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Rachel

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I caught a little heat from my boss after she read my last post on internships because I failed to mention that my job now actually sprung from an internship she granted me five (whoa!) years ago with Wells Fargo. Oops.

So here's my Wells Fargo internship story.

I had just graduated from college with a degree in Journalism and an emphasis in advertising. I needed a job. My neighbor worked for Wells Fargo and said they were hiring. So I applied for a banker job. Banker. A Journalism major? I know.

It was interesting at first. I might as well have superglued  my calculator to my right arm. After learning the ropes at my branch, I heard about the marketing department. Light bulb! I knew what I wanted to do.

Here are the steps I took:

• Requested an informational interview with the Marketing Manager.
• Received word that she was willing to meet with me! Celebrated by buying a new outfit to wear for the meeting.
• Arrived embarrassingly early (I think 45 minutes. This is not advisable. I really should have stopped for coffee to kill time — decaf, of course).
• Attempted to ask insightful, intelligent questions during the interview.
• Sent a thank-you note. 
• Wrote one of my college professors asking him for advice on what to do from there.
• Traveled to Europe with my BFF  and realized I wanted to move to be closer to her and my friends.
• Requested a job transfer.
• Arrived at new branch.
• Checked into new region's marketing set up. Found out they were looking for an INTERN!
• Hiring manager called her college professor asking for student recommendations (the SAME college professor I had asked for advice).
• Applied for the internship.
• Was given 24-hour notice for the interview.
• Was super nervous and choked a little during the interview but mentioned the informational meeting I'd had (bonus!).
• Miraculously an internship offer was extended.
• I accepted!

Five years later, I've graduated from intern to marketing consultant and I'm ever so thankful for every opportunity that's come my way. I really I think it comes down to knowing what you want, learning everything you can about it (and all things related to it) and demonstrating all the great things you have to offer to contribute to it. I'm still earning my stripes in my job, and all the basics continue to help me as I work toward whatever comes next.

Staci

Unlike Rachel, I didn't have an internship in college — or even after college, for that matter. My school didn't require it, and because I planned to go to graduate school and study literature, I'm pretty sure I thought college was enough of an internship for that. But I do have some experience with internships, because I had the privilege of supervising interns at my first job.

I was an entry-level staff assistant for then-Senator Tom Daschle  in Washington, D.C. (and yes, I'm still in mourning that he won't be Secretary of Health and Human Services). No one was lower on the totem pole than me, except the interns (and maybe the pages ), so I relished the opportunity to help direct their work.

Based on my own knowledge of working with interns, here are five tips for making the most of your internship:

1. Soak it all in. Most of the interns in my Senate office were still in college, spending a semester in our nation's capitol getting work experience and college credit. But even if you aren't interning in a glamorous location, it's still your chance to see how things work in the real world. Eventually, you're going to need to know the essentials: how phone and computer systems operate, what is (and isn't) appropriate work attire, and how to deal with office politics. Now's you're opportunity to learn.
2. Have realistic expectations. Yes, you're going to be answering phones, opening mail, and running errands. No, you're not going to be making policy decisions, speaking to the press, and meeting with the White House.  Nonetheless, the work is important and needs to get done. Have a positive attitude about what you ARE accomplishing — it takes far less energy than focusing on what you don't get to do.
3. Teach as much as you learn. Since you're a student (or perhaps a recent grad), you most likely have been exposed to new research or practices that could be useful to your internship provider. Plus, you probably have some technology skills to share. Offer these up — when you're seen as a resource, you might have a better chance of getting hired on once your internship is over.
4. Take advantage of any "intern perks." All of the interns in my office had the opportunity to shadow the Senator for a day, usually including time on the Senate floor and lunch in the exclusive Senate dining room.  Not even the permanent staffers got to do that! Ask your intern supervisor if a similar program exists where you are, perhaps with the CEO. If it doesn't exist, suggest it.
5. Make a connection. The experience you're gaining is important, but the relationships you're developing are even more so. Seek out a mentor — it doesn't have to be your intern supervisor. Find someone with whom you have common interests or work styles, and ask to collaborate on a project. Down the road, he or she could provide a reference letter, be a contact for future job prospects, or even end up as a lifelong friend.

What success stories do you have from your own internship experiences? Share with us here!

Rachel

Internships. A good one can be like the holy grail for college students.

It would be great if we could all be like Lauren Conrad and land one at Teen Vogue straight out of high school. But in reality, a lot of students wind up with internships that feel like they're one step up from a temp. Think Ryan from The Office. And before you wear the humbling title of intern, you first have to go through the painstaking process of seeking one out.

I remember touring Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (my version of Teen Vogue) in college. They're the advertising agency that created the Got Milk? advertising campaign. When asked how one could score an internship working for them, the recruiter replied with something to the effect of, "If you're smart enough to know about us, we'll give you an internship." Oh, and in the same breath she explained that their internships are unpaid. Right.

I still don't know how exactly an unpaid internship is manageable when you are working your way through college. And because I was never able to figure that out, it was goodbye, Goodby.

There's some truth to the old sayings:

"It's not what you know, it's who you know."
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
"Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is."

At my college, an internship was required to graduate. I completely stressed out over finding an internship that was a) in my related field of study (a caveat to the requirement) and b) paid. Then, one night at the grocery store, I bumped into one of my college teachers, who also happened to be a city councilman. By the next week, I was a Public Information Office Intern.

You may be thinking, well la te da, Rachel. The thing is, once you start meeting people, your exposure to opportunities increase. Talk to your professors, your guidance counselor, your friends and their parents. Work the six degrees of separation to your advantage. Go to a local rotary or chamber of commerce meeting. Attend a networking luncheon in your related field, like the American Marketing Association. Research other groups in your area like a young professional's network.

Put yourself out there!

Before you know it, you'll be jumping up and down in the produce section of the grocery store thanking your lucky stars.

Caroline

Recently a co-worker received an email from a prospective intern — a college student. And let's just say, he was less than impressed. Capital letters where they shouldn't be, missing punctuation marks, you get the idea.

For any student seeking an internship or job, I can't emphasize enough how much the details matter. Grammar , spelling and punctuation mistakes are almost always noticed.

You may think nothing of typos — after all, anyone can fumble at the keyboard, right? But you have to look at it from the employer's perspective.  Your future employer does not know you at all. So your mistakes are doing a lot of talking for you — and they're saying you don't pay attention to details.

In today's job market, employers  can afford to reject applicants on the basis of sloppiness alone. So make sure your correspondence stands out by being well-written and mistake-free.

When composing an email, run spell check before you hit "send." But don't rely exclusively on it — it's not going to catch every mistake. Read it over carefully once or twice before sending it. You want to put your best foot forward any time you communicate with a potential employer. Mistake-free writing is a great place to start.

What do you think? Are you careful about correspondence you send to potential employers?

Staci

It's February 2 — Groundhog Day. 

According to weather lore, on this day, if the proverbial groundhog  emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter are in store. But if it's cloudy and the groundhog's shadow isn't visible, an early spring is in sight.

I'm hoping for an early spring.

Since spring might be right around the corner, we're going to spend this week talking about a part of your college experience that usually needs to be completed before graduation: internships.  Internships are your chance to do a little "shadowing" of your own. You can gain more knowledge of your desired profession, learn some real-world skills to include on your resume, make connections for future job prospects, and (fingers crossed) get paid a little, too.

We hope our advice will make your internship experience less of a different sort of Groundhog Day  — one repeated over and over again!

Barbara

We've talked in the past how valuable internships can be. This summer I got the chance to meet a super-cool student who got a head start when it comes to internships — in high school.

Jacob Jackson is now a senior in high school here in Sioux Falls, and he was an intern at Wells Fargo this summer. An internship in high school...how awesome is that?

Jacob is in a program through his school called the Academy of Finance . Students in the program take classes throughout their junior and senior years that deal with business and finance. Then, during the summer they apply for paid internships that put their knowledge to use.

Plus, they get college credit! When he's done with the whole program, Jacob will have around 16 credits to take with him to college.

Before Jacob left to head back for his senior year of high school, I got the chance to talk with him about his experience and what he was taking away from his internship and the program.

At first, he told me he wasn't very keen on the idea of participating in the program. His aspirations were leaning more toward the literary world than the financial realm in becoming a writer or novelist. Jacob didn't think that the experience would change his plans, and it may not have, but he definitely gained some perspective on his different options, like one day running his own business.

And his internship offered more perspective. In addition to his daily work, Jacob got see how the business ran from start to finish. He spent time with each group learning what they do and how it affects the business. Particularly, he found himself interested in Marketing and is considering that as a college major.

Another benefit of his work at Wells Fargo: learning about student loans. Before starting work here, Jacob had no idea about how student loans worked. Obviously this isn't a perk of all early internships, but it's helpful nonetheless.

Have any of you readers participated in or heard about similar programs? I'm curious what you learned or how the experience changed or affirmed your future plans.