Friday | February 10, 2012
Internship Queen Offers Job Tips
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By
Caitlin Smith
27 February 2006
Once the collegiate fun is over, the next phase in adult life is finding that first crucial job after graduation. Outside experience is the key to getting any job, taking what you’ve learned in school and applying it. The question is how can you get your hands on some "real world" experience that employers are looking for? One word, repeat after me: Internship.
I know what you’re thinking. So I get an internship and I run errands for people all day and get them coffee, nothing but fluff work, right? Not so. The University of Central Florida’s very own "Internship Queen" Lauren Berger will tell you otherwise. She knows the value of internships and their importance in the real world, AKA life after college.
A few of her many accomplishments include: She is currently working for US Weekly, and Nickelodeon Magazines. She also has previously contributed to Dance Spirit, Talent In Motion, Teen Voices, What Canadian Teen Magazine, Nordstroms.com, NY Family and many other national magazines. Berger has also been given the privilege to visit Austria for two weeks and write a travel guide for Vienna and Salzberg, to be published by MTV sometime in 2006.
Berger would not be working where she is today if it weren’t for her persistence, and not to mention her 13 internships to back up her credibility as a versatile employee. She’s also in the process of gaining representation for a new book specifically on interning.
"Just about any field of work today is extremely competitive, so whether you’re going into entertainment, law or whatever you’re going into you should always intern," Berger says. "Employers will be comparing you with your peers on the grounds of whether or not you’ve had extra hands-on experience."
The "Internship Queen" heavily stresses that students should be seeking out an internship or at least researching one by at least their sophomore year in college. Berger also suggests making a dream list. "List off your top five dream companies that you’d like to work for and start from there. Don’t be afraid of rejection, keep trying," she said.
Now that the search is underway, start focusing on your résumé. The résumé you submit to a company is the first thing that they will know about you.
"Try and tailor your résumé to your field of choice, like say you won an award for best article in your high school paper and you’re a journalism major, make sure that’s on there," advises Berger. Also, get involved on campus and become a part of a club or organization that pertains to your prospective career. It can’t hurt to beef up your résumé with activities that are beneficial to you.
Also, before or after you’ve sent out your resume and applications, familiarize yourself with the companies to which you’re applying. "Do your homework, go online and find information about that company. Let’s say your company is the YMCA, know their mission statement by heart. If you’ve done that, you can present yourself in a much better light than someone who doesn’t know it," Berger says. Also, by knowing their mission statement Berger also suggests that "you always want to remind your interviewer what you as an individual can bring to the table and how you can help better the company with your employment."
Once you’re in the door, you’re not in the clear yet. Yes you’ve squeaked by your interviews, sent out your thank-you notes to your interviewers and now you’ve been hired. Here’s some more advice from the queen: "Make sure you’re prepared; ask all the silly questions such as what the dress code is, where you can park, avoid as many minor problems as you can."
"The key is to go into your internship and do your very best," says Berger. "Keep in mind that you should probably establish a few personal goals beforehand so that when the opportunity comes and there is something you’d like to know, you’ve got something to ask."
Internships are so important to college students because students can find out first hand whether or not what they are doing interests them. They are the perfect place to test the waters, and they help you better access how to spend your time in the future. Don’t forget that this is only temporary. You may have bad bosses, spend hours in front of a copy machine or make numerous coffee shop runs for the staff – and that is all because you’re an intern. But just by interning you’ve made your chances that much better to land future jobs.
"Take what they give you with a grain of salt and just do what you are told," she says. "You are on the right track. Everyone has to start somewhere and you’ve got yourself off to a good start."
© 2008, Young Money Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
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I’d enjoy hearing from people who have had experiences with government internships.
Thanks, Debra Karplus, author