Author Archives: Rebekah Wilson

About Rebekah Wilson

English and American Literatures major at Middlebury College, Class of 2014

Volunteering: a great way to supplement your skills throughout the year

Check out this article from Forbes about how volunteering with nonprofits can give you experience and skills (similar to an internship) that are beneficial in the corporate world. Are you already involved on campus with community service such as Community Friends or Charter House? This article can help you find ways to effectively describe your service experiences in a business context for a job or internship interview.

Forbes: Volunteering – A Great Way To Learn Real Executive Leadership:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2011/12/21/volunteering-a-great-way-to-learn-real-executive-leadership/

Check out these upcoming volunteer opportunities to get you started:

MiddAction
Weekly Volunteer Service Opportunities
The time is always right to do what is right.”  ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
Middlebury College MLK Day of Service: January 21st
Middlebury College faculty, staff, and students are invited to participate in community service projects to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Transportation will be provided for anyone needing it to volunteer at off-campus project sites. You will be emailed with a confirmation and details of your volunteer service site.To sign up to volunteer email Ashley Calkins, jcalkins@middlebury.edu, 802.443.3099. Please list your site preference in the email!
·       HOPE:Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects (HOPE) needs your help in preparing for the rest of the winter. Volunteers will depart from campus at 10:00 a.m. and return by 1:00 p.m.
·       Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation: Singers and performers are needed from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. to perform for residents.
·       Mothers Without Borders session sponsored by the Volunteer Services Organization (VSO): Join VSO in Ross B11 any time between 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. to make some Brandy Blankets for Porter Hospital and the VT Children’s Hospital. No sewing experience is necessary. Your wonderful blankets will be provided to babies and children in Pediatric Units in the Northeast. If you have any questions please email Daniela Barajas at vso@middlebury.edu.
·       Project Independence session sponsored by VSO: Volunteers will travel to Project Independence to participate in read-alouds and games with elderly participants. Volunteers will depart from campus at 8:45 a.m. and be back by 2:15 p.m.
·       Additional student organizations including Xiao Pengyou and Friends of John Graham Shelter are also planning MLK Day of Service activities
 
January is National Mentoring Month
Get involved by joining Middlebury College DREAM.  The DREAMProgram is a non-profit mentoring organization that builds communities of families and college students that empower children from disadvantaged circumstances to recognize their options, make informed decisions, and achieve their dreams!  DREAM is looking for mentors for their Friday events, which range from arts and crafts to sports and games!  Spend a couple of hours on a Friday afternoon this J-Term with DREAM…and have fun while making a difference! For more information, contact Ali Siegel ’12 at absiegel@middlebury.edu.
 
Mentors Needed
Two Bristol teens are looking for college students to spend time with.  One is a 7th grade girl who enjoys rollerblading and swimming and would benefit from having an energetic female mentor.  The other, an 8th grade boy, seeks an equally active and energetic male mentor with whom to explore the outdoors, bowl, bike, and play pool.  Both live immediately outside of downtown Bristol, and would love college role models!  For more information, please contact Emma Lennon, Mentoring and Youth Programs Coordinator, at elennon@middlebury.edu
 
1/23 College Defensive Driving Class [Required to drive campus vehicles!]
This program is required for anyone who wishes to rent a College passenger or 15-passenger vehicle. If you might want to use a campus vehicle for volunteering this semester, plan to take this defensive driving class! There is no cost for the class but a driving orientation (a 1 hour review on the road) is required for 15-passenger Vans and larger vehicles. Class time is about 2 Hrs.  REMINDER:A valid state license is required to take the class. Individuals wanting a 15-Passenger Van license must have 3 years of driving experience. Questions? Email Ed Sullivan, Sullivan@middlebury.edu. Upcoming class:January 23 4:30 pm Axinn 220.
 
Town Hall Theater: seeking a social media guru
Town Hall Theater in downtown Middlebury is looking for someone to design and maintain a social media strategy that will promote events at the theater.  Must have a thorough understanding of Facebook, Twitter, and anything else that has been invented since this message was posted.  3 hours per week.  If interested, contact Douglas Anderson at danderson@townhalltheater.org
 
Performing Opportunity: Wednesday, Jan. 25
Leicester Central School’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration: People are needed to support the celebration by leading activities and/or performances either for Pre-K through 2nd graders or 3rd – 6th graders on the theme of MLK and social justice . The options are endless! Get creative: poetry reading or musical performers welcome. To sign-up or for more information email Ashley Calkins, jcalkins@middlebury.edu.
 
Swimming Partner Needed
A community member is seeking a swimming partner and college student friend. This individual is an enthusiastic young woman with a cognitive delay as a result of chronic heart problems. Interested? Email Emma Lennon, Mentoring and Youth Programs Coordinator, elennon@middlebury.edu.
 
Sign up to volunteer at the Face Off Against Breast Cancer Hockey Tournament 1/21 and 1/22
Volunteers are needed for many different tasks including running the clock, announcing games, baking food and working in the penalty box. To learn more and sign up for a shift visit:
www1.mysignup.com/wham2012.  Questions? Call Anne Chabot at 388-0234 or email achabot@middlebury.edu.
 
Questions?If you have questions about any of these volunteer opportunities or want to learn more ways to get involved in the local community, contact Ashley Calkins, Community Engagement Coordinator, jcalkins@middlebury.edu, 802.443.3099
 

Coming in J-Term…

“First-Year Fridays” at EIA! If you’re a member of the class of 2015,  keep an eye out for an official invitation to stop by the Center for Education in Action on the afternoons of January 13, 20, or 27th to meet with one of our advisors. We’ll be here to answer your questions about writing a resume, volunteering, finding a summer internship, choosing a major, service learning, using MOJO . . . whatever’s on your mind.

Take an internship predictor!

Still need some guidance on your internship search? Not sure where you’d best fit in as an intern?

Internships.com offers a internship predictor that can help you identify some of your strengths and preferences as you continue your search!

Here are some sample results from the internship predictor taken by a random student (okay, they’re my results). Find out your own results by taking the predictor at: http://www.internships.com/predictor

You value an internship in an organization that serves others through knowledge. You need leaders who appreciate your desire to help others to become more rational.

Your interests indicate:

  • You like to express feelings and emotions that directly impact people in a positive way.
  • You are drawn to opportunities to teach, cure, help, counsel, train, minister or support people.
  • You are agreeable, patient and outgoing with highly developed social skills.

You gravitate to environments that are cooperative and friendly. You want to motivate others and value consensus building and open communication and work hard to create cultures that are supportive and comfortable for all associates.

You may also find:

  • You are artistic, imaginative, and innovative.
  • You like to use your creativity to express feelings and emotions.
  • You are drawn to the arts, performance, writing and fields that appreciate unusual ideas and aesthetic styles.

You gravitate to internships that appreciate free-spirited and original thinkers. You are unconventional and intense, preferring to create a new path than follow traditional norms. You prefer creative work that allows a lot of independence and opportunity to change things.

The best internship experience for you is one that will allow you to find and facilitate possibilities for people

As such you:

  • Tend to want internships in which the work is future focused and has an impact on human development.
  • Might be drawn to internships in psychology, research, literature, art, music, academia, and sociology.
  • Prefer internships that require you to be understanding and use your communication skills to perform your work. As an intern, you do not need to see tangible results on a daily basis as long as you know your efforts are directed at supporting the health and wellness of others.

The best internship environment for you.

You may prefer a specialized environment in which concentration on critical functions is prized. You may tend to prefer internships in an organizational structure that is flat instead of hierarchical. You may prefer that the role of each individual is clear and determined by the different functions required by certain levels of education and expertise.

The best kind of boss for you.

You may prefer internships in which the leader is warm, person-centered, and adaptable. You appreciate leaders who embrace their interns as unique individuals first and workers second. While these leaders sometimes struggle with making difficult decisions regarding employees, they review each situation separately and analyze it, to determine the best solution given the circumstances. These are leaders who create a “family” environment at work.

Your style of interning and strengths in an internship.

You are more likely to have your heart-strings pulled than others. You are deeply influenced by your emotions and have a gift for empathizing with and seeing good in others that is lost to their counterparts.

You are able to evaluate situations in human terms. You show outstanding relationship management, client advocacy and customer service.

Before you leave for break, check out these Midd-friendly internships in MOJO:

 

  • WT Marketing Coordinator for Womenade –via alum Victoria Gonin ’83  Only 5-10 hrs/wk, Deadline Sunday 12/11
  • CLIMB – St. Charles Investment Bank in Denver, CO deadline Friday 12/16
  • Summer Science and Education Interns – 2 positions in Denali National Park, Alaska, deadline January 13
  • HBO summer intern, provided by Midd Alum Otto Berk ’85 – Deadline January 31. – PAID
  • Shepherd Alliance Poverty Summer InternshipPAID deadline Jan 15, info sessions in J-term.
  • State Street, summer intern, deadline Dec 31

 

Summer Finance or other ON CAMPUS interviews:

  • Lazard, Summer Finance Analyst, no on campus interviews, deadline Jan 15
  • Audax, private equity summer analyst – ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Jan 25th – deadline to apply Jan 11
  • Fidelity, Equity trader summer intern– ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Jan 24th, deadline to apply  is Jan 15
  • General Reinsurance, summer intern – ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Jan 26th, deadline to apply is Jan 15
  • Macquaire Capital, summer intern – ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Feb 2 and 3, deadline to apply is Jan 18
  • Apollo Management, trustee Anthony Civale ’96, alternative asset management, senior debt group, deadline to apply is Jan 10
  • Blackstone, summer intern – ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Jan 18, deadline to apply is Jan 5
  • Goldman Sachs, investment banking summer analyst – ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Jan 20, deadline to apply Jan 12
  • Bank of America/Merryl Lynch, summer global corporate and investment banking/capital markets, deadline Jan 6
  • Putnam Associates,  summer analyst intern, deadline Jan 16
  • Stanwich Advisors – details coming soon

 

More details, as always in MOJO

Where to look for your internship: top 10 sites

Here’s a recent list we compiled here at the Center for Education in Action of the top sites to use in your internship search!

  1. EnvironmentalJobs.com
    www.environmentaljobs.com

    Comprehensive listing of jobs in environmental fields
  2. Green Career Central
    www.greencareercentral.com

    There is a membership fee but some areas are free; good tips for career direction
  3. Green Job Spider
    www.greenjobspider.com

    Highly focused search engine that daily indexes green jobs from “pre-approved” (reputable) reliable sources
  4. Job Seeker
    www.jobseeker.com

    Comprehensive listing of green, natural resources and environmental opportunities
  5. Idealist.org
    www.idealist.org

    Site focuses on issues of interest to nonprofit organizations and job seekers; includes listings for green careers with not-for-profits
  6. LinkedIn
    www.linkedin.com

    A business networking site with a variety of job openings, many associated with green careers
  7. New Grad Life
    www.newgradlife.blogspot.com

    Find free help on job search, resumes, interviews, with a great jobs board for new grads
  8. SimplyHired
    www.simplyhired.com

    A great job search site that provides a salary tool
  9. Sustainable Business
    www.sustainablebusiness.com

    Global news and networking opportunities for sustainable businesses; link to Dreamjobs.com.
  10. ]Website lists additional options at http://www.northland.edu/job-search.htm

Additional Resources:

www.ed2010.com – marketing/magazine/publishing in NYC

www.jobmonkey.com – internships and p/t, summer jobs. Just a little off the beaten path.

www.indeed.com – good WebCrawler

Simplyhired.com (for corporate and government)

YouTern.com (for social media, non-profit and start-up opportunities)

Idealist.org (for non-profit)

Studentjobs.gov (for federal positions)

Heart at work: interviews with innovative changemaking professionals

Echoing Green’s ongoing series, “Heart at Work,” profiles the careers paths of individuals working to make an impact in social, environmental, and education initiatives (just to name a few). Check out Echoing Green’s interviews with people from a variety of nonprofit fields to hear their takes on internships, finding that first job, and the importance of remaining flexible during your career planning stage. You just might be inspired!

http://www.echoinggreen.org/taxonomy/term/653

Vermont Young Professionals Panel Discussion

Landing_Career_in_VT_VYP

VERMONT YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO HOST PANEL DISCUSSION –
“LANDING A CAREER IN VERMONT: CAREER SEEKING STRATEGIES FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS”
An event for young professionals who are job hunting, have changed jobs, have been laid off, or are considering a different career path.

(Burlington, VT)—On Wednesday evening, December 7th, the Vermont Young Professionals (VYP) will host a panel discussion entitled “Landing a Career in Vermont—Career Seeking Strategies for Young Professionals.”

The event will be held at the Champlain College Auditorium in Burlington on Wednesday, December 7th beginning at 5:30 pm.  HR experts from well-known Vermont companies—including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, MyWebGrocer, Logic Supply, and Spherion—will offer career tips to Vermont job seekers.
Topics will include:

  • The Vermont job market vs. “the big city.”
  • How to increase chances of getting a first interview after submitting an online resume.
  •  A behind-the-scenes look at the hiring process: how applicants are screened, who makes it to the top of the heap, and who gets an initial call.
  • The biggest resume and cover letter mistakes job seekers make and how to avoid them.
  • How to represent yourself if you were laid off or fired from a previous job.
  • How to get a call back: tips for following up an interview.

The idea for this event was created after VYP’s own president, Mall Hall, was laid off from his job of four years. “I knew other people were facing similar challenges,” Hall said. “VYP wants to help young professionals find a career they are passionate about, a career that will take them to the next level, and most importantly, a career that will allow them to stay in Vermont.”

Free hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served.  This event is free.

For more information about the event http://www.facebook.com/events/318146284878699/
For more information about VYP: http://www.vermontyoungprofessionals.com

Business casual on a budget: dressing for your internship

So ladies. You’ve started applying for internships. Maybe you’ve even secured a fantastic winter internship (Wintermship? Can we make that a “thing?” Please?). Somewhere in this process it’s probably dawned on you that jeggings and Bean boots might not be appropriate attire for the office. I know what you must be thinking. “But I just spent my birthday money/allowance/entire Crossroads paycheck on tickets to see Passion Pit! How will I afford a business casual wardrobe?” And more, existentially, “What is business casual, really? Do I really need to set foot in an Ann Taylor? All that mauve makes me uncomfortable.”

Don’t worry. Even though you’ve made a grave mistake (Passion Pit is terrible live. You’ll regret it. Also, Ann Taylor is under-appreciated. Give a sister a chance.) we’ve got you covered. Check out this article from HelloGiggles (which just might become your new favorite website if it isn’t already) for tips on how to dress all business casual-y on a college kid budget:

http://hellogiggles.com/business-casual-on-a-budget

Is your internship worth it?

Internships can be insightful, life-changing experiences, but not all internships are created equal. By identifying what you hope to get out of your experience and doing some research beforehand (i.e. finding out what exactly you’ll be doing on a daily basis) as well as creating realistic goals for your experience, you can make sure to find an internship that will be both useful in the long run and rewarding from day-to-day.

This article from GOOD Magazine’s recent series The GOOD Guide to Hustlin’, shines a little light on how to make sure an internship is right for you. Check it out as you continue your search this Thanksgiving break:

http://www.good.is/post/the-good-guide-to-hustlin-how-to-know-if-your-internship-is-worth-it/

Beyond Turkey Talk: Making the most of your holiday breaks

It’s official: fall is on its way out and the winter holidays are fast approaching! Many of you are headed home for Thanksgiving in just a couple short weeks for a few days of rest, good food, and a much-needed break from the books. Take advantage of this break from the daily grind to start thinking about next summer. In the last the last issue of The Compass we dished out some advice on networking over the holidays by formulating an “elevator speech” to let friends and family know what you’re looking for and what you have to offer. Here are some more ways to get a head start on your internship search!

According to About.com’s guide to internships students should “[be] aware that certain industries and internships have early deadlines, and recruit and hire as early as November. Beginning your internship search during winter break affords you additional time to look for internships and perhaps make some valuable connections with alumni or professionals within organizations of interest prior to returning to college. ”

Internet resources like MOJO are great for finding internships, but don’t rely too heavily online resources, especially if you want to stay close to home this summer. You could miss out on some great opportunities right under your nose! Start by setting aside an afternoon or two during your break to make phone calls. Check in with local businesses and organizations to see about the possibilities of an internship. About.com recommends looking for internships “online as well as identifying potential employers through classified ads, the the local Chamber of Commerce, or the phone book…Finding an internship requires some research and planning for finding the right internship opportunities but the results are definitely worth the effort.”

Check out more tips for finding internship tips at: http://internships.about.com/od/internsites/tp/howtofind.htm