All Work, No Pay: Finding an Internship, Building Your Resume, Making Connections, and Gaining Job Experience - Softcover

Berger, Lauren

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1607741687 ISBN 13: 9781607741688

Verlag: Ten Speed Press, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

Land Killer Internships—and Make the Most of Them!

These days, a college resume without internship experience is considered “naked.” Indeed, statistics show that internship experience leads to more job offers with higher salaries—and in this tough economy, college grads need all the help they can get.

Enter Lauren Berger, internships expert and CEO of Intern Queen, Inc., whose comprehensive guide reveals insider secrets to scoring the perfect internship, building invaluable connections, boosting transferable skills, and ultimately moving toward your dream career. She’ll show you how to:
 
Discover the best internship opportunities, from big companies to virtual internships
Write effective resumes and cover letters
Nail phone, Skype, and in-person interviews
Know your rights as an intern
Use social networking to your advantage
Network like a pro
Impress your boss
Get solid letters of recommendation
Turn internships into job opportunities
 
With exercises, examples, and a go-getter attitude, this next-generation internship manual provides all the cutting-edge information students and recent grads will need to get a competitive edge in the job market. So what are you waiting for?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lauren Berger is CEO of Intern Queen, Inc. (internqueen.com), an online internship destination and listing service that she founded after completing fifteen internships for the likes of MTV, FOX, and NBC during her college years. She was named one of BusinessWeek’s “America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs 25 and Under,” has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post, and has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, ABC News Now, and more. She speaks at campuses and professional groups across the country and lives in Toluca Lake, California.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Dear Reader
  

In college, I felt lost. I wanted information on internships but I felt that no one really cared. My friends and I weren’t on the same page when it came to the importance of internships. They weren’t ready to think about their future. My college’s career center didn’t have any internship opportunities for students until their junior or senior year. I always wished that someone or something existed to help me with the process. Where could I go to find internships and learn what to do once I landed one?

And so I taught myself. I created my own methods of finding internships, and, through trial and error, I learned to make the most of them. I finished college having completed multiple internships (fifteen, to be exact) and a friend jokingly referred to me as “the Intern Queen.” Near the end of my senior year, I decided that I would use the knowledge gained from my internship experiences to start a business—an online internship destination that would list available opportunities and educate students on how to make the most of them. I would call it www.internqueen.com.

Through my internships, I gained tons of insight about myself, the workplace, and my future. You don’t have to do this alone. Let me be the person to guide you on your internship journey. I will provide you with strategies and techniques to find and land great internships—something nobody shared with me.

The state of our economy calls for action. As young people, we must stand up and make things happen. If you are considering this book, or reading this introduction, you should be proud. It’s easy to sit around, do nothing, and wait for opportunities to come to you. The most valuable thing I learned from my fifteen internships was that I had the ability to make things happen. Obstacles motivate me; rejection motivates me. And I learned how to deal with obstacles and rejection over the course of my internship journey.

Yes, this is a book about internships—how to get an internship, make the most of it, and leverage it for your future. But personally, it means so much more. Ultimately these experiences carried me from where I was to where I wanted to be. They taught me that anything is possible.

Learning and educating yourself through real-world experience will help you reach your goals. You have two options—to continue reading and take control of your life right now or to put the book back on the shelf. This is your life. You have an opportunity. Let me be a resource for you. Start this book, put my tips to use, and I promise you’ll gain valuable experience unlike anything else.

I have squeezed every last bit of myself into this book. My passion for internships, helping young people, and inspiring my generation is like no other. And I promise that my energy is contagious. Enjoy my book—and your upcoming journey.
 
—Lauren Berger, the Intern Queen
 

Introduction
  
 
As a college freshman, I focused on everything except opportunity. My days consisted of binge-studying and social activities. I knew that big career decisions would command my attention in the not-so-distant future, but my focus was elsewhere. I didn’t have an answer to the infamous question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My parents and teachers would always say, “Lauren, get your act together and figure out what you want to do.” But no one provided an action plan that I could follow to move forward. I was always being told I had “lots of potential,” but I didn’t understand how to turn that into success.

So in 2002, when my mother called and said, “Get an internship,” my initial reaction was that I wasn’t interested. When I realized my mom wasn’t going to let up, I began to seriously consider internship opportunities. Ironically it was my lack of direction that led me into the career center to find more information.

Without rejection, I wouldn’t have developed the thick skin that I have today. In fact, my first internship experience began with rejection. I walked into the career center and eagerly announced, “My name is Lauren Berger, and I’d love an internship. My dream job is to work for Us Weekly magazine.” The two women from the career center stood there and stared at me. They said, “We’re sorry, Lauren, but you need to be a junior or senior to intern. There is one company in town called the Zimmerman Agency, but they only accept seniors. We have nothing for you.”

Looking back on that experience, I always think, what if I had listened to them? Would I be successful now? The word no ignited something inside of me. Somehow I found it challenging and wanted to prove them wrong. I became determined to land an opportunity and immediately went back to my dorm room to research the Zimmerman Agency and other public relations companies in town.

My first step was to visit their website to learn about their business, clients, and company history. The Zimmerman Agency website displayed no information about internship or career opportunities. I studied the website, making sure I was familiar with the company before I picked up the phone to cold-call.

“Hello, this is Lauren Berger calling. May I speak with your internship coordinator?” The internship coordinator (at the time), Autumn, took my call and requested that I send over a resume and cover letter. I researched how to create these materials online and put my extremely minimal experience into a professional format. My resume screamed “freshman,” with my only previous job experience being at the Limited Too and Red Lobster. Luckily I’d participated in several extracurricular activities during high school and had joined some campus groups at Florida State University. I accompanied my resume with a brief cover letter explaining that I was an underclassman but willing to put 150 percent into the position. I emailed my materials to Autumn the day after she requested them. She needed to know this internship was a priority, and I didn’t want her to forget our phone conversation. In the body of the email, I wrote the following short note:
 
Dear Autumn,
 
Great speaking with you. Per our conversation, my resume and cover letter are attached. I look forward to speaking with you further.
 
Best,
Lauren Berger
Florida State University
Phone: 555-555-5555
Email: lberger@gmail.com
 
My phone rang the next day, and I was called into the Zimmerman Agency for an interview. They wanted to know if I was available to come into the office the following day. At the beginning of your career, it’s important to do everything you can to make yourself available. So I made myself available on the day and at the time they requested. I immediately went out and purchased a plain black business suit that still hangs in my closet. I walked into the interview dressed for success and feeling excited but nervous. I sold myself to Autumn with my passion, energy, and excitement for the position—traits that should never be overlooked or discounted. She hired me on the spot. And just like that, I landed the internship at the Zimmerman Agency. This was the position my career center said I couldn’t get until I was a senior. Years later, when I asked Autumn why I was offered the internship she said, “You seemed unstoppable. There was a passion behind your eyes.” That still resonates with me today.

I experienced a dramatic change after getting that first internship. At the office, employees fascinated me...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Ten Speed Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1607741687
• ISBN 13: 9781607741688
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 208
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Ten Speed Press; https://crownpublishing.com/; ; Attn: Andrea T Sheridan 1745 BROADWAY; New York; NY; 10019; USA
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar