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Finding the right internship is not as tricky as it seems.

By Amelia Anderson

Although internships are like taking on a part-time job while students are finishing their education, they are actually very beneficial to future goals. Internships will not only give you experience in the field you are interested in pursuing, but they usually act as some form of school credit, can potentially open a possible permanent position within that same company in the future, and some will actually offer a small payment or stipend. All in all, internships are great ways to get you on the right career path. Even if you find that you no longer hold interest in your field, then the internship has served the purpose of showing you whether you would feel compatible with that career or not. Whether you are in high school or college, here are some tips on finding the internship that will be beneficial for you.

Ask Your Teachers

Teachers are a great source of information when it comes to your school and whatever jobs might be available in it. Chances are, at least one of your teachers will know of an internship at the school, which will make it easy for you to get to your job and classes on time. And, since your teachers have gotten to know you pretty well over the course of months or years, they are inclined to have your best interests in mind with your future plans. If you are interested in becoming an editor, ask your writing teacher if he or she knows of any internships that are related to the editing field. In my own experience, I had a teacher who referred me to taking an internship in a Writing Center because I was interested in becoming a writer.

Browse Online

There are plenty of job-listings that actually list available internships, as well. Just punch in the word “internship” into your search engine and plenty of helpful sites will pop up. Websites like http://www.craigslist.org, www.internships.com, and http://college.monster.com are great resources for finding internships for a specific field. Be sure that you are dealing with a legitimate company for your internship, though. Some internships are offered that do not provide school credit or any compensation, which is not a productive use of your time. Get another individual’s opinion, like one of your professor’s, to see whether or not the internship you have found online will benefit your career goals.

Check the School’s Career Center

Schools are meant to help people earn a better career, so college campuses provide a career center for their students as an extra step in those future plans. Career centers will not only help you find an internship that is suitable for you, but they will also help you prepare a resume and possible even provide some coaching and tips for your interviews. Yes, even an internship requires an interview. Internships not only provide experience, but they help prepare students to deal with the pressures of a regular job, which also requires an interview and resume.

Ask Friend and Family

There is no shame in asking the people who are closest to you for help in finding an internship. These days, jobs can be hard to come by, and internships are not an exception to this. It is very common for people to network, using the people they are close with as resources for inside information on job and intern openings. If you know someone who is working in a field that is related to your own future goals, then ask that friend or family member about any internship openings. If that person can recommend you to his or her boss, then you are already ahead of the game by having a personal reference within the company.

Check the Newspaper’s Classifieds

It may seem old fashioned to some people, but leafing through a newspaper can be useful in finding an internship. It not only lists available jobs, but it lists available internships, too. Although most people prefer to search for their information online, sometimes when the cyber world of searching lets people down, it is helpful to use a different resource and open up the black and white pages of the classified section of the newspaper. If you ever feel stumped with your searches, try a different source. There is always more than one.

There is no shame in wanting to make a resolution to help improve yourself. But, how many New Year’s resolutions have you kept in your life? Almost every person I have ever heard make a New Year’s resolution will only hold that pledge for a small percentage of the year. Resolutions should be a sign that people are taking charge of their lives by trying to improve themselves. Unfortunately, promising yourself to get into a good habit will not alter your life unless you actually take steps to ensure your change. Here are some tips to taking charge of your resolutions and finally sticking to them. You should use at least two of these tips, if not all of them, to encourage yourself to stick to that resolution. One reminder or reason is rarely enough to help anyone.

1. Have daily rituals for your resolution

Use some form of a daily calendar to keep yourself aware of your changes. If you are trying to lose weight, find a daily calendar on cooking healthy, or if you want to learn a new language find a word-a-day calendar in that new tongue, or find some form of inspirational calendar to remind you to be nicer to yourself or others. You can even try placing sticky notes around your home in strategic places you look at every day to remind yourself of your resolution. Or, set up reminders on your phone or on an Outlook calendar to help you follow through with your tasks.

2. Make your resolutions important to yourself

It may be helpful to actually write a list of all the reasons why you want to start this resolution. People who are trying to improve their health will probably have an easier list to make, but even resolutions that involve learning a new skill or taking up a new hobby should have some importance, so be sure to list those reasons. If you keep in mind why you initially made your resolution, it will be easier to stick to it.

3. Give yourself a goal to reach part way through the year

Maybe you want to lose so many pounds by March, or be able to speak simple sentences in Italian by April. Reaching your goals should encourage you to stick with your plan through the rest of the year. And, if for some reason you do not reach your goal, do not feel discouraged. Instead, you should feel more determined to try that much harder with your resolution in the coming months and create newer goals that may be more realistic.

4. Plan rewards for yourself for reaching your goals

Maybe plan a trip France to practice your new-learned French, or buy yourself some new clothes after losing 20 pounds. You should congratulate yourself for sticking to your resolution and give yourself incentives to keeping up your new habit or skill. Make sure your reward is something that you control, though. Your resolution is for yourself, so your reward should be from yourself, too.

5. Make realistic resolutions

Resolutions should be reasonable. Yes, they are supposed to signify a change in your life, but keep in mind that if your resolution is too difficult, then you are likely to quit after a matter of weeks. Ask yourself what you really need to do to keep your resolution and can you use any of the steps in this blog’s list to help you. If you cannot find realistic ways to follow through with your resolution, then you are probably dooming yourself for discouragement and failure.

It sounds like a simple enough task to do. Read over instructions and follow what the words on the page tell you to do. Unfortunately, there are plenty of students who struggle with following directions accurately. Telling your teacher, “I missed that part in the directions,” or, “I didn’t completely understand the directions,” will not fix your grade or create any empathy from your instructor. When it comes to assignments, it is not merely a case of reading the instructions once and starting on your project. Many students fail to complete some step in the prompt that can greatly impact the grade on the project. There is hope, though. With a few simple steps to follow, you can greatly improve your ability to follow directions with great success.

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5. Interpretation.

Unlike high school book reports, college papers require in-depth interpretation of readings at hand. The term close reading is one that doesn’t often come into play in a high school environment, though in college, close reading is the expected norm. Close reading is the careful reading of a text that considers everything from syntax to structure to, basically, everything about the language down to the minutiae of a single word. Not only are college students expected to do close readings of texts, but they are also expected to interpret the text — not just describe what happens. College papers are very much “show, don’t tell.” College writers don’t repeat synopses of chapters in their papers; they interpret the text and only write, in their papers, about ideas, not action.
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So you need to pull an all-nighter because you’ve played video games all week instead of writing your term paper, plus you have four tests tomorrow (none of which you’ve studied for), and it’s now 8PM and you’re in a daze, freaking out, and feeling like you’re going to have a heart attack because you have no idea how to tackle the intense studying and writing that await your attention the night ahead and you have no idea how to get out of it alive?
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