I AM INTERN

Have an internship interview coming up ? Do you want to make sure you are prepared ? Check out these REAL questions that come from REAL internship coordinators on www.quarterlife.com/intern. Print this out and use as a practice ! Good luck !

Note: I will update this list frequently.

Common Interview Questions for Internships

(Internship Coordinator at Nu Image Films)

What is your long term goal in the industry?

(Internship Coordinator at Nu Image Films)

What are some of your favorite movies and why ?

(Internship Coordinator, Polsky Films)

Give me a logline for your favorite film – as if you are selling it to me ?

(Internship Coordinator, Polsky Films)

What is your biggest weakness and why ?

(Lauren Berger, The Intern Queen)

What is your strongest attribute that you really bring to the table ?

(Lauren Berger, The Intern Queen)

What kind of tasks would you like to be involved with ?

(Lauren Berger, The Intern Queen)

If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be ?

(Lauren Berger, The Intern Queen)

Can you recall a situation where you were a leader ?

(Lauren Berger, The Intern Queen)

If you commit to this internship, what does that mean to you ?

(Lauren Berger, The Intern Queen)

What is it that you want to do within the industry ?

(Internship Coordinator, Intrepid Pictures)

Are you bothered by profanity in movies ?

(Internship Coordinator, Jinks/Cohen Productions)

What do you know about the company ?

(Internship Coordinator, Imax Corporation)

What interests you about working in this industry ?

(Internship Coordinator, Imax Corporation)

 Helpful Links

AdHoles Weblog: http://adholes.com/postings/d2d66d27f4e95147cfb3297cfe77e96d

I wanted to take a moment to let interns know what they should expect during the first few days/weeks of their internships. A misconception that many students have is that they will be VERY BUSY at all times. Here are some tips that I put together:

• EXPECT lots of downtown. Just as you are getting used to the new job, new tasks, new hours – the company and your boss is getting used to you. They might not be used to having an extra hand around the office so everyone needs time to adjust.
• Don’t get frustrated after the first few hours on the job or internship because you aren’t given anything to do. Just wait patiently and give yourself and those around you the opportunity to get situated.Be prepared to outside your comfort zone in plenty of professional and social situations. High school isn’t over quite yet ! Be prepared to find new friends to lunch with and to explore the different social circles in the workplace.
• Be patient while the LEARNING CURVE takes its course. Even though the people around you are used to the day-to-day in your new office doesn’t mean everything will click right away. It takes time to learn each companies individual systems in and around the office. Everyone keeps track of things like emails, phone sheets, and databases in different ways. Give yourself a break if you don’t get it right away.

• Extra  It’s a NEW job. You don’t have to love it the first day and most likely you won’t. Don’t be so hard on yourself and make sure to give yourself credit and take the proper time to adjust.  

What To Do and What NOT To Do During Your Internship

During the first week of an internship, you should arrive on time. An email should be sent to your hiring manager asking about parking, food, dress, etc one week prior to your first day at the job.

If you are sitting at your desk with nothing to do you should approach your employer and ask if there is anything you can do to help. If they don’t need help ask if there is anyone else in the office you can help.

Whenever you meet someone in passing, you should introduce yourself. If you are in the breakroom with others don’t be afraid to extend your hand and meet everyone around you. When you go back to your desk write down their name. If you aren’t sure of their last name try to look on your company directory and figure it out. Once you know the person’s first and last name, try to get their email address. Keep this information stored so that at the end of your internship or job you have all of your contacts properly stored .

Whenever your boss calls you into their office, go in with a pen and paper. NEVER go in their office without a pen and paper. This shows that you take your job seriously and that you begin each task with a sense of urgency and importance.

·         Don’t sit on Myspace, Facebook, or LinkedIN while on the job. Make it a point to keep your personal social activities separate from work.

·         Don’t give close friends your work email account. Have them email your personal account. This will help you to separate your work from your play.

My good friend and Twitter Pal, Patrick, at STA Travel, let me know about the amazing contest they are running for 2 LUCKY interns to win ! If you need more information let me know and good luck – this would be an amazing opportunity for all of you. Here is what Patrick said:

We are offering quite possibly the best internship to come across your desk. Free travel to 15 countries in 3 months for 2 interns. All of the details are at www.statravel.com/wti. All people have to do to apply is submit a video about why they are the best choice.

I’m so excited for one of my students, Jenna, who has a big interview with a fashion magazine that I set her up with in NYC ! She wrote me today to ask how she can best prepare for the interview. Here are a few internship interview pointers I put together:

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Take an evening and plan to study up on the company you are interviewing with. First, find the company website – most WILL have websites. Study the “About us” tab on the company website. You want to be familiar with when the company was founded and who the founders/leaders of the company are.

2. KNOW THE MISSION. Become familiar with the company mission statement. This information can be found on the company website. You want to slightly reference the mission statement of the company in your interview. If they ask why you think you should work with the company you can say, “Well, I am familiar with the company’s mission to ________ and I’m interested in ______which goes hand in hand with the company goals. (or something like that).

3. GOOGLE ‘EM. Play around on  Google.com and search “News Results” and the company name. You want to be familiar with any recent news that the company has been involved with. You also want to be familiar with their clients and any recent projects they are working on. If any names/topics are “off limits” you will most likely find out from a news article on the subject.

4. PICK OUT YOUR CLOTHES. As if it is the first day of school, your clothing for the interview should be prepared beforehand. You want to dress the part. If the company is extremely formal than you should dress like you already work there. You never want to go TOO casual. If you aren’t sure what to wear – always go with a simple suit – for both guys and girls.

5. SPEAK SLOWLY. Don’t talk the interviewers ears off. Speak slowly and clearly and don’t let your nervous energy speed up your pace.

6. SHOW YOUR PASSION. You want to go into this WANTING this job more than anything. Your passion and excitement needs to shine through. If they ask you if you’ll have trouble handling a task, the answer is “NO, I understand that I need to start somewhere and that I can learn something from any situation. This is what I want to do and I can’t see myself doing anything else.” An employer WANTS someone with a positive attitude and not someone that is going to roll their eyes with every task. This is an internship – you are going to have to do things that aren’t that glamorous. You are starting from the bottom

Hey interns, internship coordinators, and friends ! I’m not going to attempt to use TWITTER as often as possible. If you have any special requests or suggestions on apps I should be using for it – please let me know ! I’ll be updating my status frequently and giving daily internship advice during the week ! Thanks ! My name on Twitter is INTERNQUEEN if you want to follow my updates !

Lauren Berger – The Intern Queen

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone at the EXTREME ENTREPRENEUR TOUR for making the experience such a valuable one! Myself and 4 others went to Marshalltown, Iowa to speak to students about being an entrepreneur. It was my first “traveling” speaking gig so it was very exciting. I have pictures that Jake Sasseville (THE EDGE WITH JAKE) and I took on top of the RV and also some pictures of me speaking. After Marshalltown Community College we stayed in Des Moines for the night and then I went over to Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa. I spoke with 4 groups of students and it went really well ! That’s all for now. Enjoy the pix. – Lauren

My eyes are closed but that's me at the event !

Attention Students !! I want you to go to your computers right now and change your email addresses to something professional that doesn’t make your email A. Look like spam B. Look like you are a pornstar C. Look young and immature. Your email should be some version of your name and I suggest you get a gmail account. Hotmail accounts are blocked from some individuals accounts because of the spam factor. You can always keep your screen name that you’ve had forever. Mine is still Princessl84@aol.com. However, you must work and send your resumes from an email account that looks dignified and professional. I don’t want to see anymore resumes being sent to me from “BeachBaller” or “IluvNelly” – remember, your email address is a reflection of your future. Make it look nice and represent you properly.

Check out the new internships listed on www.quarterlife.com/intern. So far, we have over 200 students involved with our programs.

xo Lauren “The Intern Queen”

The launch of our intern pages was today and it went very well. The internships and opportunities pages seem to be well-recieved by our users. I hope that everyone tells all of their friends about the wonderful opportunities we have. My goal is to place all of you in amazing internships and to give these great companies wonderful interns! If we work together in our creative community, I’m sure we can make this happen. The more response we get, the more companies we can add – this will help make us a solid resource for “Everything Intern”.

Today I’m adding some great companies like GK Films, Sony Digital, and more ! Check our listings to see what is new with the Quarterlife Internship Program. I’ll work late tonight to find even more great opportunities for students!

AUGUST 1st 2008

Welcome to the Quarterlife Internship Program Powered by The Intern Queen – that’s me! I’m so excited to tell you all about the different features and opportunities we are putting together for you. First off, when you go to our page you will see a section filled with Internship Listings. Click on the listings that interest you, read the information on the company, and then email me with your resume attached. If you need a cover letter or additional materials I will email you back and instruct you what to send me. I’ll let you know when I receive your materials and we will stay in contact about the internship. I will let you know as soon as any acceptance or rejection letters come in. If you have ANY questions about your internship – please email me at internqueen@quarterlife.com and I’ll answer all of your questions as soon as possible.

We are launching the site on Monday with over 60 internship listings. Because we are brand new, most of the listings are entertainment related (that’s our field) and many are in Los Angeles and New York areas. We are NOT limited to these areas or to this field. We are working hard every day to expand our range and bring you more companies in more cities across America. Keep checking back with our site and if there is a specific area you’d like us to work more on – email me all of your suggestions.

Interested in publishing ? Check out our fall internships with several different magazines. We currently have listings from Good HouseKeeping, Unique Homes, GQ, Rolling Stone, I Do For Brides, and more.

Want to make movies ? We are extremely happy with the entertainment listings that we have ready for you. Find companies like Universal, Sony Pictures Television, The Weinstein Company, The Donnors’ Company, Lionsgate, and more !

Also, for our launch I interviewed internship coordinators from a few different companies and even an intern or two ! Check that out in the INTERVIEWS section. I’ve also been recording some great Internship Advice in a VLOG format that is available HERE.

Keep your thoughts, comments, suggestions coming my way – I’m very excited to hear them all. And most importantly – if you know ANYONE looking for an Internship or looking for interns – send them to the Intern Queen.

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday for our launch !