This past Tuesday, I sat in on a class entitled “Personal
Career Development.” This pass-fail seminar is taught by Career Center Assistant Director Nicole Anderson and Career Advisor Betsy McDowell, and
is offered through Ex-College for a half-credit. It focuses on learning and analyzing career development theories and applying them to your own personal career development. (Check out the course syllabus for more information and a semester schedule.) The best part? The course
is designed specifically for sophomores. Unfortunately, I learned about the
course too late to sign up for it, but it’s a great opportunity offered by the Career Center that specifically targets younger students.
The particular class that I attended featured an
internship panel, organized by the instructors to give their students a
chance to get perspectives from older Jumbos who've been in their shoes before. The rest of the class consisted of an internship workshop, which built on the self-assessment practices that the class has discussed in the first part of the semester. The panel
consisted of 5 Tufts seniors, each of whom possessed a robust resume replete with summer internships, programs, and research opportunities, some dating back to
their pre-Tufts years. The panelists also had a wide array of academic and
professional interests—from an American Studies major, to an
economics major and computer science minor, to our very own social media intern
Kelly, representing her political science and pre-law peers. The panel was incredibly helpful and informative, and I noticed that several major themes presented themselves throughout the discussion:
It's never too soon to start looking.
When asked about their internship search process, the panelists all agreed that earlier is definitely better. KC Hambleton, a Biopsychology major who's held several internships pertaining to marine biology, noted that the earlier you start, the less likely you are to miss deadlines. She recommended maintaing an Excel spreadsheet of internship options, deadlines, and requirements to stay organized. As Nadav, an Economics major, put it, "If you miss the boat, it's gone."
Use your resources.
Emani Holyfield, an American Studies major and Entrepreneurial Leadership minor, summed it up perfectly when she said, "See the ways in which you're valued by the outside world." She found many scholarship and internship opportunities that were targeted for students of her background, and was incredibly successful in her internship search. Most of the panelists also used the many resources that being a Tufts student comes with: The Tufts Alumni Network, the Career Center website, and the Tufts alumni group on LinkedIn were all mentioned.
Take the interview seriously, and establish connections.
Interviewing is a key part in almost any internship application process, and can be one of the most stressful. However, with proper preparation, you can really make yourself stand out in the interview, establishing yourself as a competitive applicant. Kelly explained that in particularly competitive applications, it's important to show off "how unique you are," but also to show how your goals mirror those of the company you wish to intern for. By reading their mission statement and using similar phrases from it to describe yourself, you can really demonstrate to an interviewer that you are the best fit for the position. KC agreed, emphasizing the importance of research on the company prior to the interview.
Taylor Levesque, a Child Development and Psychology double major, also shared one of her interviewing "secrets": interviewers are people, too. It may seem like they're trying to trick you up, but they've been in your position before. They understand the stress you're feeling. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.
There's a learning curve to it all.
Much like the rest of life, it's okay to be a little lost once your internship starts. Taylor encouraged students to keep a positive attitude--"They hired you because you have the qualifications, so stay optimistic." As Emani put it, "You won't know what you're doing at first, but the point is to discover the process of learning." KC agreed--after sharing that her initial work at one internship was sub-par, she explained that she had to work hard in order to improve. Once she did, though, she was very pleased with how her internship ended. "It's what you make of it," she explained, "You can make your internship into whatever you want it to be."
It's never too soon to start looking.
 |
| Exactly what happens if you let your internship application deadlines slip by! |
Use your resources.
Emani Holyfield, an American Studies major and Entrepreneurial Leadership minor, summed it up perfectly when she said, "See the ways in which you're valued by the outside world." She found many scholarship and internship opportunities that were targeted for students of her background, and was incredibly successful in her internship search. Most of the panelists also used the many resources that being a Tufts student comes with: The Tufts Alumni Network, the Career Center website, and the Tufts alumni group on LinkedIn were all mentioned.
Take the interview seriously, and establish connections.
Interviewing is a key part in almost any internship application process, and can be one of the most stressful. However, with proper preparation, you can really make yourself stand out in the interview, establishing yourself as a competitive applicant. Kelly explained that in particularly competitive applications, it's important to show off "how unique you are," but also to show how your goals mirror those of the company you wish to intern for. By reading their mission statement and using similar phrases from it to describe yourself, you can really demonstrate to an interviewer that you are the best fit for the position. KC agreed, emphasizing the importance of research on the company prior to the interview.
Taylor Levesque, a Child Development and Psychology double major, also shared one of her interviewing "secrets": interviewers are people, too. It may seem like they're trying to trick you up, but they've been in your position before. They understand the stress you're feeling. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.
 |
| Same. |
Much like the rest of life, it's okay to be a little lost once your internship starts. Taylor encouraged students to keep a positive attitude--"They hired you because you have the qualifications, so stay optimistic." As Emani put it, "You won't know what you're doing at first, but the point is to discover the process of learning." KC agreed--after sharing that her initial work at one internship was sub-par, she explained that she had to work hard in order to improve. Once she did, though, she was very pleased with how her internship ended. "It's what you make of it," she explained, "You can make your internship into whatever you want it to be."
Outside of class, I got the chance to speak with Sarah
Hamad, a sophomore currently enrolled in Personal Career Development. I asked
her a few basic questions about the course, and she responded with this: "This class gave me the opportunity to do a number of things
on my to do list-- informational interviews, resume writing, meeting with a Career Counselor, and more-- that I would have otherwise probably not gotten to. Nicole is very knowledgeable and very accessible, and
wants to help. I definitely recommend the class. I think all sophomores should
take it!" If you needed any more convincing, I think that should just about do it!
Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017
