Tips For Your Summer Internship!

Are you ready for your Summer internship this upcoming Summer? Well I have featured some tips that will hopefully make you a successful intern based on my past experiences.

Well, first make sure you are always eager and excited for any challenge that comes your way but also be excited about assignments that you may feel are “unimportant” it will show your supervisor that you are a hard worker no matter what the task is.

Make sure you are being yourself because then you will truly be able to connect with your employer this Summer and even the other employees. Be open-minded to new ideas and a new environment because it will make you a more valuable intern.

I can’t stress this more but be on time and that means if your work day starts at 9am arrive at 8:45am and be ready to do your best work every time in you’re in the office.

It’s very important you know the dress code of the environment you are going to be in before you arrive so you can make sure you dress your “part”. That may mean you need to go shopping so you need to keep that in mind too.

Keep in mind it’s great if you can do a good job on assignments but you also need to observe your supervisor and ask him or her thoughtful questions.

While at your internship you may meet the delivery man and the custodians but you need to treat them like gold. They are people that are hard working just like you and you should not judge them. Over the past year I’ve really learned that paying attention to every little detail is the most important. 

Good Luck This Summer Readers!

Little Pink Secrets

How To End Your Internship On A Positive Note

·        At the end of your internship you need to make sure you really put your best foot forward so you can be remembered by the company and even possibly get hired once you graduate. It is important that you stay in contact with your boss and all the people that you worked on projects for. You can email them about once a semester or quarter and let them know how things are going and see what is new at the company. This shows them that you’re really interested in staying connected and they will remember you for it.

1.         Keep in touch with your colleagues, even if you don’t want to work there full time.

2.         Before you go, make sure your coworkers have your contact information, and if you feel comfortable, keep in touch with them through social networking sites.          

3.         Send thank you notes to all your coworkers. It will probably take you a long time, but even if you helped a colleague with just one project, a note will help you be remembered by many people in the company and will increase the likelihood of getting hired when you graduate.

4.         Try to meet up with your coworkers if you will be at conferences, networking events or in the same neighborhood. While technology makes keeping in touch easy, an in-person meeting is still a great idea to keep the relationship growing.

5.         Ask for a final evaluation to elicit feedback. While you should be getting feedback on the projects you are assigned, try to schedule a meeting with your supervisor at the end of your internship to talk about how things went, what you can work on and how you can improve. 

Interview With a Public Relations Director

Advice from the U of R Public Relations Director

·         Show up 15 minutes early and be the last one to leave the office

·         Get business cards from everyone

·         Hand out my business cards

·         Make a personal connection with everyone

·         Remember names even the names of the people who are not important

·         Get to know everyone

·         Go out to lunch with the president

·         Jump on everything and all tasks

·         Suggest things such as ideas, articles and photos

·         Rejuvenate demographics

·         Always have a notebook and pen

·         Be very accessible (give out cell phone number if anyone needs anythings)

·         If you need an extra set of hands on the weekends I am available

·         Be VERY POSITIVE

·         Always volunteer and ask to sit in on meetings

·         Give complements like that story was great!

·         Can I help you with anything (if your done with your task)

·         Pay close attention to details 

These tips were very beneficial to me for my first co-op and now for all my other internships and even part time and full time jobs. I was able to interview the public relations director because she was a friend that I continued to keep in my network. It is so important to keep in contact with other professionals and friends. You never know where they are going to end up and if they will be able to help you in the future or if you will be able to help them land a job. Staying connected and taking advice from others that have a lot of experience in the field your interested in is so important and very helpful. If you haven’t interviewed someone in the field your interested in going into when you graduate I would recommend doing it as soon as possible. It will really show you if you’re going into the right profession or if you should continue your career search.

Little Pink Secrets  

Getting an "A" in your next interview

Be prepared to ace your next interview!

Some interviews may not have the happy ending that you hoped for but with these tips you will be golden.

One- It’s time to buy a suit and you want to stand out don’t look like everyone else that’s too easy. Black is a no it’s too boring. Now, I’m not saying wear pink but look at these pictures for some ideas ladies.

Two-Be Prepared! I can’t say this enough do your research on the company and the person who is going to interview you. I’m sure you can find the person who is going to interview you on LinkedIn and you can find out their exact role in the company this way. Make sure you know everything about the role you’re interviewing for so you can talk about your experiences and your abilities that can contribute to that specific position.

Three-The resume is VERY important! Please know your resume inside and out it is what is going to land you the interview and you need to know how your past experiences can help you be successful on the new job or co-op.

Four-Ask Questions! Recruiters love questions. Well smart questions. It shows you are thinking beyond the interview process and seeing yourself in the actual position. Any question that shows you’ve done your homework and are well-informed about what’s going on with the company is great. Just make sure you’re prepared with questions about the co-op, company, and any very specific questions.

Five-The presentation is key. Have a portfolio with a pen and pad of paper along with your business cards ready to be handed out. Make sure to have a take away for your interviewer so that they can really remember you. I always give my interviewer a copy of my resume, references, letter of recommendation and some information about my company in a presentation folder with a clear cover so they can see my resume first. This is just a way to be unique and have a good presentation when you walk in.

Remember these steps to be successful at your next interview

Little Pink Secrets

Its time to look for your Summer internship!

Its internship season! You need to start looking for your Summer internship now because a lot of deadlines are in January and February. March is when most companies decide who they want for the Summer of 2011. You need to begin your search now. You can use your College resources, meet with an advisor, or look on your own. You can usually find some of the best internships on your own. Check out www.internships.com it is a good resource to finding internships. 

I just usually go to the companies websites that I'm interested in applying to and send an email directly to the HR department. If they don't list the HR department's contact information then I usually look for an online application. The search process is long and you will have to apply to a lot of internships especially if you don't know what you would like to do for your next internship. 

Be sure to take this time that you have off to beef up your resume so when you apply for an internship you have a competitive advantage!

If you have any questions about getting a Summer internship leave a comment!

How do you land your dream internship?!

Well this is top secret information but I suppose I'll share! First, go out there girl and don't be scared be fierce, beautiful, and driven. Potential employers love young motivated, driven individuals and you can be that person!

Study the industry you want to go into and learn everything you can. You need to be overly prepared before you interview. You need to dress the part so if your interviewing with a Magazines fashion closet don't wear a suit show your fashion through your outfit but keep it classy ladies.

Make sure your resume is updated, professional, and always send a cover letter showing how you can be the best addition to the company. You have to sell yourself and put it out there. If they say no its okay because that was a learning experience and you can take that with you to the next interview so you don't get turned away.

For girls who have never had an internship I would recommend getting a job and doing volunteer work. When I say volunteer work I don't mean ringing the bell in front of the mall I'm talking about volunteering in the industry your interested in to get experience. I have done a lot of volunteering in the past which has lead me to some of my top internships so make sure your always networking. That volunteer experience can lead you to your next internship. Make sure to always be connected.

Last Summer when I decided I wanted to work for a magazine in Manhattan I looked into all the different magazines and really did my homework. Then I emailed the corporation my resume and cover letter and they emailed me back a week later for an interview. You need to be driven about what you want! One thing I've always done is been persistent if you don't hear back email them and even call. You will hear back as long as you really put yourself out there and are persistent!! Lastly, always have a smile on your face!:)

Well this is my advice for now! Hope it helps:) Leave a comment!!

Internship Tip

   Don’t be late. I’m always fifteen minutes early I learned from my very first internship that on time is late and fifteen minutes is on time. You will stand out when you arrive early to an internship so do it. 

Little Pink Secrets wants you to be successful at your internships if you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment and I'll be sure to answer anything!

I'm now doing my third internship in a row so I have lots of advice to give:)

Internship Tip

Most important advice never just sit there! If you don’t have a task email everyone I mean everyone and if there is still nothing to do then be creative and do something on your own. It will show your employer that you are a go-getter. They will be happy to know they don’t have to always be looking over their shoulder to make sure you’re doing something.  

Little Pink Secrets xo

Internship Tip

   Have you ever felt like you had to much to do and not enough time?

I experienced this interning with a Magazine company in NYC. One morning three people asked me to complete projects by the end of the day. I felt so overwhelmed because I didn’t have enough time. 

Advice to you is be honest about your workload. You want to show your employer you can complete a task and put all your effort into it so if you don’t have enough time speak with your employer.

- Little Pink Secrets xo

Ciao

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