job hunt

The Online Internship Search

by Guest Blogger / October 5, 2011 / 3 comments

The Online Internship Search

A new school year has begun and for many college students, it’s time to start thinking about internships. Interning can be the best way for you to get your foot in the door at a company or organization you’re interested in working for; it can also give you valuable work experience and a taste of life in the workplace.

Just as there’s fierce competition for jobs in the current economy, the search for an internship can be daunting as well. The key to finding the right internship for you often includes consulting your school program director and campus career center. But for students who are earning online degrees and don’t have immediate access to a career center, or for students want to take internship selections into their own hands, the Internet can be an indispensable resource.

Internship databases

Finding internships online takes work and attention to detail, but it can be done. Sites like Internships.com are designed to bring potential employers and aspiring interns together, similar to job search engine Monster. Interships.com also has a blog where interns and employers can write about their experiences, a Career Navigator to help students find the right fit for internships, and an iPhone app for students on the go. And One Day One Internship features a different company every day that’s looking for interns. They also allow students to sign up for a daily e-mail with internship opportunities.

Other internship search engines include InternWeb and Monster College, Monster’s comprehensive site that helps college students prepare for the workforce and features businesses looking for interns. You can find internship opportunities by searching mainstream job engines as well.

A day in the life

Sometimes reading the experiences of other interns can give you some insight into your own internship or search. Blogs like Teen Vogue’s Intern Blogger give readers a first-hand view of what it’s like to work for a world-class publication. Interns share their education histories, their favorite things about interning, and the challenges they face in the fast-paced world of fashion magazines. Indiana handbag maker Vera Bradleyalso has a blog for their interns, where interns and employees reveal the daily life in the office. Both blogs are rather specific to their industries, but they also give you a glimpse into how interns blend into company culture and make a real difference at the businesses for which they work.

Finding your own way

Landing the perfect internship for you should start with a self-inventory of your current skill set. Your current major may not lay a direct path to your career, but your internship will give you an idea of where you might best fit once you enter the workforce. So, before you begin searching for internships, make a list of your strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Doing this could save you the headache of enduring an internship you don’t enjoy, and it could help you discover new interests.

Internships are often challenging and rewarding—and they should be. But the most important part of doing an internship is finding one that’s best for you. Take the time to search for the right one, and it could also be the first step to a fulfilling career.

Jesse blogs at the Professional Intern, and she also shared with us her thoughts on going back to (grad) school. Thanks Jesse!

What are your tips for finding internships? I managed to land a great one by cold-emailing magazine editors. I’ll devote a post to that in the future! – Emma

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Language, Gender, and Job Ads

by Emma / May 19, 2011 / 3 comments

Language, Gender, and Job AdsA new study from Duke University found that men and women were more drawn to job ads that used language describing typically masculine or feminine traits, respectively.

The interesting part is, the participants in the study did not consciously realize they were reacting to the gendered language. “When we ask people why they don’t like a job, they come up with all kinds of explanations. Not one participant picked up on gendered language,” said an author of the study.

For example:

[T]he masculine advertisement for a registered nurse read, “We are determined to deliver superior medical treatment tailored to each individual patient,” while the feminine advertisement said, “We are committed to providing top quality health care that is sympathetic to the needs of our patients.”

The authors of the study say the findings might explain why women are less likely to apply to jobs in scientific and technical fields.

The most surprising part of this is that the participants didn’t realize why they preferred one job description over another. Are we limiting ourselves to certain jobs typically geared towards women, without realizing it?

Wanted: Gender-free job ads

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Negotiating Your Starting Salary

by Emma / April 6, 2011 / 2 comments

Negotiating Your Starting Salary

In my post law school life, I’ve worked only for the federal government and a large law firm as an entry level attorney. Both have set starting salaries, with no room to negotiate. In my jobs before law school, it never occurred to me to try to negotiate. I had to take what I could get, right?

Wrong. I realize now that I could have negotiated to get, at the least, a small bump in pay. Going forward, I plan to negotiate. But how do you go about it?

The Wall Street Journal has offered some good advice for those entertaining a job offer, on how to negotiate higher pay and better benefits, in five steps:

1. Research salaries in your industry. This information will arm you with a justification for your salary request. Check out Salary.com, Payscale.com, and Glassdoor.com.

2. Don’t propose the first number. Many job applications will ask you what your salary expectations are. The WSJ says to avoid this at all costs — it gives the employer the upper hand in negotiations. If possible, right N/A on your application. If pressed, give a salary range with about $15,000 between the numbers.

3. Don’t lie about your current salary. It’s a risky move to get a boost in the negotiations. The employer could find out about the lie and retract your offer.

4. Don’t take the first offer. According to the WSJ, a good rule of thumb is to ask for 10% more than the offer entails. Apparently, most employers expect this, and work the possibility of a counteroffer into their initial amount.

5. Once you’ve got the salary down, go for benefits. This is a good opportunity for asking to work from home a day a week or a couple days a month.

via The Wall Street Journal.

Have you negotiated your salary? What tips do you have?

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Reader Question: Turning Down a Job Offer

by Emma / March 11, 2011 / 1 comment

Reader Question: Turning Down a Job Offer

Reader Sarah asked:

I recently finished interviewing for several social media marketing positions and received two job offers! I’m obviously excited by the good fortune, but I’m concerned about how to turn down the offer I’m not going to take. Any advice?

First, congratulations on your job offers! That’s great news.

I certainly do have advice on turning down a job offer. While every situation is different, here are some general rules of thumb to follow. The principal objective is to keep the people at job you’re not taking as contacts, in case you want to revisit the job or company in the future.

[read on]

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More College Grads Turning to Public Interest

by Emma / March 2, 2011 / 0 comments

More College Grads Turning to Public Interest

In 2009, 16 percent more young college graduates worked for the federal government than the previous year and 11 percent more for nonprofit groups.

In a new piece, the New York Times explores the effect the recession has had on new college grads’ career choices. As jobs in the private sector diminish (7% less in three years), many, many more are entering public interest jobs. And the New York Times says that many of them will likely stay.

For example, Alison Sadock always thought she would use her business skills for a retail company. Once she graduated, she couldn’t find a permanent job similar to her summer internship as a buyer for Kohl’s. In the end, she landed at the Starlight Children’s Foundation as a corporate accounts assistant, working with corporate donors on marketing opportunities with the Foundation.

I think the lesson here to those looking for a job is to cast a wide net. The skills a person has are transferable to a broad range of positions — many of which he or she may not have known existed.

If you haven’t been, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to get a feel for the current job landscape. Lots of useful information there.

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“Stay At Home Girlfriend” Is a Thing Now

by Emma / February 22, 2011 / 11 comments

Wow. Just… wow.

There’s a piece at Brokelyn right now entitled, “How to survive as a SAHG (stay-at-home-girlfriend).”

It’s about how the author, laid off and jobless, has come to terms with her new “job” as a stay at home girlfriend. (She mentions for a half second that she’s still job seeking.)

Among her duties: picking up her boyfriend’s clothes from the bathroom floor, cooking or ordering dinner every night, always being in “the mood,” and otherwise pampering her boyfriend.

The piece is written as a how-to: how to keep your job as a girlfriend while not earning any money. Does anyone else find this… disturbing?

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Use Your Facebook Status to Find a Job

by Guest Blogger / February 16, 2011 / 11 comments

Use Your Facebook Status to Find a Job

{Some guest post goodness! — Emma}

You are using your Facebook status update line to keep your peeps in-the-know about your job search, yes? Right? Right?

Because if you aren’t? You are nuts.

This is one valuable piece of job search networking real estate, folks.

[read on]

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Stop Searching for a Job and Create Your Own

by Emma / December 14, 2010 / 3 comments

Stop Searching for a Job and Create Your Own

At least, that’s the principle embraced by the young people profiled in this New York Times article. Increasingly, college grads, like Scott Gerber of Sizzle It and Lauren Berger of Intern Queen, are shunning the traditional entry-level job track to start their own businesses.

If you go this route, you have to be prepared for the possibility of failure. Half of new businesses go belly-up in the first five years. On the other hand, today there are more resources to help young entrepreneurs succeed, like the Young Entrepreneur Council.

[read on]

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The Euro Hiring Trend: “Temp” Positions

by Veronica / November 29, 2010 / 4 comments

The Euro Hiring Trend: Temp Positions

Today, a post from guest blogger Veronica G. on re-thinking temp positions:

If you are like me you have found yourself in and out of the job market a few times in the past several years. There are a lot of great ‘tips and tricks’ out there to help you navigate the hiring process and give yourself the best shot at winning the job. But is it enough these days? Perhaps you should consider broadening your search….the ‘Euro way’.

[read on]

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Women’s Letters of Recommendation Fall Flat

by Emma / November 16, 2010 / 1 comment

Womens Letters of Recommendation Fall Flat

…compared to men’s. Based on the language commonly used in recommendation letters for women versus men, a Rice University study concluded that employers viewed men’s recommendation letters more favorably.

The language describing women in letters is more “communal” — words like “affectionate,” “helpful,” and “kind.” Men are more often described as “confident,” “aggressive,” and “outspoken.”

[read on]

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