I AM INTERN

I came across an interesting article earlier today about tagging and un-tagging photos on Facebook in the UK Daily Telegraph, http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/gen-y-not-look-fab-put-on-your-best-facebook/story-e6freuy9-1225904123524. Did you know that 32% of Gen Y-ers (that’s us) un-tag themselves in photos that are unflattering? I’m not surprised – I’m guilty!

I thought this was an interesting concept to further explore. What exactly are your rules when it comes to tagging and un-tagging?  Students and young professionals who need to be perceived as professionals (which really is everyone right now) need to have that conversation with their friends, the people they hang out with at night, their sorority sisters and fraternity brothers, and even their family – about what is appropriate to not only tag but to upload in the first place.

As a member of Gen Y, I deal with this issue all of the time – it’s not just college students. Young adults need to be careful about how they are portrayed on Facebook. When I spoke about Facebook in 2008/2009 the message was “watch out, you never know who is watching”. The message has changed to emphasize the fact that EVERYONE is on Facebook now. Most of the employers, internship coordinators, and human resource managers I work with are on Facebook – not to mention a majority of my friend’s parents and even grandparents.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone abides by the same Facebook tagging and un-tagging rules? We all have that one friend who tags everything – appropriate or not.

Here are my rules for photos/tagging/un-tagging on Facebook:

1. If I’m doing anything inappropriate in a picture-even making a weird face that could be portrayed wrong-please don’t post it in the first place. I’m a professional now and that’s inappropriate.

2. To avoid sour feelings, if you are hesitant to post a picture of me online, please just email it to me and ask me or just let me post it if I feel the need.

3. Please don’t tag me in pictures where I don’t look good. I understand that everyone on Facebook must post pictures of themselves to make it look like they always look perfect and have the most fun in their life – but if I look gross, just avoid tagging me. Everyone I know doesn’t need to see that pop up in their Facebook feed.

4. Tag me as little as possible. If I feel the need to share a picture with my entire social network – a great  percentage of everyone I’ve ever known in my life – I will tag myself.

5. Please remember the consequences. My current employers and future employers are more than likely on Facebook and active. Baby boomers are the largest growing demographic on the site. Please be cautious. You are supposed to be a “friend”.

6. If I’m feeling self-conscience and un-tag a photo because I don’t like how I look or I think I’m being portrayed incorrectly, don’t get mad at me. I have a right to voice my opinion and click remove tag.

7. If I send you an email asking you to remove tags from photos or just remove a photo in general, don’t give me a hard time. Unfortunately, tagged or un-tagged, your entire network is exposed to whatever I’m doing in that photo. You can send photos around the internet with the click of a mouse and if I feel uncomfortable with that, please respect my feelings. After all, you are my Facebook Friend.

Question: sezon312

@InternQueen after finishing an internship, do i send letters do the president (small co.) or the person who hired me or both?

Answer: Hi Sarah,

Thanks for your tweet. If you work for a small company and have been introduced to the president at one time or another, I do think you should send him/her a thank-you note along with another note to your direct supervisor and any other executives that have helped you over the summer. Below are a few quick Thank You note tips:

1. Either purchase your own stationary or go the store and pick up professional looking Thank You notes in the card section. Get something basic that says Thank You on the front and is blank inside. You should be filling in the inside – not the card company.
2. The inside of the note should thank the employer for the opportunity, reference specific tasks that you enjoyed doing, and mention how you look forward to staying in touch.
3. Sign a Thank You note with “Best” or “Sincerely” unless you and your employer are on an “xo” basis. You are only on an “xo” basis with your employer if they have closed a note to you with that in the past.
4. If you do purchase your own stationary, make sure to keep it simple and classy. When picking it out, think about if you would use the same stationary in 15 years – is it timeless? If the answer is yes, you are probably picking out the right stationary.

Excuse my cough, but listen to my radio show

I cover fall internships, virtual internships, and how employers can properly interview their interns. I speak about my virtual summer interns and how we run our day!

http://recruiterearth.com/forum/topics/the-intern-queen-with-lauren-3

Check out my 8 Tips for wrapping up an internship

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/09/make-a-summer-internships-final-days-pay-off-the-intern-queens-8-tips/

If you are at your internship or job it’s important to bond with your fellow interns and/or co-workers. These relationships can stay with you for your entire career. Just to give you an idea of where some of my internship relationships have ended up – see below:

• Michael Menachem (my intern buddy from Backstage) is now a well-known music writer (http://twitter.com/menoxmusic)
• Alyson Campbell (my intern buddy from the NYU Summer Program) now runs her own PR Firm in NYC (http://twitter.com/alyamp3) Her internships are available on my site!
• Shannon Howard (my intern friend from Fox is now a fabulous comedy coordinator at ABC)
• Rob Forman (another Fox intern friend) is working on the new show Lonestar in Los Angeles.

We were all able to lock in our relationships and stay in touch beyond our internship summers. We are constantly resources for one another and the frienships we’ve created will last a lifetime. And we always have those summer to look back on.

This is your time to lock in your relationships. Hang out with your fellow interns or co-workers outside of the office. You never know when a contact will come in handy and if you can form a friendship out of it – even better!

If your office doesn’t do intern activities – be the one to create them. Put together after hours events where all of the interns can hang out in an environment outside of the office. Check out a baseball game or a hot local brunch spot. Make it happen – you won’t regret it. And as your internships come to an end in the coming weeks, make a note in your calendar to stay in touch with these people, friend them on facebook, keep them posted on what you are doing. I promise, many of them will end up in the same industry and location as you in the future.When I moved out to Los Angeles, the first two people I called were Shannon and Rob (from above). You never know….

This blog post will be short and to the point. Often times, students apply for multiple internships so it’s  expected that they will accept some over others. This is absolutely fine. However, if you are going to take the time to apply for an internship and the employer emails you or calls you about your availability and potentially setting up an interview – REPLY TO THEM.

There is no excuse for not responding to an employer’s email. Just because you cannot accept the internship doesn’t mean that they still aren’t a valuable contact for you. If they took the time to review your resume, take the time to get back to them.

Signing out.  – IQ

As mentioned, you will read several blogs about time management on http://www.internqueen.com. It’s a favorite subject of mine to cover. Everyone needs to be mindful of how they spend their time and other people’s time. In the professional world, people come to work and have limited hours to get everything done. Most internship coordinators are also entry or mid-level employees at a company – meaning they have plenty of extra work in front of them besides just hiring the interns.

As an intern, here are a few rules to follow to make sure you aren’t the cause of any time wasting:

1. READ THE POSTING. Before applying to an internship or job, read the entire posting. Take a moment to soak it in and determine if this is a position you are interested in and would like to apply for.
2. CUSTOMIZE YOUR MATERIALS. I did a blog earlier in the week about Trash Can Resume. Again, don’t waste an employer’s time by sending them materials that aren’t customized for the specific position.
3. BE HONEST. If you get an email from an employer about a potential interview and you know you don’t want the position, email them back and tell them the truth. Be as positive and grateful for the opportunity as possible and explain you are no longer available.
4. ASK QUESTIONS DURING THE INTERVIEW. Make sure you get off the phone or out of the meeting with a clear understanding of your potential employer’s expectations. Ask them to describe a typical day at the internship.
5. RESPOND ASAP. If you are offered the internship, let the employer know if you will be accepting the position ASAP. The longer you wait, the more time you are wasting. Things come up and often times students are offered more than one position. Again, be honest and try to keep up the relationship as best you can.

• I haven’t found an internship that provides interns with alcohol on the job.

• Her uniform would consist of short shorts and Ed Hardy T’s that are cut out in the back – probably not appropriate for the office.

• I’m not sure her self tanner would look right under typical office lighting.

• Will she be able to find “Gorilla Juice-Heads” in the office?

• It’s important to get along with your fellow interns, even if you don’t LOVE them. Could she handle it? How would she treat the “kiss-up” intern?

• She can’t handle the duck phone. Can she handle the office phone?

• On the bright side, she is positive and can be friendly and outgoing…but maybe too friendly and outgoing? Hmm…

Since this is such a serious subject, what are your thoughts?

Lauren Berger For Careerrookie.com

We are officially in Fall Internship Season! Many students don’t pay much attention to Fall Internships but I’m here to tell you to think twice about that.

Read more on my guest blog for CareerRookie.com

http://careerrookie.com/Article/CB-212-Blog-Consider-a-Fall-Internship/

Personally, some of my favorite television shows are on this summer. Many entrepreneurs don’t watch any television and claim it’s a waste of time. For  me, television is two things:

1. An escape from the day-to-day work ups and downs.

2. A great way to pass the time while I’m sending hundreds of resumes a few days per week.

For summer interns, if TV is your guilty pleasure, I hope it can be an escape as well. The question is, what shows are your summer obsessions? As I sit here and watch PRETTY LITTLE LIARS and MAKE IT OR BREAK IT on CW, I can’t help but think – are summer interns watching these shows?

Make me a list of your top 3-5 shows of this summer..can’t wait to read them all.

Intern Queen’s Top Shows of Summer 2010

1. MAD MEN

2. THE BACHELORETTE

3. PRETTY LITTLE LIARS

4. TRUE BLOOD

5. THE RACHEL ZOE PROJECT