Unemployed….for how long?

Well my internship is coming to an end next week. I graduate on May 8^th and will be working at my church’s summer camp till mid-July (that’s a totally different blog topic). Though once my time at camp comes to an end, I haven’t the slightest idea what I will be doing. Since the beginning of this semester, I have tried to use my time and resources wisely to obtain a job upon graduating. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much luck. I have done the usual networking and postings on job sites. I have applied for specific jobs and simply sent my cover letter and resume to various agencies, newspapers, stations, etc. Let’s just say….I’m getting a little frustrated. It seems to me that all the entry-level jobs are being filled with more experienced individuals. This means me moving back home to live with my parents…uh, yeah….not looking forward to that. So, I guess what I am trying to say is….help! What do you suggest I do? Am I missing out on some magic secret to finding a job? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Sincerely,

The unemployed

Have I learned anything at all?

Have you ever sat there in class at the end of the semester and wondered “have I learned anything at all in this class?” Or, “will I ever use what I did learn?” These are the same questions that I am asking myself about my internship this semester. As my time here (at an unidentified yet respectable company) comes to an end, I am beginning to realize that I have learned things….I’ve learned a lot! I will just give you a quick rundown of the things that I feel I have learned this semester.

1. The inner workings of an advertising agency (what goes on exactly and who is responsible for what)
2. How to interact with individuals in a professional environment (not limited to but including emails, phone calls, business meetings, day-to-day interaction with fellow employees as well as bosses)
3. Basic office work (how to fax, back up paperwork, file documents, etc. things you don’t have to enjoy doing but should know how to do anyway)
4. You will be as successful as you want to be (the more effort you put in to the tasks you do and the more determined you are to find things to do, the more successful you will be)
5. Lastly (but certainly not least), I am capable or more that I ever thought (the things I might have thought were pointless in class have somehow made their way back into my life and have shown me just how relevant they are)

I hope with all this, you realize that learning everything you can will help you in the future. What might seem pointless in class will help you in a future internship, and what I am told to do here (no matter how pointless and mundane it might seem) will help me in my future career.

Who are all these people?!

My internship this semester is already more than half over, and I had been thinking a lot lately about what is most important for me to take away from the experience. My boss had been asking me what it was that I wanted to learn while I was there, and I was never able to give her a true answer. I sat down with her and said I would like to learn the stills that she would want to see in a potential employee. What she said surprised me, but made perfect sense. She said you can teach anyone a skill, but it’s the way you interact with those around you and the people you get to know that really helps you to get where you want to be with your career. Since then I have been trying hard to really build relationships with the individuals with who I work. The more contacts that I build the more confident I am that I will be able to find a job after graduation. How long that might take is a whole different question….and a blog topic of its own. So my point would have to be, no matter what it is they have you doing, or how much you hate it, getting to know those around you and building positive relationships will only help you in the long run. It is those individuals that can point you in the right direction of job opportunities and give you the reference recommendations that you need to get there.

Will they all be like the first?!?

Alright, so we’ve talked about how to get an internship and what to expect your first day, but what about every other day after that? Is every day going to be just like the first? From my experience, it will be far from it. The things that I have be given to do are much different than the tasks I was given the first day.

While I still do things like sorting the mail and organizing Nielsen books, I do a lot of other things too. I have been given the chance to work with media buying software such as Smart-Plus and Ad Aid. I have also become more familiar with the use of the Nielsen books, SRDS, media kits, etc. Other things that I feel have been important to me gaining experience is talking with professionals, sending emails, making phone calls, etc. It has taught me what it is like to work in a professional environment.

My favorite thing I have been able to do so far is to sit in on a meeting one of our main media buyers had with a client at KOCO Channel 5. She met with not only representatives from the Oklahoma City area, but also with advisors from the Hearst Corporation headquarters in NYC. It was fascinating to me to be given the chance to be a fly on the wall and to see how discussions in the advertising business go about happening.

In the end, I would just have to advise those looking for internships, or those about to start one, to not get discouraged if the tasks given to you on the first day weren’t exactly what you were expecting. Be checking back in, because next time we’re talking relationships…

so…now what?!

In college, everyone tells you all about the importance of creating a good resume, interviewing well, and how to find internships. We are taught how to find and get one, but not what to expect once we’re actually there. So consequentially, when it came to showing up on my first day of my internship, I had no idea what to think, say, or do. I knew the simple things like what to wear and where to go, but the entire process was simply overwhelming. So I’m going to go through all that happened to me on my first day. From this, hopefully future individuals that find themselves in this situation will gain some reassurance.

When I arrived in my business professional apparel, I went to the elevators and pressed the button for the eleventh floor. I rode it up alone and when the doors opened I found myself in the same waiting area as when I interviewed. I told the receptionist who I was, and who I was here to see. Of course I was nearly twenty minutes early due to my fear of being late on my first day. So, I sat. I sat for twenty minutes…..twenty minutes to think about everything I should or shouldn’t do in order to impress everyone. Finally, my “boss” for lack of a better word, came and led me to what would be my desk for the next three months. She gave me a quick tour of the media department and the remainder of the floor. Then I was given my first task, sorting and filing the enormous pile of mail, newspapers, and magazines that had accumulated since before Christmas.  I did this for easily a couple hours…yes, the pile was that big! After I proved myself capable of doing that task, I was given another. This one would be a little more interesting but hardly more difficult. I was to open the boxes of the newest edition of Nielson books, sort them my month, and then put them in numerical order on an empty shelf.  I actually spent the remainder of the day finishing this task. Let’s just say, when I left the office on my first day, I was thinking this is going to be a long semester.

I understood that I was an intern, but I think I could probably handle more than just mail and sorting. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive when it came to returning the following day. It would prove to be a completely different experience though. So, no matter how you’re first day goes, just understand they are trying not to overwhelm you. More interesting tasks will soon be coming your way. Until then, just relax in knowing they’ve given you a task that’s impossible to mess up (hopefully).

When a College Degree Isn’t Enough…

What happened to the times when simply having a college degree put you ahead of the game? Now, it seems that nearly everyone is graduating with a degree of some sort. Now, to simply be on the same level of everyone else, one must graduate with not only a college degree, but also have experience of some sorts. This brings me to my topic of internships.

Whether paid or not, internships are practically mandatory to have accomplished when trying to find a job after graduation. But how would someone go about finding an internship? What is involved in having an internship? These are the questions college students are asking as they scramble to keep up with the masses of other students vying for the same exact jobs. So through my experience as a student, and as someone currently working an internship this semester, I hope to use my knowledge to help students better understand everything involved.

Through Ad club last semester, I went with a small group to visit an ad agency in Oklahoma City. I was able to see all the inner workings of a well established agency. So, when I received an email from my advisor with information about an available internship position at the same agency this semester, I quickly decided that applying was something I should do. After updating my resumé, writing a cover letter, emailing my application, and driving to Oklahoma City for an interview, I did receive the internship. From the variety of position available, I chose to work in the media department.

Little did I know the scary part was still to come. What would my first day be like? What was I going to do? Would I know how to do it? Would they be nice to me? Or would they treat me just like an intern? These are just some of the many questions they don’t answer in college, and these are just some of the questions I will answer in the following weeks.