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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1983)
% c £861 ‘SZ H3-ieiAl 'Aepu^ Work on internships provides experience by Lezlee Hinson Battalion reporter Are you looking for a way tc gain practical experience in youi field to decide if it's really foi you? Perhaps you just want ex perience on your resume to sel you apart from the rest of the crowd. An internship might be just what you are looking for. Students studying subjects from journalism to architecture to political science become in- Discuss your ideas with the interviewer and tell him where in the company you think you'd fit. Point out ways in which both you and the company will benefit from you intern ship. terns. The main attraction of an internship is the practical ex perience it provides. And in to day's competitive job market, this practical experience may be the one thing that sets you apart from all the other job applicants. However, internships can be hard to find. Now Writer's Di gest has made available an annual directory of internships called 1983 Internships, said Colleen Cannon, editor of the directory. Cannon said that few univer sities provide organized assist ance to students seeking intern ships, unless the internship is required by a certain class or for a particular degree. Most departments report that various companies send them announcements of internships available. This material is usual ly posted on department bulle tin boards and sometimes announced in class. But if you are interested in an internship, don't wait for such announcements, Cannon said. Instead, take the initiative. The first thing you should do is check the bulletin boards and talk to the professors in your major. If you don't find anything that appeals to you, you might con sult 1983 Internships, she said. To obtain a copy send $10.95 plus $1.50 for postage and hand ling to: Writer's Digest Books, 9933 Alliance Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242. 1983 Internships includes 16,000 listings of opportunities in many different fields, Can non said. They are listed by pro fession and are indexed geog raphically to help locate jobs in specific areas. Cannon said each listing in the book includes information such as the duties of the posi tion, the training offered, the qualifications, the availability of college credit, the length of the internship, the pay and the ap plication process. If you still haven't found an internship that's right for you, consider creating your own, Cannon said. Suppose you are interested in an internship in the field of advertising. Cannon said the first step is to choose four or five advertising agencies in your area that you'd like to work for. The next step is to research those agencies thoroughly. Find out everything you can about the company. Cannon sug gested. Try to determine where you might fit in. Cannon advised paying parti cular attention to company poli tics. This will help you deter mine who you should approach with your proposal for an in ternship. Once you have completed your research and feel you can talk about the company with some degree of intelligence, make an appointment for an in terview. She warns against going through the personnel depart ment. Usually they don't have any real authority. You want to talk to someone that has the power to hire you. Cannon re commends the president or a vice president of the company. The interview is your oppor tunity to sell yourself, Cannon said. It is very important that you are prepared. Consider be forehand questions you might be asked and be ready. Cannon advised paying particular atten tion to company poli tics. This will help you determine who you should approach with your proposal for an in ternship. Discuss your ideas with the interviewer and tell him where in the company you think you'd fit. Point out ways in which both you and the company will be nefit from you internship. If your first interview produces no results, don't get discouraged, Cannon said, just keep trying. Although internships are still new to most professions and occupations, they are catching on quickly. Cannon says that in the future they may become an essential step in career prepara tion. Out- Interviewing the Interviewer by Jan Werner Battalion Staff In Out-Interviewing the Interviewer, a book designed to help anyone, anywhere get a job, the authors Stephen K. Merman and John E. McLaughlin provide helpful hints for the confused gradu ate. Merman and McLaughlin are officers in PMG Incorpo rated, a management consult ing firm, so they know where of they speak. The authors treat the inter viewing process as a "screen test" — certainly a novel approach. They begin with a discussion of the process from the interviewer's point of view, describing the way in terview "scripts" are de signed and the different styles and techniques common among interviewers. The rest of the book takes you through the entire proce dure, covering strategies for actual interview, and follow ing-up on the interview after wards. And, in the happy event the interview is successful, the authors include tips for eva luating job offers and fitting in on the new job. Besides these standard tac tics, Out-Interviewing the In terviewer also includes prac tical exercises and sugges tions to help you develop the proper attitudes and non verbal communication skills to "beat the interviewers at their own game." This book would be very useful for any senior in the uncomfortable position of having to leave the haven of the Placement Center and dredge up interviews on their own. — $7.95 Prentice-Hall, Inc. The Texas Job Bank This is the bottom line. No interviewing tips, no hints for developing a positive mental attitude, no suggestions for planning the rest of your life. All this book tells you is where the jobs are and who to write to ask if you can have one. Actually, it does include a little more. It begins with a listing of hundreds of poten tial employers in Texas — the name and address of the firm, a description of their principal business, and the contact person's name. It in cludes various positions, from account to underwriter. Finally, the book closes with a cross-listing of all the employers who might be hir ing people for a particular position. The Texas Job Bank is part of a series, edited by Robert Lang Adams, that covers the major metropolitan areas of the country. Other volumes include issues for Boston, Greater Chicago, southern and northern California, and New York. This book could provide a good starting point for the bewildered, and job less, graduate. — $9.95, Bob Adams, Inc. THE TEXAS I MIT';; j A Comprehensive Guide To Major Local Employers Covers All Industries Describes 1.000 Major Firms How-To Section on Job Search Techniques aos ACAMS INC. To Work: A Guide for Women College Graduates Patricia W. Lunneborg and Vicki M. Wilson, identified in the cover blurb as "career planning experts," direct their book at women college graduates who "have decided on the goal of meaningful work throughout their life time." If you fit, or will fit, that description, this book might be a worthwhile pur chase. Most of the book concerns problems unique to women entering the work force, and methods of overcoming those problems. The authors emphasize self-awareness in dealing with personal and so cial barriers, and include sev eral tests and checklists to help readers assess job skills and decide what kind of job to seek. Other chapters describe tac tics for planning careers be fore graduation, re-entering the work force, and handling racism and/or sexism on the job. The prose can be a little hard to follow, but there's some valuable information buried in the jargon. And all the "self-awareness" quizzes are entertaining, at the very least. — $6.95, Prentice-Hall, Inc.