The Benefits of Completing an Internship

It’s been four months since I started my internship with Come Recommended as the media relations intern. Even though four months doesn’t seem like a lot of time when you compare it to four years of learning in a classroom environment, I have learned more than I thought possible.

As we wrap up our time writing for the intern blog, I feel it’s appropriate to highlight the benefits of having an internship under your belt.

Internships help you:

Expand your network. I’ve been able to create relationships with people across the country, which is a great benefit to having a virtual internship.

Sharpen your skills. Mollie mentioned this in her post too. You get hands-on experience with things you may have learned in the classroom but only did as an assignment once. You also learn other aspects of your field that may have not been touched on in classes or during volunteer experience.

Gain experience for the future. During your time in school, try to fit in as much experience as you can — whether it be an internship or volunteer experience. It looks great on your resume and may help you land a job in the future.

Develop new skills. You’re bound to do something in your internship that is new to you or that you haven’t learned in classes.

I hope reading our intern point of view has been helpful, interesting and thought-provoking. Good luck to all of you and please keep in touch!

Twitter: katee688

Moving Back Home: A Post-Graduation Checklist

As graduation approaches, many students are going to be moving back to their hometowns. With the average graduate taking six months to land a job, this is not surprising.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I will be moving back home after summer classes. It’s not that moving back home will be a bad thing — because there are a lot of positives to it. Saving money and less financial pressure among them. It’s just a big adjustment from living on your own for the last four (or so) years.

A few things I will be doing when I move back home:

• Changing my “childhood” room in some way. I know I will need a good work area when I move back home (which I don’t currently have). I plan on re-structuring my room for my needs now.
• Making a plan to pay off student loans. Luckily, I don’t have credit card debt like many other students probably do. But paying off student loans will be a high priority when I am saving money by living at home.
• Getting out of the house. I get along well with my parents, but since living at home is an adjustment, I know I will need to get out and do things. Being poor is not an excuse! There are plenty of free (or cheap) things you can do. You need this to keep your sanity.
• Taking time to research. Deciding on where I want to live after moving out of my parent’s house.

What do the experts say? Moving back home:

• Gives you an adjustment period between college and a full-time job.
• Allows you to save money if you do have a job right away.
• Should be temporary. Set a plan for when you are going to move out.
• Allows you to search for the job you really want, instead of one you feel you’re settling for.

What’s on your moving home checklist? How will you deal with living back at home?

Graduates: Expect a Better Market Than You Thought

I read some great news today: the job market is looking up, graduates! According to the National Associate of Colleges and Employers (NACE), college hiring is up. Heather wrote about this today in her Examiner.com column and so did The CareerBuilder.com blog The Work Buzz. Some highlights from both:

• Although only 44 percent of employers plan to hire recent college graduates (up 1 percent from last year), 21 percent of those hiring recent college graduates said they will hire more than they did last year.
• Sixteen percent said they will offer higher starting salaries than they did in 2009.

As far as salaries go…

• 33 percent will offer less than $30,000
• 30 percent will offer salaries between $30,000 and $40,000
• 19 percent will offer salaries between $40,000 and $50,000

As many experts have been saying, although the market is looking better, it’s still highly competitive. You need to stand out, have experience and be a good fit with the company in order to land a job.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of listening to the CMU Journalism Department Alumna of the Year Lorrie Lynch at a luncheon. Lynch is the former editor of USA Weekend. She spoke of her many jobs she has had over the years — most of which she landed thanks to networking. She offered a few tips of advice for pending graduates that I thought were worth sharing:

1. Don’t be afraid to take risks. She told a story of moving across country with only a promise of a couch to sleep on, and she took it–and ended up landing a great job.
2. Network, network, network. She said each job she has obtained she got through a co-worker or former CMU alum. She told students to look around the room and remember these people — because one day they may be thanking a CMU connection for a job opportunity.
3. Keep up with technology. Many jobs in journalism today are dependent on writers knowing how to use blogging software, twitter, and any new features that come up. She said to land a job, you need to know all of these things and to be able to bring a lot of skills to the job.

What Happened to Accountability?

These last few weeks, I’ve been frustrated that not everyone seems to take responsibility for their actions. Accountability is something that was instilled in me at an early age. I learned when I was young that it’s important to keep your word and allow people to rely on you.

A specific example of this is a large company I’ve had many issues with these last few weeks. My problems have stemmed from nothing I have control over: their “computer system.” Now, I’m not sure if it’s actually the computer system making these errors (in my eyes, it seems to be mostly human error). However, it has caused me much frustration.

The most frustrating part is that not one employee has taken responsibility for their actions. If they had told me, “Oh, I made a mistake in the computer. Let me fix it,” I would have understood. Or, if it were actually a system error, I would have appreciated even one person taking an interest in my problem and making it their personal agenda to do something about it.

So what has happened to accountability? I feel like this is a trait that any good worker should have. In fact, many managers in today’s workplace expect workers to be all of the following (from officeteam.com):

• A rock— Can your boss count on you 100 percent? Managers increasingly rely on administrative professionals to keep the office running smoothly, especially in their absence. By meeting all of your obligations efficiently and on time, you earn a valuable reputation for dependability.
• The right call— Are you known for making good decisions? Managers need employees who exercise sound judgment. Make sure you gather all relevant information and take a look at issues from your manager’s perspective before you act.
• A fixer— Are you willing to correct a mistake, even if it wasn’t your fault? Rather than pointing fingers when errors occur, focus on solving the problem. Then backtrack to identify what went wrong and how similar situations can be avoided.
• A trusted source— Be up-front when you do make a mistake and come prepared with a solution. Hiding problems only forestalls the inevitable.

According to a post on azcentral.com, “Failing to accept complete personal responsibility, without excuses or addendums, is a practice that’s infected every nook and cranny of our society today, including the workplace, says Linda Galindo, an executive coach and accountability expert.”

Have you encountered a similar situation of accountability? What’s the best way to solve issues such as these?

Budgeting on a Full-Time Salary

Graduation is approaching soon for many students, myself included. I know many of the other interns have written on this subject this week, but it’s definitely worth writing about.

At Come Recommended, we’ve been working on the latest e-book in our series. This e-book focuses on personal finance in your 20’s — a relevant topic for graduates who will soon have a full-time job (in some cases, their first full-time job). Be on the lookout for The Numbers Game: Everything a 20-Something Should Know About Personal Finance.

There are a lot of financial decisions to be made when starting a full-time job, and graduates will probably be making a lot more money than they are used to. Some expenses to consider while budgeting:

• Housing
• Food
• Utilities
• Entertainment
• Transportation
• Student loans
• Credit card debt
• Also–remember that taxes and retirement programs will take a significant portion of your income each month. Don’t fall for the notion that your salary is what you will take home each year.

It’s depressing to think a lot of your income has to go toward these expenses, but it will make you much happier if you budget for these in the first place. After expenses are paid for, then you can treat yourself! I know after four years of being poor, I expect to get myself a few fun things with my first full-time job.

Do you have any tips for pending graduates about budgeting? What works for you?

What Makes an Effective Pitch?

While working as the media relations intern at Come Recommended, I’ve been introduced to some PR tactics that I didn’t learn about in my program. One of them: the pitch. Dictionary.com defines a pitch as: “Informal. to attempt to sell or win approval for; promote; advertise.”

I never learned what a “pitch” was in formal classes. But when I worked with Program Board, we received tons of these daily: some snail mail, but mostly through e-mail and phone calls. PB receives a generous budget to bring entertainment and educational events to CMU’s campus. But sometimes, the people pitching event ideas did not know when to stop.

I was not a programming chair, but we all had to answer the phone at one point or another, and I learned quickly why some people dread doing it. There were a few companies that continued to call every week, pitching their products or services. The problem was… they didn’t relate to anything we were doing, or the salesperson was just plain annoying.

The bottom line? They weren’t pitching effectively. They were wasting their time and ours. This leads to a few things I took out of the situation…

Things you should do when pitching:

• Connect with the person or group! Some of the best acts we’ve had at CMU come back every year, and that’s because they know us, know the types of programs we run and have built a good relationship with the groups on campus.
• Make it short. No one wants to read a lengthy, 12-paragraph e-mail about your company/product. Along with that, most people do not have the time to talk on the phone with you for an hour about your catalog. Keeping it short, but still figuring out what will be best for them, tends to work the best. On PB, the best phone calls we got were pitching acts within our budget where we could find more information online. Easy, quick and simple!

Things you shouldn’t do when pitching:

• Appear “spammy”. This goes along with a lengthy pitch. Also, anything automated, not personalized, has typos in it, or bad/broken English.
• Mass mail your messages. Most people can tell when an e-mail has been BCC’ed to tons of others. It’s generic and not personal. It makes it easier to not feel guilty about deleting without reading it. It also makes getting in touch with a “real person” seem difficult (these messages typically come from a different e-mail address than a “real person”).

What are some other tips for effective pitching? What is the best pitch you’ve received?

The Dreaded (Mock) Interview

Today, I fulfilled a requirement for one of my classes. I had my first mock interview. Like most, I didn’t want to go. I thought, I’ve been through interviews before, why do I need to do this?

Despite my negative thoughts, I did learn some new things about my verbal and non-verbal communication. I also learned the reasoning behind why you are asked certain questions and how I could improve my answers.

There are real benefits to a mock interview:

• Being able to see yourself through someone else’s eyes. (In my case, the digital camera that taped me while I spoke.) I got to hear myself talk (which always sounds different than you think it will) and see my hand gestures and facial expressions.
• Being able to ask questions that you may never get to ask in “real life” interviews. The mock interviewer can give you some honest feedback and tell you why your answer may not have been the best. You can also ask anything about anything you felt uncomfortable with.
• You will get praise on things you are doing right. It’s always nice to hear what your strengths are.

What I learned from my interviewer:

• Answer questions in as much detail as possible. The interviewer doesn’t know the details of your past jobs and experiences, so share them with that person.
• When asked about your goals, respond with attainable and realistic answers.
• They appreciate you being yourself and being friendly and honest during the interview.

If you are still in college, it never hurts to go in and have a mock interview. Career services are also available to critique your resume and cover letter. It’s something that is hard to look forward to (especially if it’s required), but will pay off in the end.

And remember: likability is a huge factor in landing a job. Smile during your interview. Relate with the interviewer. No one wants someone on their team that they don’t see themselves getting along with.

Cool Uses of Blogs

If you were one of the people that didn’t believe in blogs when they first started, I was with you. I remember when I was younger and LiveJournal caught on. All of my friends would write about their day and complain about friends and homework. It didn’t seem like there could be a real use for them in the future.

Well, we were wrong. There are many great blogs out there today that provide a form of communication for a company or person. Some of them are used in nontraditional ways.

I wanted to highlight a few I found to be interesting uses of blogging:

• The Van Gogh Museum: The Van Gogh painting ‘The Bedroom’ was removed in January and is being restored. You can follow the restoration on their blog, which will be updated once or twice a week.
• The Sacramento Zoo: The Sacramento Zoo has a blog where they post videos, pictures and interesting facts about the animals and the zoo. My favorite post? “From the Kitchen – What Hogs Eat”.
• Elementary schools: I’ve heard recently many schools are requiring elementary teachers to have a blog for their classroom. This allows parents to keep up with projects in the classroom. Students tend enjoy the pictures their teachers post.
• Ford Motor Co.: Ford has a blog specifically for everything Mustang, along with other blogs devoted to other topics.

Many blogs have tips and recent news in different industries. There seems to be various directions you can go when writing a blog, it just depends on what your goal is.

What are some other interesting uses of blogs? Any other ways you have utilized this tool?

5 Things to Do Before Graduation

As I’ve said before, I’m finally taking my last semester of classes. This has made me realize I have a lot to think about before I feel like I’m “prepared” for the real world. Graduates this coming May or December need to be especially ready when it comes to looking for a job because there’s a lot of competition out there. A few things I would suggest to be ready for job seeking:

1. Get your network in order. I have been making a point to save contact information for everyone I have worked with or become friends with in my last few years at college. It seems trivial, especially with everyone having Facebook in our generation. But if they delete their account or change their phone number, how will you get ahold of them? I suggest requesting connections with these people on LinkedIn and Twitter, just to be safe.

2. Prepare your resume, cover letter and portfolio. This isn’t emphasized enough in classes, in my opinion. Make sure to keep track of everything you have accomplished throughout your school career and get your resume in order. Have a generic cover letter ready, but be sure to tailor it to each job you apply for. And start saving anything done in internships, classes or volunteer work for your portfolio.

3. Decide on what you really want to do. If your major is pretty broad, make sure you have an idea of what specific type of job you want after graduation, and why. Don’t just go into it with an “I’ll-take-what-I-can-get” attitude. Also, have you had experience in this area? Be sure to try out a few niches until you know it’s something you enjoy.

4. Get as much experience as you can. Volunteer to help an organization with something you’re good at. Participate in internships (yes, even if they are unpaid).

5. Know where you want to live. Are you moving home for a semester or two? Where do you want to live afterward? I would suggest looking at housing costs and typical salaries in your ideal area. That way, you know whether it is feasible to move there, or you would be better off staying somewhere with lower costs until you have saved enough.

When Are You Most Productive?

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of posts with tips about working from home. Many emphasize that you need to work when you are most productive, although how many people actually know when that is?

Are you a night owl? Do you enjoy waking up early and getting things done? These are all factors in your productivity if you are going to work from home.

I’m not a morning person. I learned that quickly when I first started college and scheduled my classes from 9 a.m. to 11. a.m. everyday. I was half-awake for the first class, and not much better for the next. So the next semester, I decided to take classes in the afternoon. This way I was able to wake up, shower and eat some breakfast — and actually BE awake for my classes. It worked out a lot better.

But, there are some drawbacks  to the flexibility. A lot of people still work “normal hours” and it may be hard on your social life if you decide to do all of your work at night (because that’s potentially other people’s free time).

As James Chartrand says in his post on Freelance Switch:

“Be prepared for your productive hours to be scattered all over the day in little bits and chunks. This isn’t just likely – it’s almost guaranteed. Very, very few people can actually work productively for a solid eight-hour block, freelancers or no. Don’t fool yourself that you’re above being human like everyone else.”

In the end, do what works best for you. Working from home definitely takes some getting used to. Many people have to experiment with their schedules until they fall into a comfortable routine.

When are you most productive? Do you have a routine when you work from home?