Quintessential Careers Press: The Quintessential Guide to Finding and Maximizing Internships

1. Powerful resumes and cover letters make the most of your college experience.

   Too many college students miss the opportunity to exploit valuable experience on their resumes and cover letter because they overlook unpaid experience. Experience is experience. It doesn’t have to be paid. Anything you’ve done that has enabled you to develop skills that are relevant to the kind of job you seek is worth consideration for resume and cover letter mention. That’s especially true if you don’t have much paid experience. The key, as noted in #1, is relevance. Consider the following in evaluating what experience and skills you’ve gained that are relevant to what you want to do when you graduate:

   • Previous internships
   • Summer jobs
   • Campus jobs (work-study)
   • Sports
   • Entrepreneurial/self-employed jobs
   • Temporary work
   • Volunteer work: school, church, club, not-for-profit organizations
   • Research papers/projects
   • Campus activity positions
   • Fraternity/sorority/social club positions
   • Extracurricular or sports leadership positions

   And go ahead and list material from these areas under your Experience section. Don’t confuse the reader with a bunch of differently labeled experience sections, such as Internship Experience, Volunteer Experience, Work Experience, and Project Experience.

   For more about using this technique in cover letters, see Making the Most of Your College Experience in our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 21

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5. Powerful resumes and cover letters portray your skills as transferable and applicable to what you want to do.
   You may think what you’ve done is not relevant to your future career, but you can probably spin the experience so that it demonstrates the transferable and applicable skills that most employers want:

   • Teamwork
   • Leadership
   • Communications
   • Interpersonal
   • Computer

   The value of transferable skills is a major reason we urge students to list sports in the Experience sections of their resumes — because athletics so often provide the teamwork, leadership experience, and competitive drive that employers seek.

   For more about transferable skills, see Transferable Skills — a Vital Job-search Technique. For more about portrayal of transferable skills in cover letters, see Emphasizing your Transferable and Marketable Skills in our Cover Letter Tutorial.

6. Powerful resumes and cover letters focus on ACCOMPLISHMENTS, NOT job duties and responsibilities.

   In the recent study by the Career Management Alliance, content elements that propelled employers to immediately discard resumes included a focus on duties instead of accomplishments, while documented achievements were highly ranked among content elements that employers look for.

   Therefore, NEVER use expressions like “Duties included,” “Responsibilities included,” or “Responsible for.” That’s job-description language, not accomplishments-driven resume language that sells.

   Instead, emphasize the special things you did to set yourself apart and do the job better than anyone else.

   Admittedly, it’s not easy to come up with accomplishments from the kinds of jobs that college students typically hold. But it’s important to:

   • Start tracking your accomplishments NOW.
   • Start HAVING accomplishments NOW!

   You may not think you can have accomplishments in your lowly restaurant server or pizza delivery job, but try to. Ask your boss what you can do to improve. Strive to win any awards (such as Employee of the Month) that your employer offers. Find ways to go above and beyond your job description.

   For more about accomplishments, see For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 22

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7. Powerful resumes and cover letters use action verbs and KEYWORDS!
   Action verbs in your resume and cover letters increase the strength of your writing and make you sound dynamic to employers.

   Luckily, there is no lack of sources for lists of action verbs; you can find them all over the Web (including Quintessential Careers’ Job-Seeker Action Verbs) and in nearly every resume and cover letter book.

   Almost as important as using action verbs is avoiding weak verbs:

   • Do. Try “conduct,” “perform,” or “orchestrate.”
   • Forms of the verb “to be.” Instead of “was,” say “served,” “functioned,” “acted.”
   • Work. Everyone works. Be more specific. Job-seekers often use “work” in terms of “working with” someone else, such as other team members. In that context, “collaborate(d)” is often a good substitute.
   • Received. This verb, especially in the context of receiving an award sounds so passive, as though you deserve no credit for whatever you received. Always say you “earned” an award or honor rather than “received” it.

   Threatening to overtake verbs in importance on resumes and cover letters are keywords. Employers are increasingly relying on digitizing job-seeker resumes, placing those resumes in keyword-searchable databases, and using software to search those databases for specific keywords — usually nouns — that relate to job vacancies. Most Fortune 1000 companies, in fact, and many smaller companies now use these technologies. Experts estimate that more than 80 percent of resumes are searched for job-specific keywords.

   The bottom line is that if you apply for a job with a company that searches databases for keywords, and your resume doesn’t have the keywords the company seeks for the person who fills that job, you are pretty much dead in the water.

   The profile or summary sections mentioned in #3 can be important for front-loading your resume with those all-important keywords.

   To read more about keywords, see our article, Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 23

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8. Powerful resumes and cover letters contain NO typos or misspellings.
   This characteristic should go without saying, yet we still see resume/cover-letter typos and misspellings with alarming frequency.

   Remember that it’s not enough to spell-check your documents because you may have used a perfectly spelled word — but it wasn’t the word you wanted. For example, a word frequently seen on resumes and cover letter is “possess,” but some job-seekers accidentally spell it “posses,” which is the plural of “posse.”

   Proofread your resume and cover letter. Put them down for a few hours, come back, and proofread again. Then get a friend or family member with a good eye to proof them for you.

   9. Powerful resumes and cover letters are reader-friendly.

   The Career Management Alliance study ranks easy readability highest of all resume characteristics in terms of first impressions. The employers surveyed ranked use of bullets second highest.

   Use the following to make your documents reader-friendly:

   • Bullets in resumes (and sometimes in cover letters)
   • White space. Make sure your documents have reasonable margins. In my opinion, the default margins in Microsoft Word are wider than they need to be (1.25″ on the left and right and 1″ at the top and bottom). Margins can be as narrow as .75″ if needed. Also make sure you have a line of space between all the jobs listed on your resume and between all resume sections. For cover letters, equalize the white space at the top and bottom of the letter so that it is centered vertically on the page.
   • Type large enough to read (no smaller than 10.5 point).

   Now, about the one-page “rule.” Job-seekers, especially new grads, are often cautioned to keep resumes to one page. And it’s good advice. You should keep it to one page if at all possible. But if your experience is exceptional, don’t sacrifice readability just for the sake of keeping the resume to one page. We’ve seen job-seekers use nonexistent margins and tiny type just to squash their resumes onto a single page. At the same time, if your resume spills over to fill just a small part of a second page (less than half the page), it’s probably best to condense to one page by cutting content. Read our article, The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be?

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 24

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10. Powerful resumes and cover letters include every possible way to reach you.
    Powerful resumes and cover letters do no good if the employer can’t reach you. Most college students wisely list both their campus and home addresses and phone numbers on their resumes. A surprising number of the resumes we see omit an e-mail address; these days, an e-mail address on your resume is a must. Don’t forget your cell phone number, if you have one. In fact, don’t overlook any way an employer could reach you.

    When you’re in internship-hunting mode, make sure the outgoing message on your residence-hall answering machine or voice-mail sounds professional. I’ve called many students in their dorms and gotten some pretty outrageous messages that would likely turn off employers.

    A good way to ensure you have all relevant contact information on both your resume and cover letter (remember that the two could get separated) is to use the same “letterhead” on both documents, which also makes for an attractive package. It also never hurts to repeat your most important contact information in the last paragraph of your cover letter.

For more about resumes, see our Resume Resources, especially our Resume Tutorial.

For more about cover letters, see our Cover Letter Resources, especially our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Following Up
After you’ve found several internship possibilities and applied to them, your work is not done. Just as with job-hunting, you must follow-up with each company. Don’t call the companies every day, but be persistent. The old adage about the squeaky wheel getting the grease rings true here. Follow-up your initial contact with a phone call, follow-up your interview with a thank-you letter (more later in this chapter), and follow-up your thank you letter with a phone call.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 25

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Interviewing for Internships
Here are the keys to successful employment interviewing. Follow these simple rules and you should achieve success in this important phase of securing an internship.

• Do take a practice run to the location where you are having the interview — or be sure you know exactly where it is and how long it takes to get there.

• Do your research and know the type of job interview you will be encountering. (See types of job interviews.) And do prepare and practice for the interview, but don’t memorize or over-rehearse your answers. (See our some of the best collections of interview questions.)

• Do dress the part for the job, the company, the industry. Don’t dress down just because you’re interviewing for an internship rather than a job. And do err on the side of conservatism. If you’re not sure, you should consider reading our article, When Job-Hunting: Dress for Success.

• Do plan to arrive about 10 minutes early. Late arrival for an interview is never excusable. If you are running late, do phone the company.

• Do greet the receptionist or assistant with courtesy and respect. This is where you make your first impression.

• Don’t chew gum during the interview.

• If presented with a job application, do fill it out neatly, completely, and accurately.

• Do bring extra resumes to the interview. (Even better, if you have a job skills portfolio, do bring that with you to the interview.)

• Don’t rely on your application or resume to do the selling for you. No matter how qualified you are for the position, you will need to sell yourself to the interviewer.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 26

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• Do greet the interviewer(s) by title (Ms., Mr., Dr.) and last name if you are sure of the pronunciation. (If you’re not sure, do ask the receptionist about the pronunciation before going into the interview.
• Do shake hands firmly. Don’t have a limp or clammy handshake!

• Do wait until you are offered a chair before sitting. And do remember body language and posture: sit upright and look alert and interested at all times. Don’t fidget or slouch.

• Don’t tell jokes during the interview.

• Do make good eye contact with your interviewer(s).

• Do show enthusiasm in the position and the company.

• Don’t smoke, even if the interviewer does and offers you a cigarette. And don’t smoke beforehand so that you smell like smoke. And do brush your teeth, use mouthwash, or have a breath mint before the interview.

• Do avoid using poor language, slang, and pause words (such as “like,” “uh,” and “um”).

• Don’t be soft-spoken. A forceful voice projects confidence.

• Do have a high confidence and energy level, but don’t be overly aggressive.

• Do avoid controversial topics.

• Don’t say anything negative about former colleagues, supervisors, or employers.

• Do make sure that your good points come across to the interviewer in a factual, sincere manner.

• Don’t ever lie. Answer questions truthfully, frankly and succinctly. And don’t over-answer questions.

• Do stress your achievements. And don’t offer any negative information about yourself.

• Don’t answer questions with a simple “yes” or “no.” Explain whenever possible. Describe those things about yourself that showcase your talents, skills, and determination. Give examples.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 27

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• Do show off the research you have done on the company and industry when responding to questions. (See our Guide to Researching Companies.)
• Don’t bring up or discuss personal issues or family problems.

• Do remember that the interview is also an important time for you to evaluate the interviewer and the company he or she represents.

• Don’t respond to an unexpected question with an extended pause or by saying something like, “boy, that’s a good question.” And do repeat the question aloud or ask for the question to be repeated to give you a little more time to think about an answer. Also, a short pause before responding is okay.

• Do always conduct yourself as if you are determined to get the innternship you are discussing. Never close the door on an opportunity until you are sure about it.

• Don’t answer cell phone calls during the interview, and do turn off (or set to silent ring) your cell phone and/or pager.

• Do show what you can do for the company rather than what the company can do for you.

• Do ask intelligent questions about the job, company, or industry. Don’t ever not ask any questions — it shows a lack of interest.

• Do close the interview by telling the interviewer(s) that you want the internship and asking about the next step in the process. (Some experts even say you should close the interview by asking for the job.)

• Do try and get business cards from each person you interviewed with — or at least the correct spelling of their first and last names. And don’t make assumptions about simple names — was it Jon or John — get the spelling.

• Do immediately take down notes after the interview concludes so you don’t forget crucial details.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 28

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• Do write thank you letters within 24 hours to each person who interviewed you. (You can see some sample thank-you letters here.) And do know all the rules of following up after the interview.

Remember that your work is not done once you finish the interview. You can’t sit back and wait for the internship offer, so consider these key rules and strategies for following-up your interviews.

• Do ask at the end of the interview when the employer expects to make the hiring decision.

• Do be proactive and consider follow-up a strategic part of your internship-search process. Followup can give you just the edge you need to get the job offer over others who interviewed for the position.

• Do use these follow-up techniques to continue to show your enthusiasm and desire for the position, but don’t make it seem as though you are desperate.

• Do obtain the correct titles and names of all the people who interviewed you. (Ideally, do get each person’s business card.)

• Do write individual thank you notes or letters to each person who interviewed you — within two business days. Each letter can be essentially the same, but try to vary each a bit in case recipients compare notes. Don’t ever fail to send a thank you — even if you are sure the job is not for you. And do write thank you notes after every interview.

• Don’t worry so much about hand-written versus typed thank you letters, but don’t make a mistake by sending it through the wrong medium; make sure you know the best method of reaching the employer, whether by regular mail, email, or fax.

• In your thank you letter, do show appreciation for the employer’s interest in you and do remind the employer about why you are the perfect person for the position. See some sample interview thank you letters.

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Chapter 3: Applying Job-Search Skills to Obtaining an Internship – Page 29

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• Don’t ever have any errors (misspellings or typos) in your thank you letters.
• Do alert your references — if you have not done so already — that they may be getting a phone call from the employer.

• Don’t stop internship hunting, even if you feel confident that you will get an offer. Do continue to interview and attempt to find other opportunities.

• Do follow-up with a telephone call to the employer within a week to 10 days (or sooner, if the employer had a shorter timetable) to ask about the position. And do continue to build rapport and sell your strengths during the phone call.

• Do be patient. The hiring process often takes longer than the employer expects.

• Do continue following-up, especially if the employer asks you to. Remember the adage about the squeaky wheel getting the oil. Just don’t go overboard and annoy or bother the employer.

• Don’t place too much importance on one internship opportunity or one interview; there will be other opportunities for you.

• Don’t burn any bridges if you do not get an internship offer. And do try and turn the situation into a positive by bringing the interviewer(s) into your network, possibly even asking him or her for referrals to other contacts. Read more about the art of networking.

Still need help securing an internship? Check out all the tools and tips we offer in our Internship Resources for College Students.

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Chapter 5: Making the Most of Your Internship – Page 31

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This chapter provides the 12 keys to internship success. Follow these guidelines and you should be well on your way not only to a successful internship, but to a successful career.

1. Set Personal Goals. While some internships are very structured, others are not, so you need to spend some time before you start the internship setting goals that you want to accomplish. Maybe it’s deciding on what area within marketing that you want to specialize, or learning new skills, or building your network. Whatever your goals, you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment once you achieve them. Hint: Setting unrealistic goals could make even a good internship seem bad, so make sure your goals are realistic and attainable in your internship.
2. Have Regular Meetings with your Supervisor(s). Sound obvious? Well, maybe, but you may get a supervisor who never schedules meetings with you or travels quite a bit, so you have to make sure to have regular meetings where you can share experiences and lessons learned — both good and bad — as well as give progress reports. Hint: While you want to keep your supervisor abreast of your accomplishments, remember to also be a good listener and learn as much as you can during these meetings.
3. Tackle all Tasks with Enthusiasm and a Positive Attitude. In just about every company, the new hire/intern is going to have to “pay his or her dues.” You will undoubtedly be given some grunt work to do, such as making photocopies, but the key is to complete all your work assignments with the same level of enthusiasm and professionalism. Hint: You might also consider working extra hours (beyond the required number for the internship) to show your work ethic to your supervisor(s).
4. Avoid Negativity. The quickest way to kill a good internship is being negative. So, avoid complaining, being rude, disrespecting coworkers, arriving late, leaving early, being closed-minded, missing deadlines, appearing arrogant, wearing improper attire, acting unprofessionally, appearing inflexible, and taking part in office politics. Hint: A common mistake among interns and new hires is treating secretaries and clerks as being beneath them — avoid this behavior at all costs.

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Chapter 5: Making the Most of Your Internship – Page 32

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5. Never Shun a Chance to Learn More About the Company/Industry. Take every opportunity presented to you to attend company or industry meetings, conferences, and events; participate in training workshops; and read all company materials. Hint: Meetings may appear (and actually be) boring to you, but they can often offer a good chance to increase your knowledge, network, and build relationships.
Get as Much Exposure as Possible. Some of the best internships rotate you among departments and supervisors, but if yours doesn’t, don’t let that stop you from tackling new tasks, meeting people outside your department, and attending company social events. The more you are exposed to new ideas and new people, the more you’ll learn. Hint: Joining the company softball team (or other informal group) is a great opportunity to meet new people in a relaxed and informal environment.
Don’t be Afraid to Ask Questions. Always remember that an internship is a learning experience for you. While the employer expects to get a certain level of work from you, you are not expected to know everything. Seek advice and raise questions whenever you encounter something that is not familiar to you. Be open-minded about new ideas and procedures — remember that you don’t know everything and that your professors didn’t teach you everything. Hint: Smart people know that there really is no such thing as a dumb question, so ask before doing.
Take Initiative. Employers love employees who dive into tackling tough problems and who think “outside the box” in finding solutions. Just make sure you work with your supervisor(s) so you don’t overstep your authority — and make sure you share successes with her. Hint: There is a fine line between taking initiative and being perceived as a “know-it-all,” and for interns especially, it is best to err on the side of caution.
Find a Mentor. A mentor is someone at a higher level in the organization that looks out for you and makes sure you are learning what you need to know and accomplishing what you need to do. A mentor can also shield you from office politics and be a good sounding board for you to discuss ideas, ask questions, etc. Hint: Your supervisor could be your mentor, but it could also be another person within the organization.

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Chapter 5: Making the Most of Your Internship – Page 33

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10. Network, Network, Network. One of the key tools of job-hunting is utilizing your network to find your next career step, whether another internship or a job upon graduation (and beyond). Build professional relationships with your supervisor(s) and other managers in the organization. These people are also a good source for getting other job-hunting advice and tips from their years of experience. Hint: Even if you have a bad experience on an internship, never burn your bridges because you never know when it could come back and hurt you. Always leave on good terms.
Leave with Tangible Accomplishments. One of your goals with any internship is leaving it with some tangible results – both for your resume and your career portfolio (if you use one). Maybe you developed a brochure, computerized an inventory system, organized a sales conference, met with clients, tracked industry trends, etc. Hint: Keeping a journal may help you remember all the things you accomplished on your internship.
Enjoy Yourself. Most internships are great experiences, so make sure you have some fun while you’re working and learning. Don’t be so uptight that you are perceived as something you’re not. Hint: Just make sure you don’t overdo the fun — and avoid office romances.

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Chapter 6: Turning Your Internship Into a Job – Page 34

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After Clint Pyle’s summer internship with CNL Group, Inc. (now CNL Financial Group) ended, he asked if he could continue to work for the Orlando, FL, firm part-time during the school year, and the company accepted. From an internship in which Pyle engaged in relatively simple financial tasks, such as bank reconciliations and other lower-level financial projects, the finance grad spent two full years working part-time for CNL.

Pyle’s plan to use his CNL internship as a springboard paid off. “I was offered a full-time position upon graduation as a tax accountant,” he says. “I started two weeks after graduation preparing various federal and state tax returns, as well as preparing work papers for public-accounting firms to prepare other tax returns.”

Pyle’s experience is not unusual. As noted in the Introduction to this book, employers in NACE’s 2008 Experiential Education Survey reported that nearly 36 percent of the new college graduates they hired from the Class of 2007 came from their own internship programs, up from 30 percent from the Class of 2005. Employers have already had the opportunity to observe the strengths of interns they convert into full-time positions. “We hired several interns to full-time jobs upon graduation, and I noticed that the interns’ performance was superior to that of recent college grads just beginning with our company,” observes Cory Petcoff, a business administration graduate.

While some interns simply luck into job offers, others, like Pyle, make a conscious effort to propel their internships into jobs.

“I was quite proactive in my efforts to turn the internship into a full-time job,” recalls Pyle, who later became a senior financial analyst in the Treasury Department of The St. Joe Company, Jacksonville, FL. “At the end of the internship, I approached my manager and was very honest and open about my goals and plans. In turn, they offered me the ability to do the part-time work until graduation. As graduation neared, I again approached my manager, as well as my human resources representative, and discussed my future possibilities.”

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Chapter 6: Turning Your Internship Into a Job – Page 35

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Taking a proactive approach is one of a number of strategies that can help you parlay an internship into a job. Other techniques include the following:

• Be sure you want want a job with the company with which you’re interning. “I really think interning is [not only] one of the best opportunities for the employer to test drive the person, but for the person to test drive the employer,” says graduate Walter Ballard, who attained his full-time job with PriceWaterhousecoopers LLP, as a result of an internship he did during grad school. Interning gives you a chance to see if you’d enjoy working permanently for your internship company and how well you fit into the organizational culture. Once you’re convinced the employer is right for you, your enthusiasm — based on real-world, insider knowledge — will be a major plus in helping you land a full-time job there.

• Once you’ve decided you like the company culture, show you fit in. You can show your fit with with employer’s culture in many ways — from wearing attire that aligns with what your co-workers are wearing to demonstrating a work ethic that’s at the same level as regular employees.

• Work hard. Putting his nose to the grindstone was the ticket for another Cory Rhoads, who was offered a job right out of college with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) after interning there for the summer between junior and senior year. “I worked hard during the internship and completed my responsibilities,” Rhoads says. “I treated it as if it were the ‘real thing,’ and it turned out to be a good decision, as this was enough for them to see how I would handle working as one of their consultants after school.”

  Working hard also means not turning up your nose at distasteful assignments that come your way, no matter how menial they seem. Be willing to do what’s needed. Don’t assume that your education equips you with so much knowledge that executing low-level projects is beneath you. Remember the guy in the old FedEx commercial who thought he was too good to prepare packages for shipping because he had an MBA? Don’t be that guy.

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Chapter 6: Turning Your Internship Into a Job – Page 36

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• Be aware that your every move may be scrutinized. “An intern must understand that an employer watches everything you do,” Pyle notes. “Even if you think it is a meaningless task, there is a reason for it, and it is important to your employer. If you handle the task with professionalism — even though you may think you are ‘above’ the task — it will reflect highly on you.”
• Don’t just work hard. Strive to do your best, and extend your best behavior to your interactions with company stakeholders — suppliers, vendors, distributors, and especially customers. Keep quality in the forefront of your mind for every project you undertake. And be sure you project the utmost in professionalism to those stakeholders on whom the company wants to make a good impression.

• Seek out extra work, new projects. Show your willingness to go beyond what’s the the job description for your internship, especially if the employer is overusing you for low-skill tasks (such as making coffee or acting as a go-fer). Look for ways you can make your co-workers’ jobs easier. You’ll make a great impression while sharpening your skills so you can step into a permanent position when the time comes.

• Strong academic performance can be influential with some employers. Some firms value good grades highly. If you can maintain strong academics while also performing in your internship, you may gain a leg up. “I think performance in school is important for being selected for one of these opportunities,” Rhoads says. “It was for Andersen’s criteria. Work hard in school to get past the interviews so you can get locked in with an internship.”

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Chapter 6: Turning Your Internship Into a Job – Page 37

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• Maintain a positive, eager-to-learn attitude. Ask questions. Show that you want to learn the job and learn the company. Strike a balance between asking enough questions to show your desire to learn and pestering people with so many queries that you become annoying. Ask if there are any training programs, seminars, or workshops you could attend to increase your learning, and hence, your value to the employer. Look for opportunities to attend trade shows and industry meetings.
• Develop your skills. Learn unfamiliar software programs. Try projects that help you to hone skills you’ve never used or don’t use often. Observe the skills used by people in the kinds of positions in which you envision yourself working, and polish those skills. The wider your range of skills, the more valuable you will be to the employer. On the other hand, Allyson Quibell, writing for WetFeet.com, suggests that you choose just a couple of skills to focus on so that you develop those skills to their fullest.

• Feel free to be creative and bring your ideas to the table. “If you have an idea and you feel there is something that could be done differently, you need to have the courage to put forward your argument,” writes Ann Berry on the former Securities Institute Website. “Nine times out of 10, people are receptive. It’s good to show that you can learn, but also that you can add value.”

• Track your contributions and accomplishments. Be sure to keep a record of all the ways you’ve contributed during your internship. be prepared to present this list when you make your pitch to the employer for a permanent job. For more about tracking accomplishments, see our article, For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments and our Accomplishments Worksheet.

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Chapter 6: Turning Your Internship Into a Job – Page 38

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• Be a team player. Berry points out that some employers, such as investment banking firms, host many interns simultaneously. Those numbers, she says, should not inspire competition because there are usually plenty of full-time opportunities to go around for successful interns. Instead, teamwork should be among an intern’s major strategies since most employers value their workers’ ability to perform in collaborative relationships.
• Seek input and feedback from supervisors and co-workers during your internship so you know how to improve as you go along. Show those you work with that you want to be the best you can be.

• Don’t be shy about asking about permanent job opportunities. Your employer won’t know that you’re interested in a job unless you ask. Also be vigilant for opportunities to create a position. Look for employer needs that aren’t currently being met and consider proposing a job to meet those needs.

• Network with co-workers at your internship — both during and outside of working hours. Get to know as many of the people you work with as you can, and socialize with them outside work, as well. Join the company softball team. Attend the company picnic or party. Everyone you meet is a prospective member of your network, and the more people who know you and your work, the more champions you will have when it comes to turning your internship into a job.

  “Relationships are keys to any business setting,” Pyle notes. “Make sure you make an effort to build relationships with not only your co-workers but also your manager. Having a cordial relationship with your manager makes it much easier for you to approach your manager when you might otherwise be hesitant to do so.”

• Find a mentor. Parlay at least one of your network contacts within your internship into more than just a contact. Cultivate a mentor who can guide you in developing a strategy for obtaining permanent employment. For more about finding and working with a mentor, see our article, The Value of a Mentor.

• If the internship doesn’t segue immediately into a job, keep in contact and be persistent. Maybe you’re not a position to take a full-time when the internship ends. Perhaps you have coursework to complete before graduation. If that’s the case, be sure to leave on the best possible terms. Write to your supervisor to thank him or her for the internship opportunity. Keep in touch periodically and ask about openings, especially as graduation approaches. In addition to touching base with your immediate supervisor determine what other company contacts might be valuable in your quest to join the company — such as human resources folks and hiring managers in the departments that most interest you — and remain in contact with them.

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Chapter 7: Internship Resources – Page 39

Page 39

Best Bets:

College Central — a great place for college students and grads to begin your job and internship searches. You can post your resume, search for jobs and internships, find job fairs, and get expert job and career advice. Includes megajobs search engine. Free to job-seekers.

InternJobs.com — a national database o internships for students and recent grads. Job-seekers can search the internship database by keywords or locations and can post a resume online. Free. Part of the AboutJobs.com network.

Internweb.com — where college students seeking internships in a variety of career fields across the U.S. can search for internship listings, as well as find many useful resources, including intership-related articles and career tools. Registration required to search for internships. Free.

The Rest:

After College — a job and internship site for college students and recent college grads. Post your resume or search for job openings (by job type, industry, type of work, location, and keyword). Also includes some basic career resources. Free to job-seekers.

Best Bets for Internships Abroad — an excellent resource for students from almost any academic discipline who are looking for an internship abroad.

bigapplehead — where college students and recent college grads can search for all types of jobs and internships in the New York metro area (including New Jersey and Philadelphia) as well as post your resume. Also expanding into Boston and Washington, D.C. markets. Also includes an online forum to network with other users as well as a job-matching agent. Free to job-seekers.

externs.com — an internship site for college students, where you can browse for both traditional and virtual internships. With a virtual internship, you work in a remote location (dorm room?) from the employer. No cost to job-seekers.

GetThatGig.com — where young job-seekers (16-21) can find cool summer jobs and internships, as well as learn about extraordinary career paths in all types of industries, from entertainment and education to healthcare and marketing — and many others. Search for jobs or post your resume. Free to job-seekers.

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Chapter 7: Internship Resources – Page 40

Page 40

Global Experiences — an international education programs provider, specializing in international internships and work experience abroad, summer internships, fashion internships abroad, volunteer programs, teaching English as a second language, foreign language training, and similar programs. Fee-Based.

How to Find a Summer Job — a strong how-to guide for finding internships and summer jobs from the Career Services Office of Trinity College. The key tip: start as early as possible to get the best opportunities.

iHipo — a combination of social network and job site, iHipo provides young professionals and students the ability to browse through hundreds of international job and internship postings, post a profile, and develop contacts. iHipo stands for international High Potential network. No cost to job-seekers.

Institute for Experiential Learning: Internships in Washington, D.C. — search the database to find vital information on all about academic internships — mostly in government — in the Washington, D.C. area.

Intern Abroad — a great source for international internships. Students can search for paid and volunteer, academic and non-academic internships, as well as college credit practical training programs around the world. From GoAbroad.com. Free.

Internship Institute — particularly geared to employers to support them in offering internships and to advocate for colleges to require intenships, but also offers free resources to students and a blog, InternGuru.

InternshipPrograms.com — where internship-seekers can browse an internship database for possibilities and apply for those of interest directly from this site. Internship categories include: advertising/marketing/PR, journalism and communications, government agencies, sports teams and organziations, law firms, and others. From WetFeet.com.

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