Internships? How do I Get One? Are They Even Important?

November 7, 2018 at 9:58 am (career, Dream Job, job, Job Hunting, Presentations, Uncategorized, Welcome)

 

Internships are what sets you apart from every other college student who decided to “just” do well in school and not have a job. Those people never came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe they needed some work experience to be considered for a job. As defined by the Dictionary-

In-tern-ship-noun-the position of a student or trainee who works in an organization, sometimes without pay, in order to gain work experience or satisfy requirements for a qualification.

There are a variety of internships; the ones that pay money and the ones that you do for free. In other words, just do it for the FREE experience. College students can barely afford a Polar Pop always scraping up spare change, let alone doing free labor. College is hard,  and the real world is even harder.

There are a variety of ways a student can get an internship. The major ways that helped me land the job are as follows.

  • Know what you want to do as a career.
  • Make sure your resume correlates to the desired field.
    • If your resume doesn’t have anything to do with the desired career field, some volunteer work is needed.
  • Develop important relations in high places.
  • Develop a strong work ethic  
  • Apply everywhere, not just places you want.
  • Get help from the school. Sometimes they offer intern help.
  • Search up the companies you are wanting to apply to and figure out the algorithms to their selection process.
  • Research the company you are applying for.
  • Research the role you are applying for.
  • PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! Interviewing whether it is with someone or in the mirror.

Internships determine a lot when starting a career field. Many jobs look for “experience” and apparently bagging groceries doesn’t cut it. Go figure? Jobs base the hiring process through the amount of experience and qualifications you have. Remember, dress for the job that you want, never the job that you have.Presentation is key you only have one chance to impress the boss once you get the interview.Polish that resume to look and be the part.

Check out the video below to get some tips on polishing a resume.

 

ByTeresa Idett Cardozo Garcia, Business Marketing Major-IUPUC

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Have a dysfunctional team and don’t know what to do?

October 11, 2011 at 4:09 pm (Effective Communication, Welcome, Working Well with Teams)
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“dysfunctional – (of a trait or condition) failing to serve an adjustive purpose”

                                                             -http://webster-dictionary.org/definition/dysfunctional

Dysfunctional teams occur everywhere, whether it is at home with a family or in a work force. Not everything runs smoothly or as planned in which makes a team “dysfunctional”. This is not necessarily a bad thing but definitely doesn’t make things easier.  I am going to share my thoughts on how to regroup and get back on track if things fall apart.

Step 1: Take a breath! Things may seem shaky right now but can be fixed with cooperation and determination by everyone on the team.  You need to come up with a common goal. A goal that if not everyone then the majority agrees on. If in a work setting this could be a finished product. If you are unable to agree on a central goal then try again. Compromise may be the key to come up with a single goal that everyone can work towards.

Step2: Once a common goal has been agreed on then as a team you need to come up with a plan or steps that will help you reach the goal. This can be as simple or as detailed as you want it. If you had tried a more detail plan before and it didn’t work then try something more simple that is 1, 2, 3 step process. This may make it easier for everyone to understand what you, as a team, are trying to accomplish.

Step3: Now for the tricky part. As a team decide if you want to do everything together step-by-step or assign parts to the members. This could be difficult if everyone doesn’t pull their share of the work. If this occurs then they may be the reason you got sidetracked in the first place. Make sure everyone is being included in the decision process.  Keep an open mind if other team members are trying to come up with a separate plan. If they do then ask them to share and you may be able to incorporate there plan into the group plan.

Step4: Take another breath. The hard part is over. Now everyone needs to trust in each other that you as a team can achieve your goal. Have group meeting to discuss where you are at in the project. This can help air out any issues that members are struggling with or answer any questions. Hold each other accountable. If one falls behind then everyone can end up behind. Share what you and your team has accomplished so that everyone is included; you never know someone may have a great idea that can take your goal to the next level.

Rabecka Ward

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If You Post It, They Will Come….

August 4, 2011 at 2:57 pm (Uncategorized, Welcome)
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Welcome to the X204 Project!  We are a group of business communication students at Indiana University – Purdue University’s Columbus campus.  Together, we are exploring workplace-oriented communication topics in a social media format.

Failure to practice good communication habits can stop your forward career progress.

Beginning in September of 2011, we will post weekly topics focused on communicating effectively in a business environment.  And, as real communication is a two-way street, we welcome your feedback!

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