. Right from the start, I had confidence instilled in me from my supervisors, and I was put right to work. As an intern in the editorial department, my fellow Search …

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“A Virtually Equine Semester” is a guest blog post by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College student, Stephanie Dolan, about her experience at a virtual internship.

A horse lover from birth, I was thrilled to see the posting last winter for a virtual internship with the Indiana Horse Council. I’m an Indianapolis resident, but I was not quite sure how I would have managed a full-time job with an in-house internship. The fact that this internship was virtual made this experience a dream job for me, and I am so grateful to my site supervisor, Mary Marshall (the Secretary of the IHC Board of Directors) for choosing me as her first-ever intern.

The mission of the Indiana Horse Council is as a non-profit corporation dedicated to the well-being of the horse industry. The Indiana Horse Council protects, promotes and preserves the interests and activities within the Indiana equine industry in the areas …

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Mother’s Day should be celebrated, not just one day out of the year, but every day. The most influential heroes are rarely the ones quoted in speeches or on Pinterest, but rather the silent ones that give their all and ask for nothing in return. For me, that unsung hero whose influence permeates every facet of my life is my mother.

I wish I could count the hours she stayed up at night worrying over me, but she does not keep a log of them. I wish I could point you to a display of all of her gold medals, but they do not give those out for best mom. I wish I could add up how much money she has spent raising me, but she is not one to keep receipts. I wish I could begin to understand how she passed on that last piece of pie because …

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This is the final installment of the series discussing unexpected situations that could arise during your internship and how to persevere and handle them professionally.

Suddenly a wave of panic hits you. You blink a couple times and look at your work again. There’s no denying it – you’ve made a mistake at your internship.

No one is perfect. Especially as an intern, you should be prepared to experience a few learning curves. You’re in a unique, somewhat insulated position because the internship is a “training wheels” experience of sorts, and your supervisor understands that.

In fact, if you don’t make a mistake during the course of your internship, there’s a good chance you’re not taking full advantage of the opportunity. You don’t want to approach your work so tentatively that you forfeit any value you might take from it. The point is to dive in and learn by …

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This is Part II of a three-part series discussing unexpected situations that could arise during your internship and how to persevere and handle them professionally.

It’s easy to build castles in the air when you picture life in your internship. It’s your first venture into the workforce, and you’re ready to strut your stuff!

Suddenly, you may find yourself hunched over a file drawer organizing hundreds of papers. You may be stuffing, sealing and addressing a 700-piece mailing. If you get yourself into a particularly intense internship like I did, you may even end up out in the rain at 4 a.m. on a Saturday setting up for an event (several times, actually).

Wait, this isn’t what you signed up for! This isn’t utilizing that higher education you’re paying for!

In each internship, you should have plenty of opportunities to do projects that make a visible difference. You should …

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This is Part I of a three-part series discussing unexpected situations that could arise during your internship and how to persevere and handle them professionally.

You know the two sure things in life are death and taxes, but might I add a third? You won’t get along with everyone you meet.

What if one of the people you clash with in your life happens to be your internship supervisor?

Whether you’ve got a boss who’s a micromanager, an intimidator, a downer or a person generally difficult to work with, here are a few things to remember when you feel your patience waning.

1. Always show respect

No one says you have to like your boss, but you do have to show him or her respect. Do the work they assign to the best of your ability and do it their way. If you have a disagreement, address your boss …

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