Interested in Internships? Here's A Good Start...

Previously I discussed how difficult it could be to make decisions in college. Today I am going to talk about something else. I recently met a junior who was looking for an internship. She told me she had looked on DonsCareers in hopes of finding an internship she liked. In short, she had an idea of what she was looking for, but didn’t have any previous job experience. This is a common problem for many students.

Our homepage, www.usfca.edu/career, has a four year plan checklist of where you should be at each year of your undergraduate education.  If you are having trouble looking for an internship, there are a few things you can do that can help you along the way. Bring your resume with you to our drop in hours (11am-2pm Monday through Friday); let a counselor edit your resume or cover letter. Most importantly, I can’t stress enough how important it is to be proactive.

Keep looking on DonsCareers (include the search agents feature) because it is updated all the time. Try Nacelink, Indeed, UCAN Internship Exchange, and even go to your professor or advisor’s office hours to express your interest in internships or part time jobs. This website: (http://spirit.usfca.edu/stuemp/on_campus.htm) has on campus jobs if you prefer to work on campus. Is there a certain company you are interested in working for as an intern? Look at the company or organization’s website to see if they have any internship programs available.

The main thing to keep in mind is to keep looking; there are internships and jobs out there, and as students our job is to be proactive in looking for the right one for us.

If your resume is lacking job experience, consider getting a summer job to build your resume. Even if your summer job is not your dream career, that’s completely alright. It’s better to have some job experience than none at all, and it will give you something to talk about when you get an interview for that dream internship you’ve been wanting.

Happy internship hunting!

-Elaine

Interview Workshop!

Hello Students,

If you are in the process of job searching or looking for an internship, before you go on an interview, attend this workshop! Prepare for success with lessons on how to answer difficult behavioral questions, researching organizations, practice questions, and appropriate attire & follow-up.

The Interview workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 from 5:00PM to 6:30 pm in McLaren 252.  This workshop is brought to you by the Career Services Center.  For questions or more information, contact careerservices@usfca.edu or 415-422-6216.



















Hope to see you there!
-Nate

Government, Politics and Civic Engagemernt Career Panel

Hi Everyone,

I attended the Government, Politics and Civic Engagement Career Panel last month both because it was put on by our office and because those are areas I'm thinking of working in for the future. I plan to work in nonprofits one day, most likely political nonprofits. As a newly declared Politics student I've been really excited about getting involved with my major and meeting people within my future field.

I got to the panel late because I had class but I was able to see the second half of the presentation. There were five panelists, reps from the State Department, the CIA, two local government members and someone from USF's own McCarthy Center. I was most interested by the State Department jobs because the rep described exciting internship opportunities all over the world at different embassies. The panelists talked about what it was like to work in their fields and what kind of opportunities were available to students and recent graduates. The panelists also discussed different dos and don'ts concerning resumes and different professional things. Looking back I wish I had taken some notes because they gave smart advice. 

I was hoping to talk to the State Department representative but there were a few people lined up already and I got intimidated and nervous that I wouldn't have any good questions to ask. Looking back I regret not making a connection with the rep since working at an embassy sounds like something I would really love to do someday. As a USF student, I often feel that our school is small and unknown and I wish I attended Berkeley or another larger school in the area but the truth is we often don't realize what advantages we have as USF students. Since USF is so small we have less competition and stronger relationships with many companies and agencies, we need only utilize these connections. Being at this panel I realized that if I work hard and network efficiently I can have an exciting internship and/or job when I graduate, even in this competitive work environment.

I implore everyone to attend these panels and workshops and come into our office, utilize the advantages of attending USF!

Decisions (part 2)

The most intimidating part about college for me has been choosing a career path for my major. I am a psychology major and my journey so far has taken many turns. I had decided on doing premed spring 2012. Come October, I was sure I was going to be a high school counselor. It’s March 2013, and now I have no idea.

The most helpful thing I have done for myself in figuring out what I am not going to do in my future, was trying new things. Yes, that sounds a little cheesy, but process of elimination is probably the best tool in a college student’s utility belt. I highly recommend this to everyone.

I tried (and ultimately loathed) science classes. Well, becoming a doctor is off my list.

I struggled with seeing people very close to death while volunteering at UCSF. Cross doctor off again.

In volunteering at UCSF, I assisted in medical research with a few medical students (which I actually enjoyed, surprisingly, and had never considered doing before).  Write possible career in psychology research on my list.

As a result, I got involved with a psychology research lab on campus. Why don’t we keep a possible career in research on the list for now?

As for the high school counselor ambition? It’s not crossed off at the moment.  I am hoping to get involved with volunteering with a crisis line this summer. So hopefully I can make more progress on my list soon again.

As a sophomore, I still have some time before I need to make a concrete decision as to what my final career will be. However, it’s relieving to feel like I am making headway in navigating myself through all these big decisions.

Till next time,

Elaine Ortega

Major Indecision Part II

So, there I was, beginning the first semester of my sophomore year having taken mainly core classes. I had taken a few others including Media Studies and Intro to American Politics. Everyone had been telling me I didn't need to worry about declaring a major but I was starting to really freak out because I felt like I was running out of time. I was told by an adviser at CASA that I might not be able to graduate on time with some of the majors I was interested in like Hospitality and Psychology because they had so many requirements. I was dreading registering for classes because that meant I would have to decide my major like, now. When registration did come I was still undecided so I took one Politics class, one Sociology class and one Psychology class. I was leaning towards being a Politics major but I was still not 100% sure. I took Soc and Psych because I thought I might want to minor in one of those. I felt like I was missing out on Communications. It felt like a major I could see myself doing but I hadn't taken any Comm classes so how could I choose it? The Communications class I wanted to take was at the same time as the Politics class I wanted to take so I was forced to decide. I went with Politics because the class sounded more interesting to me and that was the major I had always felt drawn to. After declaring I still felt unsure but once it sunk in I felt it was the right choice. Joining the PACE (Political Action and Civic Engagement) on-campus at USF and applying to internships the past few weeks have gotten me very excited about my new major. I've also decided to minor in Sociology and joined the STEP (Sociologists Together Empowering People) which has added to my excitement. I can't wait to intern in my field and that's why I know I made the right choice. 

 

Choosing my major was just the beginning. Once I decided I had to go to CASA, get the add major form then go to the Politics department and get the form signed and then bring it back to CASA. So now I am officially a Politics major and it feels good. I emailed my advisor and we have a meeting set up for next week. It feels great to be able to write B.A. Politics on my resume. The best part though is being able to answer that previously dreaded question "What's your major?".