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This blog was written by Nina, our Intern Queen Campus Ambassador at Erasmus University in The Netherlands! Nina has traveled all over the globe!

I spent most of November and December applying to universities in the United Kingdom for my masters. It was definitely one of the most stressful things I’ve ever had to do because applying for masters has become so competitive and universities really focus on filtering applications to find the top students. When applying for internships, cover letters are often the most important thing and it’s the same for your masters: you really need to write a great application letter. I never had the top grades, but I had a CV that stood out – I started applying for internships in my first year of my bachelors and I made sure that I did as many as I could. Filling my application letter with the experience gained during my internships was probably a game-changer for majority of the admissions board that reviewed my application letter.

Many universities in the United Kingdom require a CV and state that a CV will only make your application stronger. Students like myself that have trouble regurgitating crammed knowledge in the exam hall need to make up for it with internships because it shows dedication, motivation and extensive time management skills. Some of us are just more practical than theoretical, there’s nothing wrong with that but you need to show the admissions board that you’re not just lazy. Most universities will ask you to write about where you see yourself in five years and how this specific course will help you when starting your career. If you have internships, you can back up virtually anything you write and your application letter will only be better. I know from personal experience that without a masters degree, especially in Europe, you won’t be getting far. Internships won’t only help you getting a job later on, but they’ll definitely help you be the candidate that universities are looking for when applications start piling up in the admissions office.

This blog was written by Steph, our Intern Queen Campus Ambassador from Drexel University.

Tell me about yourself. It’s the first question your employer will ask during your internship interview, but has always been one of the hardest for me to answer. What do they want to know? After almost 20 interviews in the past two years, here’s what I’ve learned about how to get past the first interview question and impress your employer:

• Don’t forget the basics: Make sure to include your major, year and past internships in the first 2 sentences. Even though they have your resume in front of them, it’s still good to highlight the credentials you have right up front.
• Keep the jargon to a minimum: Instead of telling your employer that you’re hard working, dedicated and detail oriented, give them a specific example of a time when you were dedicated to a group project or previous intern assignment. For example, if you increased your media lists by 15% due to research you initiated, highlight that upfront in your speech. It will have the employer asking more and eliminates the “dedicated, hard working” jargon.
• End with a personal touch: While the “tell me about yourself” question is asked in a formal interview setting, it’s also a great way to include something personal about yourself. If you like to run 5ks or follow fashion blogs, let them know!



This blog was written by Saya, our UCF Intern Queen Campus Ambassador. Do you go to UCF and want to be involved? Comment on this blog post and Saya will be in touch!

The search is over and you have landed an interview with your dream internship! Congrats! Take a breath, but now the challenging part is just about to begin.  From the hypothetical work situations, to highlighting your skills and achievements, and being bombarded with questions about your previous work experience is overwhelming. That’s why preparing for the interview is crucial. Here are a few interview prep tips to make your interviewer say, “wow!”

Back to Basics

Your first impression is just important, if not more important, as your last. Taking the extra time to iron your professional attire is a must – your interviewer will notice. Make sure to look clean-cut and nicely groomed with your hair properly brushed before you enter the interview. Give yourself enough time to check yourself one last time in the restroom before you enter the interview. Don’t apply any cologne or perfume for your interview. You never know if the person will be allergic or have it trigger any unwanted emotions.

Come Prepared

It is always necessary to bring extra copies of your resume. Even if the employer already has a copy of your resume, it will show that you are prepared in case you are being interviewed by more than one individual. Create a portfolio with any previous projects you’ve completed (whether in class or for work), references, and letters of recommendation in a nice, professional folder. This will not only give you an advantage to your competitors, but it will give the interviewer a chance to see your skills first hand and see what you are capable of creating. Of course, you can’t forget a pen and notebook for notes!

Spotlight on You

Then comes the question we all dread being asked, “What are your weaknesses?” Your weakness should be answered as a strength that will benefit the employer. Emphasizing on a weakness that you have overcome over your employment history shows that you do have flaws, like everyone else, and you are still being honest. One of the best responses is incorporating these attributes in personal accomplishments. Take a step back and put yourself into the employer’s shoes. If you were the one doing the hiring, what would you want to hear?

Thank You

Take a breather, the stressful part is over! You have finished the interview, now what? Follow up with your employer and send a hand-written “thank you for your time” card. It shows that you are serious about the job offering and they will admire that you took the time to send one.

Use these tips as a helpful cheat sheet for your next interview and just relax, be yourself and you’ll do great! Good luck!

This blog is written by Jessica, our ambassador from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

An important thing for college students to think about is their personal brand. Having a strong personal brand is something that will separate you from your classmates after you graduate and begin looking for jobs. I originally heard of personal branding after I got my first internship at Weidert Group. One of the things that was stressed to me by our internship coordinator was that it is imperative to figure out what makes you unique and to capitalize on it.

So how do you start creating your personal brand? Below are a few tips to help you get started.

Find what makes you unique. Like I said above, everyone has something that makes him or her stand out from the crowd. It may be a special skill or a unique internship experience that you’ve had. Whatever it is, the first step is to identify it and to strengthen it.

Believe in your skill. After you’ve identified what makes you unique, start believing in it! The more that you are confident in your skill set, the more that other people will believe you, too. The biggest part of displaying persuasiveness to your future employer is having confidence in yourself.

Develop a unique resume. This next step is perhaps one of the most important. In order to properly display your uniqueness to employers, it is necessary to create a resume that resonates with your skills and personality. Everything from the font on your resume, to the color in your header, to the way that you layout your information will have an effect on the brand that you display.

Create a personal bio. Just as important as the resume itself is your personal biography. This should be about 3 to 5 sentences long and should be the core of your personal brand. This is the place where you get to show your personality and your skills together. It should be solidly written and should concisely explain who you are, what you can do and where you want to be after graduation.

Expand your brand. The last thing that you should do is expand your brand into all of your social media profiles. This can be as simple as making sure that all of your “about me” descriptions contain your personal bio. By streamlining the information about yourself, you will create a very strong image for prospective employers. Another important part of this step is making sure that all of your social media profiles have links to one another. This will make it very easy for people to find you online and see what you have to offer.

As always, if you have questions on personal branding or anything else related to internships, don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the Intern Queen campus ambassadors.

This post was written by Alicia, one of Lauren’s own interns! She goes to school at Towson University. Alicia is a Mass Communication major (with tracks in Public Relations and Advertising) and an Italian minor.

This week, I will be focusing on my summer internship applications – and I think you should be, too. Most of the agencies I am applying to have deadlines as early as the first week in January, and those deadlines are rapidly approaching. Take the time this week to knock out all of your applications so that you have the rest of your winter break to relax.

For starters, research all of the companies you want to apply to. Make a list of around 15 organizations, big or small, that you want to intern with. While that seems like a lot of companies, it’s better to keep your options open and have multiple offers than to be without an offer for this summer.

When I am looking into companies to intern with, I make an Excel spreadsheet that organizes company information with my application status. For each organization, I list:

• links to the internship application so I can find it easily when I am ready to apply
• notes about the company – including things I like about the culture, practice areas I’d like to work in, clients I want to work with, and most importantly, contact information of anyone I know that works within the company that could put me into contact with the internship coordinator
• application due dates
• date I apply, in case I need to reference it in a follow-up conversation
• company’s response – in some cases, you might be told that you don’t meet the company’s qualifications (I’ve been rejected based on my class standing before, some companies only hire seniors in college in order to hire them after their internship) – but it’s good to note these things so you can apply again in the future
• salary offered – however, you shouldn’t expect many companies to offer paid internships unless they are full time
• interview date – to keep track of when I am scheduled for interviews so I don’t schedule interviews at the same time
• and finally, I have an offer column in case I am lucky enough to be offered multiple internships –this section is particularly helpful if you are looking into internships for which the time commitment is only a few hours per week; that way, you can accept multiple internships at different companies

Organizing your internship applications will really help you stay on track to land your dream summer internship(s). Good luck with your internship search and remember: any company would be lucky to have you as an intern!