3 Things Interns Should Do Before Heading Back to Campus

3 Things Interns Should Do Before Heading Back to Campus3 Things Interns Should Do Before Heading Back to CampusSummer internships are excellent opportunities for college students to acquire valuable skills, collaborate with experienced professionals and expand their network. With summer winding down and students returning to campus, it is an ideal time for interns to take a few extra steps to capitalize on their work experience. Here are three impactful things you should do before you leave work and head back to school.See The Top 10 Intern Mistakes.First, prepare for a review. While many formal intern programs offer a review process, many small-to-midsized companies dont always plan on an end-of-summer review for their interns. Just as you get grades after each test and for each course in school, a review at the end of an internship is a key learning tool. If you work for a company that offers a review, ask if there is a standard format of the review and what things you should be r eady to discuss. You can also ask peers and colleagues for any advice on what to prepare. If you work for an employer that doesnt offer a standard review, request one. In general, reviews should cover your performance (both technical and soft skills), opportunities for growth and allow time for additional questions and answers. It can be helpful to pull your original job description and assess your performance as well as document any key projects or initiatives of which you took part. Be sure to notlageenzeichen any areas you would like to learn more about, so that you can ask for suggestions on how to continue your growth. If you have performed well, you can ask about future roles with the company. If you sense your performance was lacking but you would like to leave on good terms, think through what you have learned from your challenges and what you can do to correct them in the future. While it may not land you a job at that company next summer, it may be the reason your manager is willing to recommend you for something else in the future. See 8 Ways Millennials Can Build Leadership Skills.Next, determine who can be a business reference for you (and what they will say about you). This is why a review is helpful you know exactly where you stand. If you are confident in your performance, you should ask at least two managers if they would be willing to be a reference for you and what their preferred method of contact is for future requests. If you are lucky enough to have multiple choices for references, look for people with good tenure and the highest-level title who can totenstill speak personally about you. If you are unsure of your performance, this is a little trickier. You should still ask a couple of managers or more senior colleagues if they can be a reference. You may also want to ask them what they would recommend you continue to work on for future career success. A potential reference who gives you a long list of ways to improve is probably not som eone who will sing your praises on a reference call. A manager who gladly says they will help you and gives you only one or two pointers might be a safer bet. If someone goes into an explanation regarding the companys policy prohibiting references or how difficult it is to get in touch with them, that is a clear sign that this person is not going to be a good reference for you. It may sound obvious, but do not give out the name of a reference unless you know that they will say good-to-great things about you. It does not pay to gamble with your choice of references.Finally, update your resume and LinkedIn now. Before you leave work is the best time, because your responsibilities and impact are more fresh in your mind. Additionally, you can ask current work connections if they would be willing to give you feedback on your depiction of your internship before you add it to your resume and LinkedIn profile. Often, interns will just list their job description as the update. It is highly p referable to prioritize the tasks that are most professionally relevant and accomplishments that are most valuable. Also, selecting concise but action-oriented wording can really improve the messaging. Asking your work colleagues to edit this update is a high-impact way to remind them of your accomplishments and to ensure you have created a compelling description. See 16 Things Youre Doing All Wrong on LinkedIn.Hopefully, your summer internship was a rewarding and educational experience. To fully leverage the power of an internship, take time for a review, set up your references and make updates to your resume and LinkedIn profile while everything is still in the front of your mind. With these three steps, you will be ready to go for fall career fairs and subsequent interviews on campus without the last-minute scramble to be prepared.

How to Brand Yourself and Increase Your Chances of Getting Hired

How to Brand Yourself and Increase Your Chances of Getting HiredHow to Brand Yourself and Increase Your Chances of Getting HiredJob seekers who want to break into a new role in 2019 need to think hard about the image (or brand) they project to employers.Building a strong professional brand that is aligned to the companies or industries you wish to work for will absolutely increase your chances of getting hired.You need to assume that any recruiter that you approach is going to research you online, so you should have pillars in place that reinforce your skills, expertise and interest in your desired field.Meanwhile, by branding yourself through online content and engagement, you may even draw an audience of followers, including recruiters who are interested in your profile.How do you go about branding yourself? Heres a three-step strategy to follow.1.Develop Your Own Website and BlogIf you want to brand yourself as an expert, you need a way to showcase your past work and current ideas . A website or blog is the perfect medium.Just about every company uses a website as a central tool for brand-building. You should do the same.Dont worry, nowadays building your own website, with your own personalized URL, requires little to no technical knowledge. Wix, SquareSpace and Wordpress are just a few the most popular platforms people use.The advantage of having your own professional website is that it can house a wide range of content that is relevant to employers. Plus the site alone can be used as evidence of your skills tech-savviness, eye for design, etc.Having a website that includes a well-written bio and updated resume/CV will allow employers to find you online. Plus there is a growing trend of recruiters asking candidates for creative job applications. Sharing a link to a personal website where you customize content to a specific job type is bound to impress.Having a blog integrated into your website can be a major boost to your professional brand. Through a blog, you have the opportunity to write about what matters to you and demonstrate your knowledge of particular issues in order to impress employers.For example, if you are passionate about sustainable technology and your goal is to work in the field, then blog about it. Tap your thoughts and creativity and produce content on topics that are dear to you. Then, make sure you point employers to this content during the recruitment process.DOs and DONTs of Creating a Personal Website/blog that Appeals to RecruitersDOsSet a clear focus niche for your blog based on your career goalsProduce timely, original contentIntegrate with social media channels DONTs Get sloppy (strive for consistent design and error-free content)Be too negative or political with blog postsForget to include contact info (phone, email, etc.)2.Harness Social MediaSocial media has a bearing on your professional brand whether you like it or not.The vast majority of recruiters screen candidates by searching them online and revie wing their social media profiles. What will they dig up on you?You may not want to use social media for strategically positioning yourself as an expert in a specific field. But you absolutely will want to make sure that any of your active profiles dont hurt your chances of getting hired.At the very least, every job searcher should do their own audit of their social media channels and determine what content employers might see. Change your privacy settings if needed.However, ensuring a clean online presence is the bare minimum that you can do using the power of social media. By embracing its many sharing and networking functions, you can cement yourself as a thought leader and get your message in front of those who make hiring decisions.For example, social media gives you plenty of channels for sharing news and content from your website or blog. As mentioned above, integrating social media with a personal website or blog is a must as it allows you to promote your site to your network .If you dont have a blog or website, then you can still share your opinions through social media. Twitter, after all, is a micro-blogging platform, while LinkedIn is a common medium for self-publishing longer-form articles.When you are totally immersed in a particular field, chances are you come across all kinds of interesting content that may be valuable to like-minded people. Share itSharing content with your network by posting links to articles and videos is a way of proving you are engaged in specific issues. There is also the added benefit that if you share or comment on other peoples content, they will reciprocate or engage with you.As a job seeker, following the companies you want to work for through their social media channels offers many opportunities to express your interest in them. You can essentially become a superfan of these companies by consistently commenting on or sharing their content.The benefit of becoming a superfan is that you are always up to speed with what the company is doing, giving you in-depth knowledge of their operations. This knowledge can then be used to write an amazing cover letter or letter of interest, and you may rely on it during job interviews.Of course, social media has also become a popular tool for soliciting jobs. The obvious example is LinkedIn where you can identify recruiters and connect with them directly. But identifying opportunities through facebook inc and Twitter can also prove effective.Regardless of the platform, when you connect with companies through social media, their first impression of you will be based on the brand youve built and expressed using your accounts.DOs and DONTs of Professional Branding Through Social MediaDOsStrive for consistency across social platforms (usernames, headshots, etc.)Include your resume summary on your social profiles (especially for LinkedIn)Share content that people in your target industry might find valuableJoin Facebook and LinkedIn groups relevant to your industryFo llow and comment on content from targeted employersReach out to recruiters to ask for informational interviews DONTs Use unprofessional usernames or photosForget to edit all content before postingBe offended by critical comments from others keep any responses professionalSpam online groups with your resume/CVComment on absolutely everything a company posts give your replies substanceAsk recruiters for jobs through social media3.Engage ElsewhereHaving your own website and an active social media presence will help you get noticed amongst recruiters.But if you want to go even further in establishing your name and building your professional brand, you can look for other engagement opportunities.Your goal is to make it known to as many people as possible that you have something to offer skills or expertise in a particular area.Go to industry networking events in your field. Better yet, dont just attend, see if you can participate in panel discussions or speaking opportunities.Try to ge t published in industry publications, newspapers or online. Many media outlets crave well-informed content that expresses strong opinions about current issues. Be prepared to encounter some resistance from editors, but keep pitching your writing.You can always resort to self-publishing on your blog, or other platforms that attract talented writers looking to express themselves, like Medium.com.These tactics may not spring you to stardom, but they will still help you build name recognition within industry circles. And the people in those circles are the ones who will hire you.

Survey This is the most fun city in the country

Survey This is the most fun city in the countrySurvey This is the most fun city in the countryNew data from WalletHub shows thatLas Vegas, NV has been named the most fun city in the country, with a score of 70.37 out of 100.Want to know how the company came up with the rankings?WalletHub took a look at 182 American cities (including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state), in terms of three factors Nightlife Parties, Entertainment Recreation and Costs. The company then analyzed those in terms of 65 other factors before eventually giving each city a total score out of 100. It also used information from the U.S. Census Bureau, among many other sources.Here are the Top 10 most fun cities in the nationDid yours make the cut?1) Las Vegas, NV (total score 70.37)2) Orlando, FL (total score 61.31)3) New York, NY (total score 55.29)4) Atlanta, GA (total score 54.11)5) Miami, FL (total score 53.53)6) Chicago, IL (total score 51.38)7) Portland, OR (total score 50.53)8) San Francisco, CA (total score 50.44)9) New Orleans, LA (total score 49.43)10) San Diego, CA (total score 48.89)As for the least fun city, Pearl City, HI came in last(182) with a score of 17.55.Heres how the cities compare to each otherThe infographic goes into great detailHeres how to travel the right wayDr. Jennifer Fowler, Associate Professor of Economics and Music Business at Belmont University in Nashville, told WalletHub about how travelers can enjoy themselves while cutting costsShe recommends visiting local spots that have no or nominal entry fees (e.g., museums, zoos, other venues such as the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville).Fowler also suggests seeking a variety of activities, restaurants, shopping for all ages, within a reasonable distance from each other when deciding on a city thats both enjoyable and not too pricey.While where you travel is ultimately up to you, one things for sure you certainly have a variety of places to choose from across the country, depending on what you want to do.