Work together to make a difference, Hoosiers!
Motivational Monday + Career Communities: Make a Difference
Director’s Cut: Internships
Internships
By: Pat Donahue
Intern.
If you have been in college for more than a day, you have probably heard your professors, career coach, academic advisor, parents, friends, resident assistant, and bus driver say that you need to do an internship.
And they are right.
Internships are important for three key reasons:
- “Try before you buy”: Internships give you the opportunity to try out a particular career for a few months to see if it is a good fit, which is far better than graduating and getting a job you hate because you never bothered to test drive it.
- Internships give you relevant experience in the career you are considering. When employers are seeking employees, they want your skills and experience to match their job description. If you have internship experience in the industry where you eventually want to work full-time, you will greatly increase your employment opportunities.
- Internships give you the chance to meet your future colleagues. When hiring, organizations will want to hire their talented interns first because they are already trained and understand the organization’s culture. Even if the organization does not have any jobs available when you are seeking employment, they will often refer you to industry colleagues because you have made such a good impression as an intern.
If you are now convinced you should do an internship, when and where should you start looking?
Although most internships are targeting sophomores (rising juniors) and juniors (rising seniors), you will occasionally find companies willing to hire freshmen (rising sophomores) if they are in a field where it is difficult to find a constant supply of talent, such as information technology or engineering.
Some companies will hire as early as September, which is why career fairs are often called “Career and Internship Fairs”. Some Fortune 500 companies hire interns early to get a jump on their competition. Federal intelligence agencies hire early because students have to go through a security clearance, which can take up to eight months. The IUB career services offices also hold career and internship fairs in January and February.
If you missed those fairs, you can still attend the Summer Job and Internship Fair on Tuesday, March 26 from 4-7PM in Alumni Hall of the IMU.
Each career services office at IUB posts internships, including the Career Development Center. The CDC’s site is https://cdc.indiana.edu/documents/myJobsSearchGuide2018.pdf
You can also go directly to a company’s website. Some will have internship postings alongside their job postings.
Use LinkedIn and Google to seek internships as well.
Other internship sites you should check out:
If you are looking for internships in Indiana, go to https://www.indianaintern.net/
If you are seeking non-profit internships, go to https://www.idealist.org/en/?type=INTERNSHIP
For media internships, check out https://www.mediabistro.com/jobs/openings/?Keywords=internships
To search for a wide variety of internships, go to https://www.internships.com/
Finally, meet with your assigned career coach to develop an internship search strategy. Your career coach can also help you write a resume and teach you how to correspond with future employers.
You can always schedule an appointment with your assigned Career Advisor to talk about your part-time job search, internship search and help with building your resume. You will find their information listed in your MYJOBS account. Students who have questions about the part-time job search can also come to drop-in advising at the Career Development Center (625 North Jordan) from 11-3PM, every Friday.
Motivational Monday + Career Communities: New Day
Take advantage of each new day this week, and use them as opportunities to grow!
Career Coach Spotlight: Rachel Gerber
Afternoon, Hoosiers! We’re 
rolling out our first career coach spotlight with Rachel Gerber. Learn more about her below.
What was your major/minor/certificate?
Major: B.A. in Elementary Education
Graduate: Master of Divinity
Why did you become a career coach?
I love college students! And I love empowering others and encouraging them to step out and live courageous lives. This vocational path intersects my two passions beautifully.
What is your favorite part of being a career coach?
Students, hands down! I love meeting one-on-one with students to hear about their hopes, dreams, questions, and then work with them to identify the next right step in figuring out a best-fit major and/or career trajectory. Listening to students discover new understandings and insights about who they are and how this understanding opens new avenues of their major/career selection is simply the best.
Why should students come in for career coaching?
Figuring out a major/career can be a fairly lonely process. Often times it seems like “everyone else” knows what they want to do, and we feel sheepish stating our own uncertainties. My job as a career counselor is to be your cheerleader and coach—someone who can ask you good questions and walk with you throughout this process of identifying your own best-fit, exploring lots of options, and connecting you with experience to actually test it out. We are here for you!
Fun fact about you
I changed my major 2 times before landing on Elementary Education. And here I am….a career coach…and not a second grade teacher! My own journey has been a winding path (with jobs including: residence director, minister, curriculum writer, speaker and published author) but throughout all of my jobs a common thread was there—helping others. I love to empower and encourage others—there is no better vocational congruence for me than a career coach at IU!
Motivational Monday + Career Communities: Change
With the right attitude, you can make big changes!
Non-Profit Sectors: Finding Your Fit
By: Daniel Krupski, CDC Government/Non-Profit/& Philanthropy Career Peer
Identify Your Interests
Like most jobs, specific steps are necessary in order for someone to successfully find their career fit. Non-profits are no exception. To identify where you want to start your career in non-profit you must first look at what areas interest you the most. Some of the sectors in non-profit to consider are:
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
- Education
- Environment and Animals
- Health
- Human Services
- International and Foreign Affairs
- Public or Societal Benefit
- Religion-Related
- Mutual/Membership Benefit
- Professional/Trade Associations
Expanding Your Exploration
Once you have identified a sector or sectors that interest you, you can begin to explore that area in more depth. The Career Development Center has many resources that can help with this, including the Non-Profit Career Guide, the Occupational Outlook Handbooks in the Resource Library, or Vocational Biographies.
After researching the sector you’re interested you can now try out the job. There are countless ways to get a more realistic feel for what a job in a particular field would be like including informational interviews, job shadowing, and internships. There are many techniques on locating individuals in the field of interest to speak to, but one of the easiest ways is to go on LinkedIn (make an account if you don’t have one already! It will be beneficial in your future career search endeavors) and use the search feature to locate and filter individuals who you can reach out and have an email, phone, or in person conversation with. You can ask them questions about their job and experiences in their career journey. These conversations can be helpful not only for learning about a particular sector, but also for general information about interviewing, changing jobs, and thriving in your position throughout your career.
Obtaining Experience
LinkedIn can also be a very good source for finding internship and (later) post-graduation job opportunities. This site along with places such as Indeed, idealist and others can be awesome resources for finding opportunities during your summer breaks. An additional opportunity to consider is AmeriCorps and being a VISTA volunteer. These are federal government programs that help volunteers tackle critical needs in communities throughout the United States. Volunteers in the program are typically given a stipend to cover living expenses during their tenure in the program, making it an excellent opportunity for college students to get experience and connections in the non-profit sector. To research specific organizations, visit the online resource for non-profit organizations, Guidestar.
Motivational Monday + Career Communities: Imagination
Let your imagination run wild this week!
Motivational Monday + Career Communities: Small Steps and Great Things
Take small steps toward great achievements!
Director’s Cut: January is National Mentoring Month
Mentoring Month
By: Pat Donahue
January needs a better rep.
Yes, the cold weather and the dark nights have us longing for Spring, yet the first month of the year has events that renew hope.
Celebrating a new year and the resolution to do better by ourselves and others.
Honoring the civil rights leadership and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.
And National Mentoring Month.
What exactly is mentoring?
According to the Indiana University Office of Mentoring Services and Leadership Development, a mentor is a special kind of helper who works with others in a positive, constructive way so that both mentor and protégé have the potential to grow through the relationship.
Mentors can be parents, teachers, coaches, ministers, fellow students, and academic and career advisors.
Mentors build trust and model professional behavior so their mentee can grow their strengths.
Mentorship is a learning partnership between an expert and a novice.
From a career planning perspective, mentors can be professors in your chosen field, leaders in student organizations, IU alumni, and internship supervisors.
Which areas of your life need mentoring? In what aspect of your life do you want to grow?
Academic? Personal? Social? Leadership? Career? Cultural?
IUB has plenty of resources to help you fulfill your potential, but the university is so large, you need a guide to help you navigate where you want to go.
Your guides can be professors, academic advisors, resident assistants, peers, career coaches and other college administration professionals.
They will refer you to the campus resources that best fit your unique needs so you can fulfill your potential.
For additional information, be sure and check out the Office of Mentoring Services and Leadership Development’s website: http://www.indiana.edu/~omsld/#home
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You can always schedule an appointment with your assigned Career Advisor to talk about your part-time job search, internship search and help with building your resume. You will find their information listed in your MYJOBS account. Students who have questions about the part-time job search can also come to drop-in advising at the Career Development Center (625 North Jordan) from 11-3PM, every Friday.
3 Reasons to attend the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Career Fair
1. You’ll become familiar with how to navigate a career fair.
The first time you attend a career fair can be intimidating, but you will get more comfortable after you get used to the format. Being comfortable in the space can help you feel more confident in the future. You can meet with your career coach to learn how to prepare. Stacey Abshire (Career Coach at the Career Development Center) will be there from 2-3pm to talk with you, provide guidance, and answer questions.
2. You’ll learn to showcase your awesome skills.
Career Fairs present an opportunity for you to meet new people and tell them about yourself. This can be challenging at first, but talking with many people about your professional skills and aspirations gets easier over time. Practice introducing yourself and answering general interview questions before the fair and let your skills shine through. Prepare questions you would like to ask employers, too!
3. You will learn what types of opportunities are out there.
You may be wondering, what can I gain from going to a career fair as a freshman or sophomore? One of the benefits of attending a career fair before starting your full-time job search is that you can learn what types of opportunities are out there in your field. You can talk to as many or as few employers as you want, but attending will give you a sense of the options available to you and practice networking. You never know – you might learn something new about your career path. Plus, you might build your network and find internship opportunities.
Tips:
- Be prepared. Bring copies of your resume and dress in business professional attire.
- Practice how you will introduce yourself and research organizations that are attending.
- Talk with your career coach before you go.
- Check out SICE’s recommendations here.