I AM INTERN

This is a guest post from our new Campus Ambassador Series.  The author, Catherine Pylant, attends University of South Florida (USF) and is involved with PRSSA, wakeboarding, and field hockey.

Check out Cat’s video here: http://bit.ly/c9Lfg7

It’s not a secret that college kids are not made of money. Aside from the rising cost of tuition and going completely bankrupt buying books every semester, scrounging for lo0se coins in the couch never seems to add up to be enough dough!

So what is a college student to do in order to get some extra money? A lot of people would say, “Get a job!” but sometimes that may not even be an option to a student taking a full course load along with trying to manage an internship on the side. So the student finds his or herself right back where they started: What should I do?

I currently manage school, extracurricular activities, and an internship. Unfortunately there is not one easy sure shot way to land extra spending cash, but I have come up with some options to cut a few corners here and there in order to keep a few dollars in your bank:
1. BECOME A COUPON COLLECTOR! Usually on every business’s website they have a place to enter your email to sign up for newsletters and coupons. If you’re really against e-mails then do it the old fashion way, thumb through the local newspaper for coupons, or search for coupon websites online.

2. STOP EATING OUT SO MUCH! College students love to go out to eat; it’s easy and social! Personally, I am guilty of doing this a couple times per week. If this is really depleting your spending resources (like mine), try going to lunch instead of dinner. Usually the prices are less, but the portions are also smaller. When it comes to ordering a beverage, go for the FREE option, Water. If plain water is too bland, ask for a slice of lemon or lime for taste. Cutting a few bucks out of the check for ordering water accumulates! Also if you usually go home with a doggie bag at the end of the meal, try sharing! If you are someone with a bottomless stomach, check out “All you can eat,” nights at restaurants.

3.  FIND THE DEALS! No college student enjoys being stuck at home while his or her friends are out having a good time. When choosing where to go out for the night, do some research. I like to check out places that have specials or discount prices for students. Be sure to pull out that ID at most college area establishments because it could mean some real savings!

4. RENT YOUR TEXTBOOKS! This is a recently new option for college students, and it is a GREAT one. I did it this semester for the first time and needless to say I did not feel the need to cry when getting my books! There are numerous websites (Ex: http://www.Bookrenter.com) that offer this alternative. This service can save a student hundreds of dollars a semester!

5. KNOW YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA! With the huge craze of social media, I found businesses are using these popular sites to promote themselves. Check out the deal of the day on sites like http://www.Groupon.com, “Like” a place on Facebook for free products, or follow your favorite places on Twitter for instant updates on special prices, you can find a way to save!

So unless you are extremely lucky enough to win the lottery, or a miracle happens and tuition prices go down and books are free, hopefully my 5 easy steps can help you not die on the vine while just trying to live your everyday college life!

I did a segment on KTLA yesterday (which I will post shortly) where I discussed some tips on how to really make the most of your summer internship. Here are a few tips I covered:

• Keep your cell phone on SILENT or just leave it in the car. You should not be checking your phone unless you are on your lunch break or you are using it for internship-related purposes. No texting or phone calls or checking apps.

• Stay off of Facebook on work computers. As soon as you are caught on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn your boss knows that you have “better” things to do.

• Don’t Tweet or update your Facebook status about your internship during the actual work day (unless this is part of the employer’s social media strategy). Your boss will most likely find you on these sites eventually and they shouldn’t see you documenting your feelings about the day.

• Don’t “friend” your boss or internship coordinator on Facebook unless they initiate the interaction. This can make many employers feel uncomfortable.

We all need to get pumped up every once in a while. And so I introduce the concept of, an internship soundtrack. This is a mix of songs that you listen to while you’re getting ready in the morning for your internship and on your way to the internship (via car CD Player or IPod). These are songs that get you excited, focused, and ready to make the most of your time at your internship.

If you are an intern, I’d love to get your input on what songs would be on your Internship Soundtrack. Here are a few that come to my mind:

Just Dance (Lady Gaga)
Don’t Stop Believin’ (The Glee Version, of course)
Your Love is My Drug (Kesha)
Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus)
California Gurls (Katie Perry)
We Got More Bounce in California (Soul Kid #1)
Working 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton from orginial musical soundtrack of 9 to 5)

Come on, add some! What are your thoughts??

Hello Everyone,

I come to you with very exciting news. The day has come for my site http://www.internqueen.com to re-launch with new dynamic internship listings that allow users to search by industry, location, and semester. I’ve re-themed the site and really like the new look. The goal of the re-design was to create a clear internship destination for students looking for internships and companies looking to find great intern candidates.

The site still features my blog, I AM INTERN, and will soon feature my clothing boutique for Internal EthiKs. I’ve also linked in my Intern Queen YouTube Channel for even more internship advice.

I’m so proud of everyone who took the internship initiative over the past year. My run with quarterlife was a great one and although my site will no longer live on the quarterlife domain, I continue to have a great relationship with quarterlife and be forever in-debt to everyone who was part of that experience. All users who visit http://www.quarterlife.com/intern will soon be re-directed to http://www.internqueen.com.

On a personal note, I want to thank Marshall Herskovitz, the man who made all of my dreams possible. Every young entrepreneur dreams of the day when a successful businessman approaches them and is fascinated by what they’ve created. I was lucky enough to experience that last year with Marshall Herskovitz. I hope that everyone follows his example and takes a chance on an unknown project. Without taking risks, I wouldn’t be launching this site and I definitly wouldn’t be able to run my business from day to day.

I also want to thank Kevin and Mike – my wonderful creative team behind the new site. They have worked night and day on this project for weeks and I’ve so appreciative.

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly at lauren@internqueen.com. I love responding to all of your messages and hearing your feedback.

Keep on applying for internships and looking for interns

Best of luck,
Lauren Berger
CEO
Intern Queen Inc.