Someone for whom writing is a full-time job, can get pretty busy, especially when they're working on several different projects at once. John E. Phillips, in his article for The Writer magazine, Free Up More Time to Write, explains how hiring an apprentice or intern can help.

Since, according to Phillips, many writers only spend about 20 percent of their time actually writing, he suggests using an apprentice or intern to do things like research, fact checking, proofreading, rough editing and other tasks that take time away from writing and selling articles.

Continue reading "Need More Time to Write? Hire an Intern." »

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 22, 2009 at 10:33 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Ever since 1839 the United States Congress has had what are known as congressional pages to serve as messengers and to help with various tasks such as administrative work. These congressional pages are made up of outstanding young people who are in their junior year of high school. As it stands right now, currently the House of Representatives has 72 pages, while the Senate has 30.

High school kids from all across the United States of America apply to become congressional pages, but as you can see from the limited number of spaces available, only the best of the best will get to become a congressional page. Competition is very high and only those that stand out from the crowd will be able to participate in this prestigious program. Here are the steps to take if you too are interested in becoming a congressional page:

• Make sure you are eligible: To become a congressional page you must be at least 16 years old and be in your junior year of high school. You must also be maintaining a 3.0 GPA or higher in core academics, not including electives. If you are related to a sitting member of Congress you are out of luck as you may not serve as a page.
• Get sponsored: To become a congressional page you have to be sponsored by a member of Congress. So the first step is to contact a member of Congress and ask them to sponsor you. Once you are sponsored, that member of Congress will begin the application process which will vary from person to person and from political party to political party.
• Provide required documents to your sponsor: Again the application process varies, but there are certain things that you are always required to give to your sponsor. These items are your social security number, a parental consent form, official transcript from your high school, resume of extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and a written essay. Being prepared with these items will help you to speed up the process of your application once you are sponsored.
• Play the waiting game: Sponsorship from a Congressperson does not guarantee you a position as a congressional page. All pages are selected by a special Page Board that consists of two members of the majority party who are selected by the Speaker, two members from the minority party who are selected by the Minority Leader, the Clerk of the House, the House Sergeant at Arms, one parent of a congressional page from a previous year, and one previous congressional page. It is this board that selects the different members of the congressional page program.

Becoming a congressional page is an honor that you will be able to carry with you for the rest of your life and the experience will last a lifetime. But as you can see it is a process that requires some work and perfect timing so if you are interested then get started right away so that your opportunity doesn't pass you by.

Learn how to become anything you want at HowToBecomeAnything.com, which features the latest career advice articles written by experts.

Posted by Jason K on October 3, 2009 at 9:38 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you've always wanted to be a musician, but you don't know exactly how to go about getting a job in the music business, you might want to look into the growing trend of music-oriented internships at local colleges.

Austin Community College is just one of the schools throughout the country that is trying to make it easier for students to pursue a career in the music industry. The school's Commercial Music Management Program interns team up with local music-related businesses and entrepreneurs to help keep their operations running.

The program provides interns the chance to work at music-related businesses, including small recording studios, clubs, venues, nonprofits and churches.

According to an article by the Austin Business Journal, the program's interns haven't necessarily received more attention due to the current economy, but more people have been enrolling in the program.

"With the economy as it is, community colleges are rocking," Geoffrey Schulman, department chair for the program, said in the article.

There are currently more than 350 students enrolled in the program. To receive an associates degree in the commercial management program, students first have to complete and internship. Unfortunately, about 90 percent of the internships are unpaid.

"We want them to get a taste of what it's like to actually have to go out there and have to do it with pressure," Schulman continued. "Instead of doing it just for a grade, they have to do it for themselves and for the people they work with."

Interns have worked everywhere from the Texas Music Office to The Parish, a live music venue on Sixth Street. Austin's music scene is heavily made up of small businesses, so the ACC program places a strong emphasis on teaching its students business skills.

"They have to take accounting and marketing and small business management because a lot of them are going to have to start their own companies," Schulman added. "We set them up to do business, whether they want to be a musician, manager or concert promoter."

Posted by Joel Cheesman on August 20, 2009 at 1:25 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Believe it or not, internships aren't solely the domain of college students and recent graduates anymore. As older workers find themselves laid off or changing careers, they are increasingly taking low paying or unpaid internships to get the skills and experience they need to land the jobs they desire.

In her article, Internships for Elders, Emily Brandon offers some advice for how older candidates can optimize their internship experiences.

Create your own opportunities: Search for internships that are open to all ages and don't require the participant to receive college credit. If finding internships for older candidates isn't working, Brandon recommends candidates research the companies they want to work for, then pitch the hiring managers, HR professionals or department heads with their ideas about why they and their skills would be a good fit.

Continue reading "Internships Aren't Just for Students and Recent Grads Anymore" »

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 9, 2009 at 8:23 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

As I look back on my career (all 15 years or so of it), it is crystal clear to me that the smartest move I made was at the start: I was an intern.

It wasn't always pretty (like the time I had to drive a van into midtown) or glamorous (I once scalded my hand when I jammed it into a turkey carcass. long story for another post). But it was always an education.

I am a huge proponent of the internship process and always go out of my way to give ambitious folks entering the workforce the tools they need to succeed. On that note, I recently received an e-mail from an intern that I worked with several years back. He has gone on to do some wonderful things with his life, and he was kind enough to make my week by sending the following:

"I learned a lot from you especially. You taught me the importance of being a self-LESS individual at the workplace by transferring skills over to people with a willingness to learn. Your willingness to help me during that summer has been a driving force behind my willingness to transfer skills over to those I work with on a daily basis in the development field." Continue reading ...

Article by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on June 8, 2009 at 8:51 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

My daughter's husband, Chris, is nearing the end of his first year of law school at Pepperdine University in Malibu and is looking for a summer internship that will impress prospective law firms upon his graduation in 2011. Chris accepts the fact that if he's lucky enough to find work with a judge or in a law firm, he'll have to work long days and that he won't be paid a nickle, but he's hoping he can find the right internship on his own accord. He certainly can't afford to pay anyone to find him an job where he'll have to work for free, but there are people out there who do that, you know.

The University of Dreams is one of several intern placement services that are now available to students who are willing to ante-up big bucks to have someone else find a summer internship for them. While not all of the internships are unpaid, many are, and some universities also charge students a semester of tuition if the student wants academic credit for the experience.

Wow. Imagine writing one check to the University, and another to a placement service, all for a chance to work for just the sake of having some relevant experience to put on your resume.

Is it any wonder why today's college grads are entering their first career positions owing tens-or even hundreds-of thousands of dollars in loan payments before they get their first paycheck?

By Eric Chester and courtesy of Generation Why? Whysblog

Posted by Candice Arnold on April 2, 2009 at 7:47 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Article originally posted on Daily Career Connection

Time to focus on College students and recent grads. College students should be (those not graduating this year) should be thinking about summer intern jobs and College Seniors should be thinking about graduation (it is never too early) and what the job market might look like in May (hopefully better than now). Lastly, there are probably some recent College grads who have either lost their job as a result of the current market or are looking to make a change (probably for the same reasons).

This post will focus on several different resources for College students and recent grads:

• Wikijobs - Internships - Wikijobs (main site covered on October 27th - Sharing your Job Search Experiences) also has a very good article on Internships. This is definitely worth a read as the article describes the Internship process. There are also some useful links at the end of the article.
• Top 10 College Career Services Blogs - As the title indicates, this site lists the top college career blogs. Too much information to cover here, but you should definitely look at the blogs as they offer some good information. Additionally, there are some good links on the right-hand side of the site.
• VisualCV - VisualCV is a new way to build your resume (your marketing tool for your job search) using online tools. It not only allows your to keep your resume current (since all viewers will see the same resume, no need to "resend" when there are changes), but it allows you to embed video, audio and work samples. Additionally, you can control who can see your "visual" resume. A very innovative way to approach your resume/CV and job search.
• Google Jobs - This Google career/job search site is focused on student opportunities at Google. The site is organized by geographic region and offers background on Google, life and Google and "getting into Google".

Good luck in your search.

Article by, Career Alley

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates seeking entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Candice Arnold on March 5, 2009 at 2:33 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Parenting college students during their college years should include encouraging internships. The college years are a once-in-a-lifetime experience for emerging adults. Moms and Dads serve as good advisors when they encourage their students to seek out internships in fields of their interest.

College internships are generally summer employment opportunities that offer job exposure in a particular field of interest, giving college students an introduction to important people who may, in the future, become valuable contacts. It is important that parents remind their students that contacts have contacts. Every contact may know someone else who will be able to provide the student with subsequent employment opportunities.

Continue reading "Parenting College Students - Turning Internships Into Job Success" »

Posted by Candice Arnold on March 3, 2009 at 2:01 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you are currently in school, don't miss out on one of the biggest opportunities of the year: summer internship recruiting begins now!

Many corporate employers use internships as a primary method for identifying entry-level hires for full-time positions, and will continue to hire interns in a down economy so that they can develop a pipeline of potential full-time hires for the future. According to annual surveys conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the percentage of interns converted to full-time employees increased from 35% in 2001 to 50% in 2008, with almost 70% of interns receiving full-time offers in 2008.

For many years, I worked in campus Career Services offices connecting students and employers. In the process, I developed a few observations on how students can best prepare:

If you haven't started already, this is a great week to begin. Many campuses don't open for spring term until mid-to-late January, but a majority of staff at Career Offices will be back on the job before the term starts. If your school offers individual counseling appointments or resume critique services, now is a great time to beat the rush and prepare. If you'd like outside help, you may also want to consider hiring a resume writer or career coach--but keep in mind that you will need to follow resume guidelines set by your campus.

Continue reading "Tips for Internship Season" »

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 5, 2009 at 7:15 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

The idea for today's post came straight from a reader and friend. She graduated a few months ago and has been looking for entry-level jobs in event planning since. She told us about one company that she was really excited about, but asked us not to post about it until she was either working for them or had landed another job. She recently landed a job doing exactly what she wants to do (big congratulations to her), so we're free to tell you about hip consulting group, a boutique event management firm. They definitely offer internships, and they seem amenable to hiring new grads, so they're definitely worth a look for anyone who has an interest in event planning.

Get Hip
hip consulting does everything when it comes to events. Whether it's a corporate meeting, a customer appreciation event, or an employee incentive program, they'll take care of it. They help clients select a site, register attendees, produce creatives and A/V, brainstorm ideas, and much, much more. Continue reading about hip consulting ...

Article by Willy Franzen of One Day, One Internship and One Day, One Job

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 25, 2008 at 11:29 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

RehabCare's Rehab Facility in Southern California, Brighton Gardens- San Juan Capistrano, receives rave reviews on the post affiliation survey from their most recent Loma Linda University PT Student, Brian Rosenbaum. RehabCare is constantly striving to better it's Student Programs line-up and more specifically our Clinical Education Site Programs. The Campus Relations Managers work to coordinate the affiliations with the Universities and to ensure that each student is welcomed into our buildings. We currently have over 175 designated Clinical Education Sites nationwide and the list keeps growing every day! We take pride in providing both a positive and educational experience for all students completing clinical rotations in our facilities. In order to ensure that each experience is a good experience the Campus Relations Manager's follow up at the end of the students' affiliation, asking for feedback on their experience. So we thought we would share some of this feedback with you! Great Job to the team at Brighton Gardens!

Brian Rosenbaum, one of the most recent students to complete his affiliation, gave the Facility and Team at Brighton Gardens an excellent recommendation for future students interested in this facility. So just what did Brian have to say about RehabCare and the Team at Brighton Gardens.........

" I would recommend this site to another student because you get the opportunity to interact with families, physicians, nurses and other clinicians."

"Anthony, Clinical Instructor, was very friendly and helpful. He has a good understanding of the business and gave me the freedom I needed."

In addition to Brian's comments about his experience at the facility. He also rated the facility as excellent in the following areas; CI to Student match up, Overall learning experience, staff members demonstrated professional and ethical behavior, exposure to various aspects of PT role, varied patient caseload and diagnoses, and the clinical site/staff members were welcoming and provided a good learning environment. Great job to the team at Brighton Gardens who provided Brian with such a great experience. We appreciate Brian's feedback and will use his comments to continue to improve our Clinical Education Programs and to recognize those facilities that are doing an outstanding job!

Would you like to complete and affiliation with RehabCare or find out more about our Clinical Education Sites? Contact your Campus Relations Manager for more details.

Article courtesy of RehabCare Student blog. RehabCare provides college recruiting for Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants and Speech Language Pathologists.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 11, 2008 at 1:19 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

It's summer internship season again, and, according to an article on CNN.com, companies are hiring plenty of interns this year, despite-or perhaps because of-the downtown in the economy.

During my colleges years in the mid-1990s, internships were more of a "nice-to-have" rather than a "must-have" credential. I spent two summers working as a camp counselor in Los Angeles and plenty of my friends worked as lifeguards and waitresses. I don't think it ever hurt us in the job search department.

Today, however, it's not uncommon for college students to spend every summer in a different internship. While I hope that today's students are still having plenty of fun in the summer sun, it's a fact that in today's competitive work world, internships have become essential.

One of the reasons internships are so important is because more and more companies are using their intern programs to replace on-campus recruiting. An internship is now a thinly disguised audition-for both the student and the employer-rather than a charitable learning opportunity. This makes sense: what better way for both sides to find out if a relationship is a good fit than to test it out for a few months before fully committing?

If you're working as an intern this summer, here are some tips to ace your audition and earn a future offer if you'd like one:

1. Be proactive. Leadership is one of the key skills employers look for in entry-level employees, so find ways to be a leader and take on extra responsibility in your internship. Try asking your manager this smart question: "What is a good thing for me to work on when you're busy and I have completed the work I've been assigned?" This question shows that you're a go-getter who wants to contribute as much as possible. And you may get assigned a cool project that no one else was smart enough to ask for. Remember, raising an internship from the "busy work/no experience" level to the "real experience" level is in your hands.



2. Set up informational interviews. Networking and making a good impression are not just about who you know; they're about who knows you. While you're at an organization in the role of intern, you have a rare opportunity for face-time with people you otherwise might not be able to meet. Check with your internship coordinator to make sure it's appropriate, then pinpoint a few people in the organization whose jobs interest you and ask them to meet with you. If you can, you should also set up a meeting with someone in the human resources department to talk about future full-time job opportunities. Use this opportunity to find out whether the company is looking to hire interns into permanent positions and learn exactly what they're looking for so you can accomplish it in your internship.



3. Keep in touch when your internship ends. Keep yourself top-of-mind with the company, even when you return to school in the fall. Supervisors, employees, fellow interns -- everyone you meet through your internship -- are now relationships and should be added to your contact database. Here's my recommended way of adding people you meet during your internship to your network: ask them! Simply say towards the end of your stint, "I've really enjoyed meeting you and working with you during my internship. May I keep in touch with you in the future and check in with you once in a while?" Most likely people will say yes, and they'll appreciate the respectfulness of your asking. Then, send each person a hello note or email within a month of ending your internship (just to say hello and prove you really do want to keep in contact).

Good luck!

By: Lindsey Pollak, a college campus speaker and author of "Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World" (HarperCollins, 2007) http://www.lindseypollak.com/blog

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Lisa Colbert, CollegeRecruiter.com on June 23, 2008 at 9:45 AM | Leave a Comment (0)