If students learned one lesson during the internship symposium, it was the value of
networking.
Second-year Josef Korbel School students gathered to offer first-year students lessons and advice they learned at their various internships.
From the State Department in Singapore, to the UN's Development Programme in Mauritius and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, Josef Korbel Students were all over the globe this summer working on economic affairs, to security and development issues.
The Office of Career and Professional Development brought several second-year students together in the first Internship Symposium that the office hopes to make annual.
Melissa Martin, the Associate Director for Internship Programs, opened the symposium by telling students what to think about before deciding where to do an internship. She advised students to factor in location, language, financing, and told them to consider what skills they want to develop or if their goal is to get a security clearance.
“To me the environment of an internship is so important,” Martin said. “The mentorships. The networking.”
Before dismissing the students so they could practice networking with the first-years, Mira Morton Luna, the Associate Director for Employer and Career Development, offered some networking tips.
“This is about making connections and developing a relationship with somebody,” Morton Luna said. “It's a two way street. You have different perspectives to offer.”
Morton Luna told students to start thinking about networking as developing personal information and contacts. She added that they should prepare their 30 second speech – where you articulate what you have to offer.
“It's what you want them to remember about you,” Morton Luna said.
She added some basic rules to follow when networking:
Second-year Josef Korbel School students gathered to offer first-year students lessons and advice they learned at their various internships.
From the State Department in Singapore, to the UN's Development Programme in Mauritius and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, Josef Korbel Students were all over the globe this summer working on economic affairs, to security and development issues.
The Office of Career and Professional Development brought several second-year students together in the first Internship Symposium that the office hopes to make annual.
Melissa Martin, the Associate Director for Internship Programs, opened the symposium by telling students what to think about before deciding where to do an internship. She advised students to factor in location, language, financing, and told them to consider what skills they want to develop or if their goal is to get a security clearance.
“To me the environment of an internship is so important,” Martin said. “The mentorships. The networking.”
Before dismissing the students so they could practice networking with the first-years, Mira Morton Luna, the Associate Director for Employer and Career Development, offered some networking tips.
“This is about making connections and developing a relationship with somebody,” Morton Luna said. “It's a two way street. You have different perspectives to offer.”
Morton Luna told students to start thinking about networking as developing personal information and contacts. She added that they should prepare their 30 second speech – where you articulate what you have to offer.
“It's what you want them to remember about you,” Morton Luna said.
She added some basic rules to follow when networking:
- Smile
- Ask questions to show you're interested in the other person
- Listen
- Hand out business cards
- Say the person's name so you're more likely to remember it
- Thank the person for their time
And don't forget to have an exit line.
“When you try to think too much, you come across as nervous,” Morton Luna added.
“When you try to think too much, you come across as nervous,” Morton Luna added.
- M. Schwinn, MA Candidate, International Security
