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Seven Ways to Land a Great College Internship

t's one of the most common and frustrating career dilemmas college students face: "To get a good job after graduation, I need experience. But how do I get experience without having a job in the first place?"

One common--and wise--solution: An internship, paid or unpaid, part-time or full-time.

Easy enough. But how do you get one? Well, one or more of the following strategies is likely to do the trick:

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Work with a career counselor at your school
Career counselors know where other students from your school are interning now or have interned before. They also work closely with on-campus recruiters from organizations in the area and even nationally. Thus, career counselors can be a prime source of internship leads for you.

Talk to your professors
Like career counselors, your professors will also know where at least some students are interning now or have interned before. Additionally, many professors have consulting, research and other ties to various companies and organizations outside of academia; thus, they may be aware of internship programs hosted by these organizations.

Network with your fellow students
If a student you know has an internship that intrigues you, ask him for advice on landing a similar internship yourself, either with the same organization or elsewhere. Chances are that students who have internships now have a better sense of the many internship opportunities that exist, in both their own organizations and in others. So be sure to tap into their collective knowledge, especially as it relates to people you should contact.

Use your school's alumni network
Most campuses, usually through their career services or alumni offices, work hard to establish and maintain contacts with alumni working in various organizations and industries. Consider contacting some alumni from your school to check into internships in their places of employment. You'd be surprised by how strong the fellow alum tie can be.

Tap into the resources of your own family, friends and acquaintances
Does your mother's company have an internship program? Does your sister's friend's nonprofit organization offer any internship possibilities? Many college students don't think to ask their family members, friends and acquaintances to help them with career-related tasks like internship hunting. Be sure you don't fall into this trap.

Page through an internship directory
If you stop by your school's career services or campus library, or spend some time browsing in your campus or local bookstore, you'll undoubtedly find one or more internship directories listing internship programs at organizations around the United States. Several companies publish these guides, including Peterson's Internships and The Internship Bible, 10th Edition. These books are typically well indexed so you can search for internships by organization, field of interest and geographic location.

Check out internship sites on the Web
Search for internship opportunities on the Web. If you're willing to go almost anywhere for your internship, you'll be able to find many opportunities across the country on MonsterTRAK. You can look for internships using the MonsterTRAK search tool.

Once you've developed a list of internships, you can work with a career counselor to ready yourself for the important tasks to follow. Among them: developing and writing a resume and cover letter, learning how to follow up with prospective internship providers to keep yourself in the front of their minds, and preparing for internship interviews.

With time and diligence, your efforts will pay off--in an internship that gives you the experience you need to land the future job you want.

Taking Care of Business: Student entrepreneurs

Does this sound like your typical day? Wake up. History class. Lunch. Study session. Board meeting. Board meeting?! College students across the country attend business classes with plans to join a company after graduation. But these days, with dorm-room Web access and burgeoning Internet savvy, those same students are checking inventories and eyeing margins before heading off to an intramural volleyball game.

For students, by students
Among the many student-run companies is Student Solutions Incorporated, which was started in 1992. It began as the brainchild of seven students at Northwestern University. To avoid the headache of carrying belongings back and forth from home every year, their idea was to store them on campus over the summer.

Now Student Solutions is a reputable business on campus that students rely on for help each year. In fact, the company was acquired in 2001 by Collegeboxes, a national storage company.

"We have free pickup and delivery, we offer door-to-door service, and we store everything in a climate controlled warehouse," says Alex Welk, former director of operations and a Northwestern graduate. "Our philosophy is 'for the students, by the students,' because as college students, we can also relate to the customer's needs."

The seven students who developed that philosophy have long since graduated. But current Northwestern students still play an integral role in the business, and the company continues to live up to its name.

"The business was passed down to students year after year and we all have stock in the company," says former assistant manager Victor Sears. "A lot of us aspire to get in the business field, and it's good experience to manage a company during college. It's not a T-shirt company or a lemonade stand."

A growing trend
Student Solutions is just one of many student-owned companies appearing on campuses throughout the country. "[Student entrepreneurship] has just been exploding the last four to five years," says professor Gerald Hills, of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO). "In a recent survey of 3,000 business students, we found that 68 percent are interested in owning their own business." Students are seeing the benefits of starting up their own companies and are finding college a great place to start. "They're starting up everything from Internet companies to candy stores," Hills says.

More than just fringe benefits
So you're reading this, thinking, "But for all the time and energy it'll take, what do I get out of it?" There are lots of advantages to starting your own company in college (besides the obvious bonus of additional cash):

• Your business can help you get through school. A successful business can help you pay for tuition, books, and room and board.
  
  
• You can show potential employers and graduate school admissions officers that you have initiative, responsibility and creativity.
  
  
• Campuses are close-knit environments where students are willing to try new things and where word travels fast.
  
  
• You can learn a tremendous amount about the business world and about yourself.
  
  
• And college can be one of the best times to start a business, because college students generally don't have the responsibility of a full-time job or a family to restrict what they can do.

Use campus resources
Getting started may not be as hard as you might think. College campuses contain a wealth of practical information and know-how. It's simply a matter of finding out what your campus has to offer and using it to your advantage.

• Take classes. Courses in entrepreneurship, marketing, advertising, accounting, and commercial law will complement your business while furthering your education.
  
  
• Get good advice. Speak to professors who have started their own businesses. Those who teach business, economics, or accounting can offer advice on how to manage your operation.
  
  
• Visit the right offices. Some schools maintain an entrepreneurship office on campus to help developing small business owners.

• Advertise. Campus bulletin boards and kiosks, dorm mailboxes, and doorknobs can be a cost-effective way of getting the word out about your product. However, consult your student government office before posting anywhere, since many schools require that you get permission first.
  
  
• Use media. Campus radio, television, newspapers, and Web sites can also be very effective and inexpensive. Ask other students who have experience with the media to help design your ad.

Perhaps the most important part, though, is to believe in what you're doing. Says Hills, "Those that I've seen that have a real passion for their product succeed far more often than those who are driven only by money." By subscribing to this philosophy, any business and personal success you achieve in starting your own company will enrich your life and help you on your way to a fulfilling career.

Six Career Secrets You Won't Learn in School

When I landed a job in a top public relations firm after my college graduation, I thought the toughest part of my entry into the business world was over. I dumped my extra resumes in a recycling bin and eagerly awaited a paycheck that would scarcely cover my rent. I looked forward to worldly business trips, stimulating office brainstorms and hanging out with my co-workers every Friday at happy hour.

A few years later, I had never made it to a happy hour gathering because on Friday nights I was passed out on the couch. I held an entry-level position for 16 months while people with half my intelligence and work ethic lapped me. My resume listed four positions in three years because I was always on the lookout for a better opportunity that would bring the ever-elusive job satisfaction.

Eventually, I considered joining the large numbers of my friends who were leaving the corporate world in favor of business or law school. The idea of going back to school is tempting, and why not? We're comfortable with the concept of school. We know how the story goes. If you work hard, you get good grades, and everyone is happy.

The business world is another animal entirely. Politically motivated and fraught with nonsensical change, it's not a natural fit for ambitious graduates who leave school expecting results from a logical combination of education and effort. Suddenly, the tenets of success we've followed since kindergarten don't apply, because getting ahead in the business world often has nothing to do with intelligence or exceeding a set of defined expectations. Since they don't teach corporate in college, here are six tips to help you win at the business world's game:

Develop a marketable corporate person:
Think of yourself as a publicist with the task of promoting you. Learn to capitalize on your skills, succinctly assert your achievements and project a corporate persona -- or your most mature, professional and competent face.

Establish profitable relationships:
Business networking is a valuable tool to gain information, increase your visibility in your field and make connections that will help you move forward in your career. Seek out new contacts and potential mentors whom you like and admire and whose interests you share. On the home front, don't expect your boss to figure out what you're all about. Determine her priorities, find out what she wants from you, and brainstorm ways to surpass her expectations.

Master transferable skills like goal setting, effective communication and time management:
You might not know exactly what you want to do with your life, but transferable skills will serve you well no matter what future path you decide to pursue. Make your time count now by working with your boss to set specific, reasonable and attainable goals for your present position that will help you advance to the next level.

Stay motivated despite trying circumstances:
There's no doubt that the business world can be frustrating, but remember that you can choose your response to your environment. If you make a conscious decision to begin each day with a positive outlook, negative conditions at work can't take that away from you. Aim to increase your self-awareness so you can better understand your emotional hot buttons.

Get people to cooperate:
Always keep in mind that other people don't care what you want -- they want to know what's in it for them. By approaching negotiations with an attitude that allows both parties to win, you'll be more effective at eliciting cooperation and ultimately getting what you want.

Be proactive about your career growth:
Approach your performance review strategically by soliciting feedback on your progress, identifying new goals and growth opportunities and hammering out a long-term promotion plan. When asking your boss for a raise, be prepared with a list of contributions that have positively impacted the bottom line.

When you're struggling to survive in a corporate job, it might be an achievement just to make it through the day. But if at any point you feel like taking these steps is not worth the effort, just consider how much time you are likely to spend in the business world. Assuming you work from age 22 to age 65 for 235 days a year, you'll be on someone else's clock for about 80,000 hours, or one-tenth of your life. Isn't it only fair that you do everything you can to create a rewarding job experience?

Alexandra Levit worked for a Fortune 500 software company and an international public relations firm before starting Inspiration @Work, a career consulting and corporate training business. She's the author of 'They Don't Teach Corporate in College: A Twenty-Something's Guide to the Business World' (Career Press 2004) and the forthcoming 'How'd You Score THAT Gig?' Her Web site is: http://www.corporateincollege.com.

Creed pictures

Arms wide open by Creed

Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I close my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face
With arms wide open

Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open

Well I don't know if I'm ready
To be the man I have to be
I'll take a breath, take her by my side
We stand in awe, we've created life
With arms wide open

Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open

Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open

If I had just one wish
Only one demand
I hope he's not like me
I hope he understands
That he can take this life
And hold it by the hand
And he can greet the world
With arms wide open