Tag Archives: Internships

From “what are you going to do when you grow up” to “what are you going to do after graduation” to even “what’s next for you,” life seems to be one never ending string of career questions. These questions assume that one is continually equipping one’s self with the tools needed to proceed onto the next career milestone. Up until my graduation from college in May 2011, I thought I was ready to take on “the real world” – to do whatever I was going to do when I grew up. However, like many of my generation, I faced a reality that I was not expecting: the student employment gap.

A labor shortage is a stark realization as the Baby Boomer workforce retires, heating up the competition for emerging talent. However, a striking contrast exists bewteen what employers require and what college students bring to the table. As reported …

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I enjoyed most subjects in high school—with the exceptions of physics and art.

Growing up, I had this idea that there were three main occupations that would bring the highest accolade: physician, lawyer, and engineer. When I had to choose a college major, I decided to pursue a pre-professional health track, since I was interested in biology. After taking an introductory course, I was smitten with psychology, and I quickly added it as a complementary major. By my junior year, I realized that my interest in the medical field was dwindling. I still enjoyed learning about the infinite complexity of living things, but I could not foresee myself living out the physician’s lifestyle. I loved watching House and Scrubs, but my interest stopped with TV.  This is why internships have been so critical in my career path.

The summer of 2010 brought along my first internship: Human …

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5 Steps to a Legendary Internship

If you have ever watched the hit TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother, you would know that Barney Stinson is the paragon of determination and success at singlehood. From his competitiveness to his magic tricks, Barney has evolved from a one-dimensional womanizer to the eloquent and creative –sometimes, sensitive – “Mr. Awesome.” Finding a parallel with internship success might seem like a stretch. Some may even say it could not be done. To that I offer two words: “Challenge accepted.” So, here are the 5 steps to a legendary internship:

1) Suit up!

As Barney explained in the episode Single Stamina, he suits up “to distinguish (himself) from the millions of T-shirt and jeans lemmings out there.” Throughout an internship, you too want to distinguish yourself – from previous interns, current interns/coworkers, and your casual self. A sharply dressed young …

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A couple weeks ago, I posted ways to develop a good mentality for your internship from my perspective as an intern. This week, I asked a few intern employers what qualities they most desire in an intern. Here’s what they had to say.

“Thirst for knowledge and patience – I want them to be eager to help and seek out projects but also know that it is a balancing act for us to delegate and come up with one-time projects.” — Sarah Waninger, Assistant Controller, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc.

“Be an enthusiastic sponge. Ask clarifying questions only after some legwork has been done. Don’t hesitate to ask for more assignments if you don’t have enough to do. Volunteering shows enthusiasm, leadership and interest in the organization and is definitely a plus.” — Kathy Humphrey, Chief Operating Officer, The International Center

“I look for an intern who has the passion to succeed and …

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This guest post is from Krista Rangel, a St. Mary-of-the-Woods student majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Sociology and Psychology. Krista will graduate in 2013.

My internship at Chicago Juvenile Detention Center was not only my first internship, but I was also the first intern to my site supervisor. I can honestly say this was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I learned about so many facets of the system — from the judges to simply being in the building; I would not have been able to gain these hands-on experiences in a classroom.

My internship at the detention center allowed me to see the system’s process first-hand. Working in a big building with a bunch of lawyers and judges was initially intimidating because I had never been in a corporate environment. After a few weeks, I got to know some of my co-workers and realized that although they have “big …

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This summer was the ultimate internship experience. Not only was I an intern, but I was an intern for Indiana INTERNnet – the free internship matching program linking employers, students, high schools, colleges and universities.

I learned about internships while doing my own internship. I conducted research, wrote blogs and attended conferences about why students should have internships, why employers should hire interns, how internships are the perfect recruiting tool and how internships retain Indiana’s talent.
Not only did I hear about the benefits of an internship, but I experienced them too. I actively thought about my internship as a test-run for my actual career: What size company would I want to work for? What are the local opportunities unique to Indianapolis? How can I grow my own professional network?
Now, I’m the biggest advocate for experiential learning. And why not? Internships are the best possible experience for …

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This is a guest blog by Molly Zweig. She is an Indiana University student majoring in International Studies and Spanish and minoring in Marketing and Portuguese. She plans to graduate in 2015.  This summer, she is the Marketing Intern at the WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology in Bloomington. She works to promote WonderLab in many ways through traditional communications and marketing and social media.

One of the biggest challenges interns face is determining what exactly we’ll be doing at our internships.  You get a job description, but it’s hard to know until the end of the first week on the job if you’ll be truly contributing to the company or if you’ll be making copies and coffee.  However, whatever kind of internship you have, you always have control over your experience.

I am truly grateful for the wonderful work environment and my supervisor at the WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology …

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This is a guest blog written by Drew Van De Wielle of. Drew graduated from Ball State University in December 2011, with a B.S. in Public History/Business Administration & Marketing. He worked as an intern at the Museum from January through May. He is a 2007 graduate of St. Joseph’s High School in South Bend, and has also worked at United Beverage Distribution Company. Drew enjoys learning about South Bend’s rich industrial heritage and playing on a softball team for Barnaby’s.

Hello my name is Drew Van De Wielle South Bend native and Curator at the Studebaker National Museum.  Before being hired for the full-time position of Curator, I was an intern from January through April.

My internship was a well-rounded experience.  I was originally hired to gain experience with handling museum collections and to get an idea of how a successful small museum is run on a day-to-day …

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Ali Turner is a professional writer and career blogger.  She’s also the managing editor of Campuses to Careers, a blog that helps young people make informed career and education decisions.  Topics covered on the blog include careers for shy people and how to follow up on a job application.

I am now proud to say that I was a 24-year-old intern.  But I didn’t always feel that way.  After graduation and struggling to find job prospects in this dismal economy, I decided to take an unpaid internship at an international non-profit.  I knew that I needed more experience, and I decided that an internship related to public relations, the field I wanted to get into, was better than something completely random.

My admission to being a post-graduate intern was met with a little shock and even some snickering and eye-rolling.  This negativity mostly (but not always) came from members of the older …

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What did you do last Saturday? Maybe you caught up on How I Met Your Mother or just slept the day away. Maybe you thought about doing something productive, but it just seemed too tiring after a full week of work. On the other hand, maybe you were one of the interns who explored downtown Indianapolis—discovering the nooks and crannies of our hometown.

Indy Interns kicked off the summer with a downtown scavenger hunt—searching the city and meeting fellow interns from across the area. Interns represented various organizations including Aprimo, ExactTarget, Interactive Intelligence, Mayor Ballard’s Internship Program, the Mental Health Association, Roche Diagnostics, Rook Consulting, and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

Interns trekked all over downtown; they stopped by The Slippery Noodle Inn and the City Market, to the NCAA Hall of Champions and back to Scotty’s Brewhouse for a well-deserved recovery. Interns were challenged with tasks ranging from “take …

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This is a guest post written by Collin LaMothe. Currently, he interns for the Wellness Council of Indiana. He recently graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Creative and Professional Writing. He hopes to find a job where he can expand creatively—traveling, meeting new people, and writing about his own experiences.

My name is Collin LaMothe, and I am a cubicle intern.

This wasn’t my first intern gig. When I was accepted at the Wellness Council of Indiana, I couldn’t help but wonder what an out-of-shape guy like me was doing in an organization promoting health. I suppose it felt a little ironic, but my background in creative writing and design qualified me to lend some help with the main website redesign. So I signed-on for the summer, with the terms laid out plainly from day one.  I was here to assist and, most importantly, renovate http://www.wellnessindiana.com before August …

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This is a guest post written by Elizabeth Newkirk, Asian Learning Center of Indiana intern.

On Day 1 of my internship at the International Center, I attended orientation. On Day 2, I  represented the Asian Learning Center of Indiana (ALCI) at Sunnyside Elementary’s International Night.

Sunnyside Elementary School of International Studies is one of the 18 schools in Indiana participating in the ALCI’s School Pilot Program. These schools have a vested interest in educating their students about Asia and generally preparing them to be globally conscious citizens. The goals and methods of implementation of each school vary, but they serve a mutual purpose for the ALCI: to identify good practices in schools, build on successful models for other schools to adopt, and implement the best practices for teaching Asian studies at Indiana schools.

On May 17 (a.k.a. Day 2), Sunnyside Elementary hosted an event called International Night for its …

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Here’s a quick survey for you:

Are you an intern in the Central Indiana area? Do you work long, grueling days at the office (or sit at a desk all day with little sun exposure and minimal opportunities to move around)? Have you had a boring “social calendar” this summer—away from school, living with your parents, or just missing your friends? Do you want some fun and free opportunities to meet new friends and fellow interns?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you’re invited to attend Indy Interns’ first 2012 summer event! These are events planned and coordinated by fellow interns from companies throughout Central Indiana. (We do need you to RSVP, so read on for more.)

This series of both social and professional opportunities is available to any Central Indiana area interns—so bring your fellow interns and friends. Don’t let the summer waste away. …

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According to Online Colleges Columnist Michael Lemaire, 37% employers use social media to research job candidates. Let that sink in. I’m talking Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites such as the popular Pinterest or even YouTube. Why should this scare you a little? Well, hiring managers say they’re using social media to discover more than what is usually revealed during a traditional interview.

Allow me to attest for the majority of college students out there regarding Facebook and Twitter—employers, on many occasions, will be seeing the things potential employees actually try to hide in interviews. Even more serious for us students—65% of employers use social media sites to see if the candidate presents himself/herself professionally. Professionally? This calls for some editing.

However, this study also reports that 79% of college students are likely conformable with their online profiles being reviewed because they’ve cleaned up their pages and created …

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So, maybe you’ve never had an intern at you organization? You’re not sure what they would do. Do you have enough project work? What about space and a computer? How do I find the best interns? Let’s face it: you’re scared it’s glorified babysitting. Well, we have the perfect solution for you: Indiana’s Employers Guide to Internships.

And here’s the perfect opportunity for a test run with anintern. DePauw’s Winter Term program  is the perfect opportunity for both students and employers to engage in a short internship. From January 3 to January 25, 2013, you have the chance to host an intern. Sound too good to be true? It just might be. I may be biased as a DePauw student myself, but DePauw has some excellent, driven students that fight tooth and nail for internships. Really, I’ve had to claw my way into my own internship—DePauw students really do jump …

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