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This is a guest post from Campus Ambassador Melinda Price from Miami University of Ohio.

Since internships are a valued experience for your future employer, it’s pretty much expected you’ll have some experience upon college graduation. However, holding an internship during your college career can be a challenge to work around.

Between classes, extra-curricular activities, office hours, a social life, and sometimes a paid job, when in the world will you have the time to commit to an internship? The answer for some people, including myself, is a virtual or online internship. This type of internship works around your schedule and you can do it on your own time.

For example, I am currently an editorial intern for Pretty Young Professional. The start-up website is aimed at young, professional women who are looking for career and life advice pertaining to subjects related to women. My job in particular for the company is creating content, editing, generating ideas for new topics, social marketing for the site, and I work closely with the founding team. But I do it all from my own college room.

The articles that I edit and write are generally due within a week, but I can do them whenever I find time in my schedule. For the most part, this means I do my internship assignments in morning when I’m not in class, in my breaks between classes, or after I get home from work at night.

A lot of online internship employers are also willing to have some kind of flexibility with deadlines. Since they are hiring college students, your boss will realize that you have a lot on your plate and can give allowances. Also, they don’t care when you work on it, as long as it is done in a timely manner.

Another advantage of an online internship is that all the resources you need are on your computer. Not only is this really convenient because most students today haul their laptops around anyway, but you can work from anywhere with an internet connection.

Since everything is on your computer, it is important to back up your files with a flash drive or other device. It might make for an angry employer if you lose necessary content.

One important thing to note when looking into an online internship is your phone and email etiquette. Since a lot of your contact with your boss, co-workers, and potential clients will be via email and phone, it is important to note that you are being professional in your conversations. Make your voicemail message one that you want employers to hear and your email content worth reading.

Many times, in a virtual internship is a special skill to know the social media language. Candidates for virtual internships (and all jobs) have an advantage when they are fluent in using new media. My advice is to create a Twitter or Facebook, if you don’t have one already, to test the waters so this area will not be your weakness.

Holding a virtual internship does have some requirements, but is a great option for someone who can’t find time to hold a full-time internship but want to gain some experience in their field. This will also signal to future employers that you are familiar with being professional in your communication and have knowledge of the online world.

This is a guest post by our campus ambassador Cari Buchwald from University of Georgia.
Following up after you have applied to an internship is not something that anyone wants to do. Let’s face it: no one wants to come off as an annoying, pushy student who is desperate for an internship. However, follow ups have the ability to make an employer take a second look at your information, causing them to reevaluate you as a candidate and even give you a further opportunity. Here are a few tips for how to use a follow up to show that you are an interested and capable candidate:

1) Remember to Say “Please” and “Thank You”

Being polite is absolutely vital in a follow up. Doing so allows the employer to see you as a mature individual who is appreciative and pleasant to work with.

2) Don’t Beat Around the Bush

The follow up is not the place to give the employer information concerning your capabilities; they already have received your resume and cover letter. This is your time to be honest and straightforward about why you want the position and how strongly you are interested. After all, employers want capable individuals who are highly passionate about the internship.

3) Resume, Resume, Resume

For whatever reason, the employer may have misplaced or lost your information. In the follow up, you should always reattach your resume so that it will be right in front of them when they receive your email. If it is easily accessible to view, they will have no choice but to take a second look at your resume.

4) Don’t Be Discouraged

The follow up does not always guarantee a further opportunity with the company; sometimes they have already selected another candidate or are looking for someone else. However, don’t let this discourage you from writing follow ups. Following up makes you stand out, which is helpful if you are interested in the company and want to apply to future positions.

This is a guest post from campus ambassador Paola Reyes from University of Texas at Austin.

As a college student, time seems to pass by faster than ever, sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by how much work I have to do and how little time I have on my hands. Adding an extra weight such as an internship makes things even more complicated sometimes. Below are some helpful tips that I have found useful to help me spend my time more wisely with school work and chores.

1. The Study Buddy

Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr are three social media websites that nobody should miss out on, but at times you end up spending more time on them than you initially planned. Sometimes you can even find yourself switching your concentration from your homework to Facebook and this is never effective. One thing I find useful is to have a friend or classmate study at the same time as me, that way there is less temptation to distract myself on something else. If this doesn’t work other effective study buddies are some of the self control apps on the internet that you can download for free to block these websites while you do your homework.

2. Make a Schedule

Plan your days ahead of time! Make a check list of the things you have to do the day before then do one thing at a time the next day and check them off as you go. This will keep you oriented on a certain chore instead of doing a little bit of everything as the day goes along. A calendar is also very useful when making a schedule of what you need to do during the month, you could color code it according to how urgent it is for example red for urgent, green for recreational, and blue for daily activities.

3. Set your Goals

Know what you want and reach for it. Setting a goal is very important because that way you always have in the back of your mind where you want to be.          Acknowledging what your goals are will help you prioritize and distinguish what is important to your career and what isn’t.

Always keep in mind that school is just as important as your internship and you should balance both of them equally. College life is fun and at the same time stressful and you should be able to get the best out of both worlds. These tips are just the basics of many things you can do to manage your time, do whatever works for you and always have motivation!