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This blog is written by our new Ohio University Intern Queen Campus Ambassador, Sandhya, who is interning in New York City this summer!

As the last few weeks of my freshman year are coming to a close and I enter my sophomore year, I’ve realized four things.

1. Get involved.
I know you’ve all heard that getting involved can truly be one of the best things that you can do as a freshman entering into college and honestly it is so important. When I first arrived on campus, I signed up for a lot of journalism organizations on campus. After attending different meetings and meeting the people involved in the organizations, I realized how beneficial and fun they were. Because I started attending the meetings from the beginning and attending events associated with the organizations, I became better friends with a whole bunch of upperclassmen! This helped me a lot because I was able to get advice about my resume, internships & classes! When looking for the perfect organization for you to join, feel free to change your mind. It will only help you in the future because you will actually be having fun & enjoying the activities you are a part of! By getting involved early on, I’ve already gained great friends & contacts for future internships. So once you head back to campus in the fall, join something new!
2. Always Ask.
If you have a question, ask! Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask a classmate, professor, or upperclassman in one of your organizations for advice! Take advantage of opportunities to talk to your professors at their office hours or over coffee & ask about their past jobs & internships. Who knows, maybe you could get a future job idea for yourself! Get to know what they think about future plans & what you can do to stand out. This will probably be the only time in your life when free career help will be offered, so take advantage!
3. Balance, Balance, Balance.
While getting involved is great, leave some time for yourself. College is a time to find out what your true passions are and let’s face it, writing papers, planning events, and studying for exams is not what you’re going to see in the real world. With that in mind, prioritize what you need to do with what you really want to do. Whether it’s attending a local concert, reading, or just chatting with friends at a coffee shop, find something other than studying to keep your mind active & not stressed. Take up a new hobby or start working out at the gym! Just make sure you balance. The best way to do this is to make a calendar with all the tests, papers, and projects you have due for the rest of the quarter or semester once you get your syllabus. Plan for at least an 1 hour every day to yourself and you’ll be on your way to finding out what college is really all about.
4. Be fearless.
Now I’m not saying to go do something crazy like skydiving right away, but do something that you’ve never done before. Try new food, learn about new cultures and soak up all the culture and diversity that college campuses have to offer. Along with having fun, be fearless in applying for internships and other positions. Don’t just assume that because you’re a freshman, you can’t do it! Get your name out there and if you don’t get it, then ask what you can do next time to be eligible. If you’re really got passion, people will notice it right away and take you seriously no matter what age or year you’re in.

Finally, just have fun. While your first year can be intimidating, make the most out of it. This year has flown by & I can honestly say I’ve learned more about myself and what I want to do in the future than I have before. Because of these four things, I’ve started freelancing, had an internship, and have two internships in the summer. So get involved, ask questions, balance, be fearless, and enjoy!

This is a guest post from our campus ambassador Samantha Bankey from Ferris State University.
Think about this: there are hundreds of millions of business people in the world. Out of those people, there is a HUGE amount that is aiming and learning towards the same goals as you. You as a professional and individual were born to stand out – so how do you do that? You need to build your personal brand. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but what does that mean?

Think about a brand such as Pepsi. You know it’s a soda company, it’s red, white, and blue, it started the Pepsi Refresh Project, etc. A conversation can go many places as people talk about Pepsi. “What are the new commercials like? Remember when Britney Spears did her Pepsi days? Wow, the Pepsi Refresh Project just funded this awesome project for this place a couple of cities away!”

Now, when people say Your Name, what will they be thinking of? What do you want them to say about you and think of you as? Here are ways to help build your personal brand.

1. First and foremost, start a Twitter. Yeah, Facebook is great and all, but that’s more on a personal level. Twitter is a way connect with professionals in your own field and to see what others are talking about and blurb about what you’re interested in. Post links to articles you’re interested in or that relate to you as a professional, use hashtags (#) and participate in Twitter chats, and take advantage of the contacts you make on Twitter. I’ve made so many contacts via Twitter — I even had an internship where all I did was tweet. It’s a way for businesses and companies to reach out to people they’re interested in.
2. Start a blog. This is extremely important in building a brand. On Twitter, you can talk about things in 140 characters or less where on your own blog, you can go on and on and on! Start a blog and talk about things that you are interested in. Want to have a career in the Fashion industry? Start a blog and post about fashion related things. Make it about what you think. This is all about you and your opinions! Have photos or designs that you’ve created? Make a blog or an online portfolio of your work! It’s such a great way to collect all of your work into one place that is easy for others and employers to see. Think that your blog is going to be a hassle to maintain? If you’re blogging about things you actually are interested in, you won’t get bored with it. I promise.
3. Make your resume reflect your brand. Post links to your website, Twitter, blog, etc. on your resume or in the signature of your e-mails. The visitor count on my website has SKYROCKETED ever since I put a link in my e-mail signature. Also, make sure your resume isn’t too bland. My resume isn’t perfect, but it has color in it, which a PR professional has told me that, that is a big plus. Appeal to your possible employer in a way that will impress them. You may want to check into your Career Services to see how you can make your resume top notch.
4. Last but not least, tell people about what you do! Tell your friends on Facebook and Twitter that you have a blog or website. It took me a long time to tell people about my passion with makeup and the fashion industry because I was a little shy. Little did I know, a lot of people would be really interested in it. A lot of people actually enjoy reading the things I post, and even if they didn’t, who really cares? This is you and your personal brand! Not everyone likes Pepsi, and not everyone is a fan of soda anyways, but look how successful Pepsi and it’s brand has become. Don’t forget that a huge way your stuff will spread is through word of mouth. If an employer sees your blog and likes a post on it, he/she may bring it up to someone they know, then they’ll talk about it to their friends and so on.

As always, be sure to keep it professional. Don’t turn your Twitter into nothing but randomness, and do not use inappropriate language. Be sure you aren’t turning your blog into a diary, although talking a little bit about yourself and your life is a good thing! And of course, flaunt who you are. Your personal brand should reflect who you really are and what you stand for. Don’t put on a front about who you aren’t and talk about things you don’t care about. In doing so, you’ll stand out from your employers and professionals and be more memorable, possibly even before they want to schedule that interview.

This is a guest post by our campus ambassador Andrea Teggart from Ohio University.

It’s interview season so hopefully you’ve been applying for summer internships this week! Many of you have probably had phone interviews, but one type of interview that is always a little tricky to plan is the Skype interview. Get your game face on (literally!) because more and more companies are asking potential interns to interview via Skype. I’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to breeze through your next Skype interview.

• Get in the right location! Skyping while lounging in your bed may work while Skyping with your mom, but NOT for an interview. At Ohio University, our Career Services office has rooms for students to conduct phone and Skype interviews in that are professional, clean and quiet. Your school probably does too! If not, find a place with no noise and a plain background. Avoid busy areas and places with distracting backgrounds. Think plain and simple so the interviewer can focus on YOU!
• Eye contact! You know how important it is to maintain eye contact in interviews and in meeting people anywhere, but it’s a little awkward when Skyping. We are drawn to look at the screen and the image of ourselves, but peel your eyes away from the screen and to the top camera icon on your computer. When you look at the camera, you are “looking” directly at the interviewer rather than yourself
• Practice, practice, practice! Ask your parents or friends if you can “conduct” a more serious Skype interview with them to make sure you understand how each button works, how to make the screen larger, etc. Treat these examples as practice interviews and use the time to work out any kinks or confusion you have with the Skype software.
• DRESS TO IMPRESS: Just because the interviewer can only see you from the chest up does NOT mean you should be Skyping in pajama pants! Put on a FULL interview outfit including shoes. You never know if will be asked to stand up or something like that and it would be horrifying to be dressed on top, but not on the bottom half of your body. For girls, opt for a blouse with a blazer or sweater and show off your personal style with a patterned scarf or necklace. Guys, I’d go with a sweater or collared shirt! Obviously, your dress code depends on the type of internship you are applying for, but make sure to dress the part even if though it’s a video interview! Don’t forget to keep your hair out of your face!
• Speak clearly. Dont rush, don’t whisper, don’t yell. Speak in a modest tone and articulate your words so the interviewer has no problem understanding what you are saying!
• Last minute tips! Conduct a trial run…turn on Skype, make sure the volume and speakers are on. Take a photo on your computer of what you look like to make sure you are at the right level. The picture of me on this blog post is actually one I took before a Skype interview! I also suggest placing your computer at a table. It’s vital to do this quick trial run in advance to make sure your posture is correct, the camera angle is flattering, your outfit works and the background is flattering.

This guest post is by our own Intern Queen Campus Ambassador Cari Buchwald from University of Georgia. Cari is majoring in Public Relations and Sociology.

I have always loved being in the “know”, in that I constantly seek to learn about what is happening throughout the world as well as within my community.  An avid newsreader, I have always known what was going on in all parts of the world, and I have always believed that it was my duty to relay this information to my family and friends.

Beginning college meant that I had to give up many of my daily habits because my schedule suddenly became so busy; reading the news happened to be put on the backburner.  I am sure many of you feel that classes, homework, and campus involvement appear to take over your life and make it seem as though school is isolated from the rest of the world.  When I came home for the first time, it was apparent that I had missed out on so many events, both locally and nationally, that were once a necessity for me to know; I decided then that the news simply had to be incorporated into my life.  I think that it is essential that all college students be in the “know” because we are the future, and if we do not know what is happening, how will we able to improve and contribute to the world?  Here are five ways for students to incorporate the news in their lives while still maintaining a busy schedule:

1)   Get a Twitter: Twitter has become an amazing news source in the form of social media.  This is a way for you to choose what kind of information you receive because you get to decide which sources are presented; these include sports, fashion, magazines, and national news.

2)   Read Your School’s Newspaper: Almost all universities have their own newspaper produced by college students featuring campus and local happenings.  This is a great way to know what is happening in your specific community that appeals to your interests.

3)   Get Ready With the News: Most of us do not have time to sit down and watch the news on a daily basis, so why not turn your TV on to a news station while you get ready for classes and social events? Hearing the news in the background will allow you to maintain your busy schedule while still being informed of current events.

4)   Change Your Homepage: When I open the Internet on my computer, the first thing that I see is Yahoo News”, which presents the most popular headlines of the week.  Setting your Internet homepage to a news website, such as CNN or Time Magazine, will make you more likely to read news articles because eye-catching headlines will be right in front of you.

5)   Talk to Your Friends: Conversations with my friends usually consist of gossip and funny stories about our days.  Recently, however, we have begun to talk about what is happening around us locally and nationally.  Try talking more with your friends about the news that you hear so you can inform one another about different happenings in the world.  In addition, being more aware of the news can be helpful in contributing to your class, or even during job interviews, which will make you stand out.

I hope you all try to incorporate at least a few of these tips into your daily routine because it is so important to be informed of current events, especially in college.  They certainly helped me, and I am hoping that more college students will soon be in the “know”.

This is a guest blog by our Intern Queen campus ambassador Jessica Strassman. Jessica is a junior at UC Santa Cruz, and is a Sociology Major.

Being a college student is more stressful than most people think.  School can become especially stressful when you take extra classes and also have a job or internship at the same time.  So how can a busy college student take a break and relax, without getting behind?

I go to school in California, where the weather is temperate all year long.  If you’re lucky enough to go to a school where you can walk around outside without freezing, you should try to do your homework outside.  If you can’t do work outside of your normal work environment, try taking a break from work and going on a walk around campus.  By just taking a break from your work and absorbing your natural surroundings, you will feel more relaxed and calm about your piles of work.  When I feel overwhelmed by how much work I have, I go for a walk and think about how all of the work I’m doing will pay off in the long run.  If you don’t take a break every so often and realize how great you’re doing, you will surely overwork yourself and feel burned out.

But, don’t fret- even if you don’t go to a school where you can freely roam around campus at this time of year, you can still take a break from work to clear your mind!  You can easily take a break while still staying warm.  Why not read a book, listen to music, or watch TV for 30 minutes before cramming in more studying or work?  By allowing yourself to mentally relax before doing more work, you’ll feel refreshed and prepared to study!

No matter where you go to school, don’t forget to take a break once in awhile.  Without factoring in time to relax from your work, you will easily lose a sense of balance in your work life.  So go ahead and take a break, and always remind yourself that you’re doing a great job!