Internships vs. Jobs

            A question that has come up almost daily between my friends and I is: if I get offered an internship for this summer, should I take it?

           

            I have been struggling with this question myself. It’s difficult because we are all told that when you graduate college you should have a job, plans for a future job, or maybe grad school in the fall. I know some of us will leave High Point with clear direction of at least the next year but for some of us not so much. The scariest thing about internships after graduation is the unknown. What if they do not hire you after you spend an entire summer working for them? And if they don’t, what is next?

            Recently I have had an interview for a summer internship. During my interview they had told me that they do usually hire interns but its not guaranteed. Basically if you work hard and fit into their company then they will probably hire you come August.

           

            At the start of my job search I was 100% I neeeeeeed a job after graduation now, not so much. I have come to terms and almost decided that I do want an internship after graduation. I’m thinking about it this way; I am only 21 how am I really supposed to know exactly where I want to work, where I want to live, what I want to do? I only really have ideas of all those things. I think accepting an internship, for those of you who are scared, is actually a good thing. Not only does the company want to make sure they like who you are and how you work for them, this is your chance, as someone who is deciding their life, to pick where you want to be. You are allowed to go to an internship and realize you don’t want to work there in the future (and that’s okay) but when you sign a contract with a company you probably will not be allowed to make that decision a month in to working there. Take those three summer months to see if YOU can see yourself working there. Don’t let this decision be all on the people in the company, it’s your life! Choose what you want to do and who you want to be.

            So you spend all summer with this company and at the end they decide not to hire you or you decide you don’t want to work for them. What’s next? DON’T panic! During your summer internship you should continue keeping an eye out for other job possibilities this means you don’t have to go completely back to square one. Add the internship experience to your resume and move on. There will never be a time when there are no jobs open anywhere. DON’T panic!  You will find a job!  It will happen for all of us J

Interview questions

Yesterday I had another interview with one of the leaders in the social media world. This interview was for a summer internship that would potentially turn into a job at the end of it. This would be an amazing opportunity if it works out.

What I want to talk about today is challenging interview questions. For this position I would be working closely with important clients but also with a team from the company. For this reason you have to be able to work with multiple different people and multiple different opinions. During the interview, I was asked the question “Was there ever a time where you and your boss from your previous internship disagreed on a certain thing and how did you work through it?” At that moment I was thrown a little off guard. Its not like I didn’t prepare for this interview but at that moment my brain was so scrambled that I couldn’t think of an exact time. If I could have taken a few minutes to really think about my four working months then I could have easily given her an answer but I was stumped. Luckily I pulled something and was able to answer the question.

We all know how to answer the basic question “Tell me about yourself” “If you can describe yourself in three words what would it be?” “Tell me about your previous experience”. We prep for these questions, so when we are asked we already have a set answer.  I did a little research about hard interview questions, just so I can be more prepared next time.

Here are some questions that I found to be tough.

- Why should I hire you?

            Most people don’t think about this most basic question. It makes sense though; you are applying for a position, why should they take you? To answer this question you really need to do some research, about the company and about yourself. Tell them exactly why you would fit into this position, maybe because of who you are or some of your experiences.

- Tell me one thing you would change about your last job?

            Do not go and bash your previous employment or boss, people talk and it could go around. I would turn this question into not what you wanted to change but something your looking for in this new job. Something that you want to see happen in this job that didn’t happen in your last.

- What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?

            This one you just have to be prepared for and have an answer. It’s a good one though; I don’t even think I could answer it right now.

- What is your greatest weakness?

            This one is tough; we all want to say “My greatest weakness is that I am a perfectionist!” Using a strength and turning it into a weakness is well weak. Talk about a true weakness and what you are doing to overcome it. Honesty is better in this situation.

I hope this helps all of you out there doing interviews! I know for my next interview I will be more prepared to answer the tougher questions.  

Coming back from an AWESOME spring break in Florida I have realized that we are approaching graduation at a scary pace! So I decided to make a to do list of fun things to finish before I graduate


TO DO:
1. Rent a bike from Slane and ride around on campus on a beautiful day!
2. Spend an entire day hanging out around campus and avoiding my room.
3. Try something new at all eating locations on campus.
4. Walk to and from class on every nice day.
5. Watch a movie in the UC Cinema
6. Run around campus!
7. Complete a bar crawl


Any suggestions that I should add to my list!?!

70 DAYS

70 DAYS. This is what someone told me the other day… 70 DAYS. That is it.

It’s hard to think about. Growing up I could remember the first signs of spring coming around and I would start my countdown to the last day of school. I’m originally from New Jersey so spring was more like May, but here in North Carolina it is early March and it is 74 degrees out! I know I can’t start wearing my summer dresses and put away my coats just yet, but when you have that first day of nice weather you know spring cannot be that far away. Spring makes everyone happy, animals AND people come out of their caves in the spring. One by one you start to see people putting on their bikinis or swim trunks and lay out by the pool! This time of the year is my absolute favorite. This year will probably be one of the first years that I will say summer… can wait. I will not be counting down the days and I will not be excited. The idea of graduation coming up does not sit well with me and gives me a wee bit of anxiety.

Mother nature needs to slow down the days and up the heat!

SENIOR NIGHT

A night full of happiness, tears, and a lot of lasts!

Senior night was this past weekend and I do not think I could have fit any more activities into one night. The night started at the High Point University Men’s Basketball last home game. Not only was it the men’s senior night but it was also the amazing High Point University Dance Team’s senior night ;). Honestly I have been excited for this game but dreading it since freshman year. This was a special night for me because it was a time where us seniors, my best friends since the second week of school, got to dance on our own. The five of us have been planning this dance since we first thought of the idea a few years ago; the dance was to “Last Dance” by Arianna Grande. A classic song with a 2015 twist!

Last Dance by the seniors on the HPU Dance Team 

 

After receiving our awards we raced back home to get ready for the second part of our night. This is the second year HPU is doing it; the Onyx Ball is a formal dance for the senior class. The ball is more like a prom but only for the seniors, you can’t bring someone younger or someone that does not go to this school. The Onyx Ball was a night to remember, everyone looked absolutely gorgeous and killed it on the dance floor. It was honestly so fun to dress up and dance all night with my friends!

I would say overall that the night was one to remember! It went by so fast that there was not enough time to realize how many lasts there really were. I am just thankful we all got to spend it together. The first of many senior events!

SNOW DAY

My favorite thing about a snow day is that no matter your age you still become that super excited 7 year old whose wearing their pj’s inside out and flushing ice cubes down the toilet. That 7 year old that waits up for the first sign of snow or runs to the phone at 6 am to hear that schools cancelled. Now that I’m a little grown up its more like checking my email first thing in the morning to see if we have classes or not… close enough!

So in honor of this snow day I figured I would write about my favorite snow day activities :) why not???

1.     Sleep in: who doesn’t like to get the email that there is no class! You read that email and then go back to bed for the next 3 hours!

2.     Make hot cocoa: Its actually freezing out there and I’m going to warm up with some delicious hot chocolate DON’T forget the marshmallows

3.     Catch up on my TV shows: I have all day to do absolutely nothing and I’m going to take advantage of that by catching up with all my favorite shows I missed this week. (Scandal, Revenge, Red Band Society, Bachelor)

4.     Eat junk food: all that leftover Valentine’s Day candy that’s collected in my house will be in my stomach by the end of the day…. I just can’t help it (feel free to come over and eat it for me)

5.     Watch Frozen: I am not ashamed to say Frozen is my favorite snowy day movie and that I’m 21. What?? It’s a great movie!

6.     Go sledding: Snow and a sled; that’s all you need to have an awesome time!

Snow days are the best! We better enjoy it; this is our last year of a real snow day. When you have a job and it snows…you still have to work, you just do it from home! So I am going to enjoy my potentially last real snow day! I hope you enjoy yours too!

The first of many interviews...

11:45 PM: Pre Interview

This is so last minute that I’m freaking out. Did I prepare enough? Do I have questions to ask him? They always ask about your flaws, what are mine?

I spent the night before not only studying for a huge test but also studying a huge organization. I started with their website, saw what they did and who the key players are. I also took the time to go to the press releases and read the most recent ones to know what was going on in the organization in the last few weeks. Since I want to work in social media, I then stalked them on every social media platform. This huge organization had a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Blog, Tumblr, and Vine.  A little overwhelming but it really is so important for organizations to have a strong presence on social media. Another thing that was extremely important was looking at the interviewer’s LinkedIn. This is important not only to see what he does and what work he has done to get in that position but also he will get notified that I was on his page, showing that I did my research.

WISH ME LUCK!

2:00 PM: Post Interview

It went well…or at least I thought it went well! It was over the phone so I was prepared and set up in a quiet room. It took about 30 minutes and we just talked about what he does, about my experience. The main thing I got out of the phone call was how different social media is working for a small organization rather than a huge one. I did not realize that they could have about 10 people working behind the scenes! Although I had no real offer it was definitely a learning experience and fingers crossed I can apply for a job opening there over the next few months.  

I also cannot forget the musts of the post interview process… thank you emails! I’m going to do those right now!!!!