Dante Hamilton is the founder of Internet Webpages Newspaper, Inc, a print, online and event company located in downtown Chicago, IL USA. Dante has been using Internships.com to recruit his interns, and has some tips for students on how to stand out.

By Dante Hamilton

As an active employer on Internships.com I’ve personally reviewed 200 replies from prospective interns. I will share how to impress an employer like me with one simple tactic: basic personalization.

Customize the Name of Each Resume Attachment

Do not name your attachment “Resume.doc” or “My Portfolio.pdf” because once I download it there is no way to tell who that document belongs to. I have dozens of “Resume.doc” files on my hard drive. What do I do with them? I empty them in the trash and delete forever. Do not suffer this fate.
TIP: Open your generic Resume or Portfolio document and save it with a new name. Start with your name, the company name or initials and add an abbreviated position title.

To illustrate what I mean, take a look at the three below files below:

1. Resume 2012.doc
2. My Portfolio.pdf
3. Gitma Attenshun Resume – IWN Acct Exec.pdf

Which do you think I will remember to open after I download it from Internships.com? Easy choice: Gitma Attenshun stands out. I know they prepared the resume for my company, IWN. I also know they are applying for the Account Executive position. Even before I open this resume I’m already interested and ready to email or speak to them on the phone. Why? They appear to know exactly what they want.

Gitma Attenshun made it effortless for me to respond. What happens to Resume 2012.doc and My Portfolio.pdf? They’re recycled.

Include the Company Name and Open Position in the Introducti0n

Next, let’s tackle your cover letter (known as the Personal Message on Internships.com). Most respondents use the same impersonal cover letter with each new application. Some don’t even do this much, they simply leave it blank, not even bothering to tell you if they are seeking a summer or year round internship position, or if they are planning to relocate.

I discourage using “To Whom It May Concern” in your opening sentence. I received a reply like this earlier today using those exact words, and it wasn’t the first time.

You’re applying to a company and you may not know the person’s name who will read your reply. Therefore, simply say “Dear [Insert Company Name]” as your opening salvo. When I see “Dear Internet Webpages Newspaper” (the name of my company), right there you got me just by stating the name of my company. Now I’m listening. Tell me more.

Don’t Strike Out – Hit a Home Run

You’re at bat. You can strike out or hit it out the ball park. Here’s how to do the latter.

Tell me who you are, what you’re looking for and what’s in it for me. Keep it simple. Give me a little mystery, not everything all at once.

It only takes one sentence to strike out. Here’s a great example: “I am very interested in the internship your company has listed.” Okay. Which one? I’ve got two listed. This person struck out. Don’t be like them.

Good luck in your search! Take the advice above and apply to Dante’s paid internship in Event Sponsorship, Print Advertising and Online Media.

Student Conservation Association and American Eagle Outfitters will engage 120 students from colleges across the country in meaningful hands-on conservation service at two of our most environmentally challenged national parks: Everglades National Park and Joshua Tree National Park. Lauren Freedman Whittlesey participated in the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program with SCA and AEO in 2010.

By Lauren Freedman Whittlesey

Two years after my Alternative Spring Break trip with SCA, I still can’t shut up about it. I was at the end of my first year of graduate school in Manhattan. I got most of my exercise running down the block for the bus or hastily jogging up nine flights of stairs when the elevator at school was broken. I was afraid I might forget what stars looked like. Wanting to try something different, I applied for SCA’s Alternative Spring Break at the Grand Canyon. I was offered a spot and immediately accepted, and then remembered I didn’t even own a sleeping bag.

Luckily, I was able t0 borrow a sleeping bag. I rounded up the warmest gear I could find and was off to the Grand Canyon. I spent the coldest nights of my life huddled around a campfire with 30 new friends and sleeping in my heaviest coat, hat, and gloves. With snow on the tent and frozen noses, coffee has never tasted so good.

The cold was immediately forgotten when we began work in the mornings. We spent our first days salvaging native plants in areas of the park that were slated for construction projects. These salvaged plants would spend the next year in the park’s nursery, readying for another crew to replant them the following spring. Our crew salvaged, potted, and transported over 1300 native plants in just two days! It was so satisfying to see the fruits of our labor lined up in neat rows filling the nursery knowing we were making a difference at one of the world’s greatest natural wonders.

After a few days of salvaging, we completed the cycle by planting native plants that had been salvaged by the previous year’s ASB crew. Those plants will still be decorating the landscape at the Grand Canyon visitor’s center when my own children are old enough to work on an ASB crew.

When we weren’t busy getting our hands dirty, we spent time learning about the history of the canyon, visiting the National Park Service’s private museum of Grand Canyon artifacts (with a tour from the curator, an SCA alumna!), hiking, and enjoying the breathtaking views. We also took in a few ranger talks and went for a moonlit hike along the South Rim one evening.

Sounds like a lot in just five days? It was! I’m still amazed that we could cram so much work and so much fun into just one week. When I got home, I was completely exhausted, and thrilled to sleep in a warm, soft bed again. But at the same time, I couldn’t stop telling my friends and family about the satisfaction and exhilaration of my spring break.

As this year’s ASB crews head to the Everglades and Joshua Tree National Park in just a couple months, I’m a little envious but mostly excited. They have big boots to fill, and I can’t wait to hear what they come back bragging about.

Looking for a different type of spring break trip this year? Learn more about participating in the 2012 Alternative Spring Break from SCA and American Eagle Outfitters at SCA’s Alternative Spring Break page, deadline to apply is January 27th!

Lawanda Johnson is a 22-year old senior at the University of Baltimore. Majoring in English with a specialization in Creative Writing, she has interned at several local newspapers and magazines. Currently she is the music columnist for Limerence Magazine and is working on her debut novel, Second Chance.

By Lawanda Johnson

Being a senior in college it’s almost mandatory to complete an internship. As an English major, it was difficult finding the right internship for what I wanted to do and learn. I wanted something that could lead to a  job I’d ideally want after graduation. When looking at other internships, I noticed assignments were limited. If the position listed was for editorial, as an intern I’d work only on editorial assignments. But I wanted more.

I researched magazines and newspapers in the Greater Baltimore area, as well as online companies who were seeking writers, bloggers, editors, or assistants. Some I applied to just were  not the right fit for me – I wanted an experience where I’d have more hands on experience. That’s when I came across an internship as a music columnist with a new online magazine, Limerence Magazine. It had many of the qualities I was looking for in an internship, so I  applied. It was a good match, because I landed it!

At Limerence, I was able to find my niche. I’m able to make my own decisions with regards to which topics I covered. I’m not just assigned a topic and then asked to write a report or article about. I do my own research and searched for artists I’m interested in and who are a great feature for Limerence Magazine.

The internship is a great fit for me. I am well-rounded and get to work an a variety of assignments. I’m able to write my column, learn some marketing skills through social media, and I am able to edit my fellow co-workers’ articles and interviews. On top of that, I’ve enhanced my communication, computer and interpersonal skills all by working at this internship.

Limerence Magazine provides a great internship environment for college students. Students definitely become versatile afterwards. All writers and staff members are able to be themselves, learn exciting lessons about the publishing world and apply those skills hands on. This to me is very important and I have gotten so much from being part of this internship.

Thanks Lawanda, this sounds like an excellent internship experience. Limerence Magazine is currently looking to add more interns to their team – creative writing, webcomics and editorial.

Thomas Frank (@thomasfrank09) is the founder and head geek at College Info Geek, a college blog that publishes tips on studying, technology, money, music, and other student-related topics.

He started College Info Geek for fun, and it now has become one of the highest-trafficked  sites on the ‘net. We asked  him to share his story on how he did it, why he did and his advice for college grads.

What was the moment that made you decide you wanted to start a blog to help others “be awesome at college?”

During the summer of 2010 I was working at a Cyclone Aide, which is my school’s name for orientation assistants. At that point I had learned more than I ever thought possible about Iowa State and was answering hundreds of college questions every day from students and parents alike. Around the same time, HackCollege (one of my favorite blogs) announced they were looking for writers. I thought it would be cool to write for a big blog, so I wrote up a post and sent in my application.

Aaaaaaaaand rejection. I was politely told that my application was great, like many others, but it wasn’t good enough to make the cut.

Instead of throwing it away or making it a Facebook Note, I decided to put my prior web design experience to good use and start my own blog. On a whim, I named it College Info Geek and put up that first post.

What were the first steps to get College Info Geek started?

I was a web designer in high school, so I already had a hosting account I could use for the blog. After I registered the domain and tied it to said hosting account, I installed WordPress and just started writing. I had almost no experience with WordPress at the time, so I just chose a free theme and didn’t do much in the way of customization. In fact, you can see what College Info Geek used to look like back in the day.

After I wrote a few posts on my own, I brought one of my friends on board and we started writing together. For the first few months, that’s all it was; him and I kept a list of post ideas and wrote less than five posts a month.

Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently at the beginning?

When I published my first article, I figured that writing posts and hitting the publish button was all there was to blogging. I thought that people would just eventually find the site after a long enough period of time.

When you’re a blogger, you can’t just post and expect people to find your site. You have to build links and get your name out there by sharing posts actively and guest blogging.

Since then, I’ve learned so much about WordPress, SEO, social media, networking… the amount of knowledge I’ve gained about blogging since I started is incredible. So yeah, I would have done a lot differently. For starters, I would have started posting consistently a lot sooner than I did. For the first 10 months, I was doing anywhere from two to eight articles a month. Now I try to do five articles a week (though I relaxed for a while during Christmas break). Publishing frequently gives people more content to read and more entrance points to your site.

I also would have focused on SEO and building relationships with other bloggers sooner. When you’re a blogger, you can’t just post and expect people to find your site. You have to build links and get your name out there by sharing posts actively and guest blogging. These are two things I’ve been doing a lot lately. It’s also really good to meet the other bloggers in your niche – if I could go back, I would take the time to meet other college bloggers a lot sooner than I did.

What is your advice for college students or recent grads looking to stand out from other job candidates?

Build a personal brand. This is huge. The thing about a college degree is that it’s very cookie cutter – there are thousands of other people graduating every year with the same degree you’re graduating with. Your ability to fill in the right boxes on a test sheet and get good grades won’t be enough to stand out. You need to make yourself known as an expert in your field as soon as you can in order to make an impression.

The first and most important part of this is getting actual experience. Internships and co-ops are the often-cited way to do this, but they’re not the only ways. You can do other things to get experience, depending on your major – get a part-time job during the school year close to your field of study, or start your own project.

After that, you need to build a presence for yourself. Create a personal website that shows off your work or expertise, use your social media profiles to network with your people in your field, make custom business cards, etc.

What have been the “perks” of starting this blog up? Has anything unexpected happened as a result of the blog?

The amount of traffic it currently gets was definitely unexpected! To be honest, I started the blog thinking it would get a small readership, and my only other goal was to have a writing portfolio I could show to employers in order to set myself apart from other graduates.

Since I’ve started, some amazing things have happened.

One of my posts was featured on LifeHacker, and I gained a lot of readers from that. I’ve partnered with some awesome companies including Adobe, Sony, and Vonage, and was able give away cool stuff like an iPad 2 and copies of Adobe CS5 through those partnerships.

In October, Adobe sent me out to Los Angeles to attend the Adobe MAX conference, were I was given a press pass and got to see all kinds of cool new stuff from Adobe and other companies. Free travel was certainly not something I foresaw when I published that first post!

Thanks Thomas! This is a great success story and great advice for students who always hear about ‘building a personal brand’. Get in touch with Thomas through his site.

Next week, we’ll hear again from Thomas about his own personal internship experience. Stay tuned!

Ironic Music Booking Agency (@IronicMusic) is a full service, licensed music booking and music promotion agency focused on booking live music acts North of Boston (all of Essex & Middlesex counties) & in the Southern NH areas. Ironic’s goal is to help musicians broaden their horizons and get more gigs, as well as help venues who are looking to get to know new and different talent. They work with everyone from single musicians to full bands, and strive to find the perfect musician/band to fit the venue. They’re currently hiring interns!

Linda Somma is the Director and Founder of Ironic Music Booking Agency. She is a professional with 25+ years of experience in the promotion & management of artistic and cultural projects in the entertainment industry. Linda was born and educated in the USA, has a BA in International PR, with a concentration in languages (Italian & Spanish). Throughout her career, she has collaborated on a wide range of projects, beginning her professional career doing communication & marketing in an artistic field. In 2002 she began collaborating in the entertainment industry with her first gig as a talent agent! Ironic – the consultancy – followed in 2003, where the desire and need for a “consultancy” arose.

1. How did you get started in the industry? How can someone who is interested in your work get started?

I have been doing marketing and promotions in a creative industry (architecture, industrial design, graphics, film, etc.) for 25 + years and when I returned from living abroad and realized where the economy was going, and still had a desire to be my own boss, I was attentive to what was happening locally and realized that a locally based new fangled booking agent was just what the area needed. Ergo, Ironic Music Booking Agency LLC was born. To get started in any creative industry one must get hands-on experience. I personally did 3 unpaid internships throughout college and that helped me a lot in my obtaining a job so I am a huge advocate of internships. Do your research, find what interests you and target your search!

2. What’s the future of your industry or job?

I believe that in any creative industry, much is based on a person’s own ability and drive. I created a job, a business and a niche (Ironic is the only booking agency who proactively promotes their musicians’ gigs through social media, etc.).

3. What do you look for when you hire an intern or entry-level candidate?

Someone who is organized, timely in their responses, has hands-on experience and who demonstrates drive and motivation.

4. What is one thing an intern can do to make a favorable impression?

Write me back in a timely fashion, with no spelling or grammatical errors, and tailor their cover letter/email to the specific job.

5. Can you share a positive intern story and an intern horror story? No names needed…

Absolutely! One of my first interns did an amazing job at any project he put his hands on. He asked me for a reference for a job he really wanted, which was a very highly sought after position, and I gave him a rave review! The employer contacted me and thanked me for the recommendation, and also thanked me for teaching him so many important skills. That is one ex-intern that I know will go far!

Thanks Linda! Are you ready to get started in the industry? Ironic Music Booking Agency is currently looking for Social Media & Marketing Interns.

Margaret Huey is a junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Psychology and Health: Science, Society and Policy.

By Margaret Huey

This summer, I had the immense pleasure of being an intern at Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit organization in Brighton, MA. I found this internship while doing some research online, looking for opportunities to help children in the Boston area. Cradles was a perfect fit. This non-governmental organization (NGO) provides essential items needed by kids in low-income and homeless situations. These items include clothes, toys, winter boots, books, shoes, etc. of the highest quality possible to ensure that the children who receive the items feel valued.

Through the course of my time there, I learned how crucial it is for one to take initiative and realize the bigger picture in order to achieve the mission of Cradles to Crayons. As interns we achieved this through the hard work of the committed staff there, who show their passion on a daily basis, and the large network of the Giving Core, comprised of college interns, teen leaders, and champion volunteers.

“Many people who came through the doors clearly had a desire to give back, and seeing new faces every day that I went in always made it interesting and fun.”

The volunteers who come through the doors of the Giving Factory all come from different walks of life. I had the pleasure of working with a number of girl scout troops, a range of students, families from all over Massachusetts , college professors, others working in business, and even a group of elderly women who came in to volunteer in order to celebrate one of their birthday’s. Many people who came through the doors clearly had a desire to give back, and seeing new faces every day that I went in always made it interesting and fun. As interns, we were encouraged to make a personal connection with the volunteers, in hopes to keep them excited about C2C. Talking to many people and learning about how they came to Cradles was intriguing to me.

The most meaningful part of my time at cradles was the work itself. I was responsible for leading groups of volunteers in the different stations, and seeing all of the work come together in order to create a “KidPack” for each child in need is very powerful. Each week, Cradles receives hundreds of orders for individual children, and each order form will have the child’s name, age, and items that he or she needs. A lot of love and care goes into each one of those kids, and I feel honored to have been part of such an incredible team that made those Kidpacks possible.

I learned how the organization worked and gained important skills in building connections and NGO management. We were taught the structure of the company, and the importance of the clear delegation of tasks and individual responsibility.

Do you share the same passion as Margaret? Cradles to Crayons is currently looking for their Summer 2012 interns.

Best of 2011Internship stories, advice from your peers, employer interviews and advice posts; these were the most popular posts of 2011, in order from the date they were published:

Make Your Fashion Internship Resume Stand Out
April 6 – Fashion is a very competitive industry, use your resume to stand out.

Men’s Pants: Pleated vs. Flat-Front
April 12 – When finding a pair of good-fitting pants for work, many men aren’t sure which they prefer – pleated or flat-front trousers?

Can I Use You As a Reference?
August 1 – How to ask for and get a great recommendation.

The End-Of-Internship Checklist
August 17 – Your internship is coming to an end, but there is still work to be done before you say good-bye.

Leveraging Twitter As A Digital Networking Tool
September 13 – Using Twitter connect with like-minded professionals, creating your own voice and online brand, and participating, engaging, and learning.

10 Happy Jobs for Young Business Professionals
October 19 - Business degrees are extremely versatile when it comes to job opportunities. Here are 10 happy jobs (and salaries) for business majors.

Interview with Amber of LIVESTRONG
November 8 – Amber, the internship program manager for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, shares her tips on what it takes to become a LIVESTRONG intern.

How Lyndsay Went From Sports Intern to NFL Reporter
November 10 – One grad used her sports internship experience as a springboard to become a Reporter for the NFL’s New England Patriots.

Interested in writing a guest post for Eye of the Intern? Maybe you’ll end up on our “Best of 2012″ list! Email blog@internships.com with your idea for a post.

Austin Schaumberg (@A_Schaumberg) is a junior Management Information Systems major at the Bradley University, and an intern at Internships.com

By Austin Schaumberg

Recently Internships and Glassdoor.com announced plans to merge Glassdoor’s vast amount of salary data directly onto Internships.com listings. Internship seekers now can gain insight on income information for a gambit of full-time occupations, from entry-level up to more experienced positions at companies. By facilitating students’ research of company-specific salaries, bonuses and compensation details directly from their listings, internship seekers will now be able to evaluate what compensation they could receive if they pursue a career at one of the more than 150,000 companies listed on Glassdoor. Internships.com CEO, Robin D. Richards, says “Internships are the new job interview. With seven out of every ten internships turning into full time jobs, choosing the right opportunity to pursue is critical.”

Salary information for companies on Internships.com is listed on the right, via Glassdoor

“Our partnership with Glassdoor enables students to understand from the get-go what their future earning potential is as they start out in their career,” said Robin D. Richards, Chairman & CEO of Internships.com.

As a current student and seeker, the new updates to Internships.com are extremely useful. I can sift through the countless internships that I have an invested interest in, and decide if the potential salary and responsibilities involved with each are worthwhile to me. Overall, it enables ease of choosing desirable internships to apply to. The Glassdoor salary statistics combined with the integration of the “Who? Button” (which shows any connections you may have to a company, via Facebook) results in an efficient, enjoyable and valuable internship searching experience.

At Internships.com, we know real-world experience is the key to getting a job in today’s increasingly competitive global economy and it’s clear to educators and students around the world that the way to get ahead is through internships – so we’ve joined forces with Blackboard – a global leader in enterprise technology to expand and diversify on-campus job search and career development options for students, all within their Blackboard Learn™ course environment.

Internships.com integrated into the Blackboard dashboard

Within Blackboard Learn, students can already communicate with their professors and classmates, get access to their courses and homework, and keep track of classroom success. Now they’ll be able to search for internships and entry level jobs to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom.

This is just one more place for us to emphasize the importance of internships and career development and give students greater access to these opportunities – whether visiting us here on-site or within the learning environment at their university, students can take advantage of these opportunities no matter the platform or system.

If your school is a Blackboard Learn school, keep an eye out for this integration in the coming months.

This is a guest post from StudyAbroad.com – the Internet’s leading source of information for students seeking a study abroad program. Visit them on Facebook and Twitter.

By Alison Mohn

Study abroad offers great opportunities for you as you enter your career, but unless you can articulate the value of it in your job interviews; you won’t be using it to your full advantage.

While all interviews and study abroad experiences are different, here are some examples of how you can use your experience as anecdotal responses to typical interview questions.

Q:
Can you please provide an example of your ability to work independently?

A: I think the fact that I traveled across the world to live in a foreign country for a semester in and of itself exemplifies my ability to work independently. Studying abroad requires a huge deal of independence from planning for the trip to living the day to day life. I was challenged to prove my independence by making new friends, thriving in the classroom and in my schoolwork, planning weekend excursions to unfamiliar locations and organizing and managing my finances.

Q:
When was a time that you have had to use your problem solving skills?

A:Studying abroad allowed me to strengthen my problem solving skills. A challenging experience I faced was the experience of getting from one location to another. As I traveled across Italy, I was required to learn and understand the flight, bus and train transportation system, booking a safe hostel for resting and learning my way around a completely new location almost every weekend; and all while not speaking the native language. Not only did this prove my problem solving skills, but it also allowed me to become comfortable adapting to new, unfamiliar situations; something that I think will serve me well as I learn the system and culture here at your company.

Q:
What specific skills do you feel you bring to this position without having (much) full-time work experience?

A:Studying abroad allowed me to hone my leadership skills and forced me to develop the ability for quick thinking and problem solving; all of which are essential in this position. When you and your peers are in an unfamiliar setting, everyone sort of looks to someone else to help them navigate their way and lead by example. I took on that role with my new friends and classmates, and was able to really develop as a leader. I also think in order to be a strong leader, you need to have a keen understanding of yourself and your surroundings which I was able to do as I studied abroad. Plus, being in that unfamiliar setting forced me to be able to react quickly to a variety of situations which is how I developed the ability for quick thinking on my feet and problem solving. I’m excited to apply my ability to think quickly and problem solve here because I know this is a fast-paced and deadline-driven position.

Q:
What have you accomplished during your academic career that you are most proud of?

A:I’m most proud to say that I took a step out of my comfort zone by studying abroad. I immersed myself in a foreign culture which allowed me the opportunity to develop a global awareness that I didn’t have before I studied abroad. I think global awareness is a key attribute in an employee in today’s international market, and I’m proud to say that I have this new, diversified perspective that I can bring to your organization.

Learn more about using study abroad to your job-hunting advantage in this article, Navigating the Job Search After Studying Abroad.