Many employers use internships as a proving ground and a way to assess and train new full-time employees. Internships are an opportunity for students to gain relevant work experience and learn more about a specific job or career field. Internships are also a way for organizations to try out individuals and decide how well they fit in the organization. There are definite things that you can to increase your chances of getting hired or at least ensure that you will get an excellent recommendation once the internship is over.

Here are some tips for making your summer internships a success.

1. Establish internship goals.
2. Find a mentor within the organization who can help you learn quickly to avoid making mistakes.
3. Develop strong professional connections while interning.
4. Work hard and follow employer guidelines regarding work hours and dress code.
5. Ask for additional assignments and projects during down time.
6. Avoid office gossip and politics.
7. Maintain professionalism at all costs (even after hours).

Now that final exams are over, do you know what you are doing for summer? I’ve recently spoken to several students who were still unsure about their plans for summer break. If you are one of these students, how about connecting with family and friends to see if they know of any summer jobs or opportunities for college students? You might also check with previous employers to see if they are looking for summer employees to take on special projects or to fill in for employees on vacation.

If you live in a resort area, there are usually many employers who are seeking help for the summer. Summer camps are also a possibility. What about participating in recreational programs offered for children through the YMCA or local school district? Checking back with employers may uncover some last minute openings due to a change of plans or students who end up quitting at the beginning of the season.

In order to ensure that you get a good reference, make sure you learn about the employer’s expectations in regards to work load, hours, and dress code. Developing goals will help to ensure that your summer job is a success. Whatever you decide to do for summer, you can definitely use this experience to obtain the knowledge and skills employers seek when hiring new employees while also improving your resume.

• How Can I Guarantee That My Internship Is a Success?
• Top Ten Tips for Interns
• Developing Internship Goals

So you’ve spent hours putting together your resume but you’re still not sure if it’s good enough to send out to employers. It is highly suggested that you have someone read over your resume prior to submitting it for potential internships or jobs. It is preferable to have someone who has experience in the field and/or the knowledge and skills required for putting together a good resume.

In addition to misspellings and grammatical errors often found on resumes, having a professional critique your resume will result in recommendations for making your documents more professional and targeted toward a particular career field or area of interest. It will also offer an opportunity to get an objective opinion on how employers might view your resume and if it will result in a favorable impression or not.

You may want to have more than one person review your resume in order to get several different viewpoints and perspectives. In fact, I believe it is preferable to get more than one opinion. Although there is a point where too many cooks can spoil the pot, several critiques can provide useful suggestions for making the resume more effective and professional. My personal opinion is that once you’ve had it reviewed by up to two professionals, you can rest assured that it’s ready to mail out.

• Tips for Writing a Great Resume
• Resume Do's & Don'ts
• The One Page Resume
• Balancing Multiple Resume Reviews

Students who are seeking internships should take time to research companies before sending in their resume and cover letter. Finding reputable companies to apply to for internships provides a better experience as an intern and increases the chances of getting a valuable reference to use for future job searches.

LinkedIn Company Profiles offers an opportunity to find out about new companies and One Day One Job provides a chance for applicants to turn the table on employers who use social networking sites like Facebook

• Researching Companies and Organizations
• Checking Out a Company
• How to Conduct Company Research
• How to Find an Organization Worth Working For

Whenever I do presentations on internships or job shadowing, I like to have students discuss their personal experiences and share them with the group. I find that students are very interested in learning about what other students have done and how that experience has ultimately related to finding a job.

Here we have three college graduates from the class of 2007 share their individual stories on how they found rewarding internships and jobs through Experience, Inc., and how those experiences helped them in landing their first job.

Clint James discusses how he applied for a competition through Experience, Inc. to win a chance to job shadow at Digg.com. Although Clint didn’t win the competition, he was asked to stay on as a blogger which eventually led him to his first job offer.

Lian Chen talks a little bit about the benefit of internships and the internships she received through Experience, Inc.. Lian says that if it wasn't for Experience and their networking abilities with The US Coast Guard, she would have never known about this opportunity.

Brandon Mefford from Muhlenberg College discusses how he received several job offers and landed his first job with the Phoenix Suns/Mercury Road Runners by attending the NBA/Teamwork Online Job Fair in Chicago.

If you're still looking for a summer internship, try checking out some of the listings at Experience, Inc..

• Experience, Inc., Offers "Exclusive Experiences"
• Interview with Jenny Floren, CEO, Experience, Inc.
• What Employers Need To Know To Develop An Effective Internship Program

Experience, Inc., offers a unique bridge that connects college students, alumni, and employers. Founder and CEO, Jenny Floren, offers a glimpse on her perspective of how to best make this connection and how to make it beneficial to both students and employers.

Today's college students enter the job market with enormous expectations. According to Jenny, this generation is the first generation to "grow up" with the internet and this has resulted in enormous changes in the expectations and perceptions of the Millennial generation. The instantaneous gratification experienced by this generation breeds a very different set of values and expectations than those of past generations. Jenny feels that employers must learn to tap into the potential of these students to reap the rewards that they ultimately possess for the future of the workforce.

In the interview Jenny discusses ways for employers and students to come together. She believes that both sides can work together and bridge the gap by making an effort to see each others' perspective. There is much to be gained by employers looking to hire and train students and new graduates to fill the vacant positions within their organizations and there is also much for students to gain by realizing how their demands and high expectations might initiate a negative response from employers.

• What Employers Need to Know to Develop an Effective Internship Program
• Developing an Internship Program
• Employers Best Internship Practices

Image © Experience.com

Hey, you might want to check out One Day One Internship for internships you can't find elsewhere. Each day a new employer is profiled. You can also find information on companies and internships you won’t find on popular internship sites like Monster or Internships.com. This site may be just the one you need to find those last minute gems that have not yet been filled.

Also, speaking of “new” and “different”, have you tried using Twitter (combining social networking and IM) yet? You can keep in touch with friends and make new ones by just answering the question, “What are you doing?” I'm still green at Twitter but you can check out Alison Doyle (About.com's Guide to Job Searching) here. For those of you also interested in job searching, don't miss Alison's About.com to Job Searching.

Willy Franzen from One Day One Internship (and One Day One Job) does an excellent job of posting some of the internships he has found, including those found on Twitter. Just when you think you’ve got yourself covered on all of the social networking sites out there, another new and exciting way to communicate is discovered.

_{Image © One Day One Internship.com}

Additional resources for finding internships:

• How To Find an Internship
• Best Places to Look for Internships
• Top Three Strategies for Finding an Internship

If you are responding to an internship listing online or if an employer asks you to please send in a resume, do you need to include a cover letter as well? My suggestion is to include a brief synopsis of your experience that includes not only an overview of your skills and accomplishments ;but what also makes you a good candidate for the position. It’s important to let the employer know why you want to work for them and what you have to offer.

You can include this information in the body of your email if the company has not asked for a cover letter. This is the only information that a company has intitially on which to make a decision, so why not provide them with all the information you can? Also, remember to follow up within a week to see if they have received your documents and if they need any additional information.

The Day of Silence was started at the University of Virginia in 1996 and has grown into a national day of protest by members of the of the LGBTQ community and allies. The National Day of Silence is about creating safer schools, promoting tolerance and making a positive change that halts discrimination against members of the LGBT community. LGBT students in schools and colleges across the country who experience name-calling, bullying and harassment on a daily basis face enormous challenges that can hinder learning and development of positive self –esteem. This year’s Day of Silence is in memory of Lawrence King, an eighth grader from California, who was shot by a classmate on February 12th of this year for his sexual orientation.

Please support the LGBT community at your college by recognizing and supporting this Day of Silence and by doing your part to putting a stop to hateful behavior and discrimination in this country. Please take this opportunity to join forces with other members of your college community by becoming an ally in support of this National Day of Silence. Today in recognition of the struggles of the LGBT community on our campus, we are wearing ribbons to show our support.

Today I've included information to help college students and new and recent graduates identify resources for finding internships and jobs with gay friendly companies.

• National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• PlanetOut: Money & Careers
• Gay Financial Network

Not convinced you want to do a summer internship? Many students are just not certain about what they want to do during the time they have off from college. A percentage of students plan on traveling or maybe continuing with the same summer job they had during high school. Some students may help out in a family business or may do odd jobs such as lawncare or painting. Oftentimes money may be an issue since many students need to make as much money as possible during the summer to help pay for incidentals and necessities during the school year.

Although the above may all be true, it’s also important for students to begin thinking about their future career and life after graduation. Internships can help you gain knowledge you may not learn elsewhere and they offer evidence to employers that you have real world experience in the field. Internships also help you to make networking contacts that can be used later in your career and in your future job search. Another major advantage is the potential of the internship turning into a full-time job offer since many companies use their internships to pre-screen and train potential new employees.

Many students are able to come up with creative solutions when planning out their summer vacation and may even end up doing both an internship and a job. There are many internships available that do not require students to work full-time. Of course, if you are lucky to find a paid internship (and yes they do exist); you may have the best of both worlds without even trying .

• The Value of Internships
• Three Strategies for Finding an Internship
• How to Find an Internship