Maximize Your Summer Vacation

By Alexis Musick, Toppel Peer Advisor

With finals only one week away, career development is the last thing on any college student’s mind. Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: summer vacation. While the ever-anticipated break is more often a source of fun and relaxation, it too can be a period of productivity. Summer break is the perfect time to develop new skills, take part in interesting experiences to build your resume, and further your personal and professional development. Here are four tips on how to make the most of your summer vacation.

1. Find a summer job relating to your career goals. Taking part in a part- or full-time job over the summer is almost always a rewarding experience. Not only does it give you an opportunity to pay off loans, afford rent, or stash a little cash in your back pocket for personal spending, but it also is an excellent way to start forging valuable connections as you gain experience in your field of interest. There are thousands of possibilities: Biology major? Check out field technician positions with an environmental company like Clarke. Plan to go into Computer Science? Don’t be afraid to embrace what you may consider a “lower-tier” job like Best Buy’s Geek Squad or a customer service position at a local tech score. A quick Google search can help reveal all of the possibilities.

2. Get an internship. Generally, while internships feature less (or no pay) compared to a regular job, they offer a more hands-on experience where you are able to work in a more technical, specific, or higher-level setting. Visit Handshake, Toppel’s career management system, which contains a database of internships that you can apply for directly on the system. Once you log in (with the same UM log-in information you use everywhere else), take a look at the lefthand column and click the section that says “Internships.” You can filter the hundreds and hundreds of results by things like location or employment type and find the internship you’ve been looking for!

3. Volunteer. Volunteering is an excellent opportunity to develop new skills that you can use in a job or internship. For instance, a student studying political science might benefit from volunteering with a legal clinic or community health center. The knowledge you accumulate and your demonstrated commitment to community service may give you a leg up when compared to other applicants who may have focused only on “professional” involvements.

4. Start networking and building connections. One way to get your name out there within your field of interest is by creating a LinkedIn profile (or polishing it up if you already have one). If you meet professionals at a career fair or during an interview, you can invite them to connect with you. Having recruiters or individuals within a company recognize your name upon application is a huge benefit; alternatively, the people you connect with might be the ones who can recommend you for a position elsewhere. Stop by Toppel from 9:00am to 5:00pm to meet with a Peer Advisor and have your LinkedIn profile critiqued!

Guide to Finding Summer Internship Housing

By Vinessa Burnett, Toppel Peer Advisor

So you’ve just landed your dream internship in a big new city and can’t wait for summer to roll around. Before you get too excited, you remember that there’s one caveat: you have to figure out where to live. As more and more companies expand their selection pool of interns to students across the country, many more students are left with the daunting prospect of searching for a place to live –often without much financial assistance or resources. This can be particularly challenging, given that most apartment complexes do not do short-term leases, and finding someone willing to sublease their place for three months can be difficult. But don’t worry, that’s where I come in. I’m here to help make the summer internship housing search process a whole lot easier!

Listed below are some of my favorite websites for finding summer internship housing, followed by some other helpful tips and tricks.

Rentler.com
Rentler is a great website when first starting your housing search. It has a simple interface and shows you exactly what you are looking for. Once you’re on the website, click the “Find all rentals” drop down menu and select “Sublease or Student Contract”. Next, select the city where your internship will be located in. A list of available options will be presented grid-style for you to choose from.

Leasful.com
Leaseful is an up-and-coming website geared specifically towards college students seeking to sublease for the summer. Simply enter the location of your internship and the dates that you will be staying. After clicking “Search”, you’ll be presented with a wide variety of subleasing options from other college students just like you.

Hotpads.com
On Hotpads, you can search for your ideal place in just a few clicks. First, type in the location of your internship and click search. A wide range of options will be presented to you on a map. To narrow your options down to just subleases, select the “More” tab at the top right and under “Listing Type”, select “Sublet.”

Sublet.com
While not as user-friendly as some of the other websites I’ve listed, Sublet definitely does live up to its name. On the home screen, simply select “Sublets”. This will take you to another page where you’ll enter the location. Once your search results appear, you’ll be able to sort and filter your results according to lease term, price, and even narrow it down to only furnished listings!

Airbnb.com
Known by travelers as a unique alternative to traditional hotels, Airbnb has grown to become much more than that. Many Airbnb hosts are open to long-term leases and most provide additional discounts for monthly rentals. If you’re curious about a particular listing, just send a message to the host!

And if you or someone you know is staying in Miami this summer...

University of Miami- Intern Housing

Summer Intern Housing at UM is a great way for interns to have flexible move-in and move-out dates and avoid the potential hassle of finding a lease/sublet for the summer. This is available to all undergraduate and graduate students who are participating in a summer internship. Many universities offer this kind of option, so if you are interning outside of Miami, this could be something to consider. For more information on UM’s Intern Housing Program, feel free to contact the Department of Housing and Residential Life at 305-284-4505.

Useful tips:
• Most major cities have Facebook groups dedicated to housing, and in particular, subleases. For example, there is a Dallas (TX) Sublets and Subleases group. To find the Facebook housing group for the city where you’ll be interning, simply enter in the search bar the name of the city, followed by either the word “housing” or “sublease.” Once in the group you’ll be able to comment on listings and interact with hosts.
• Be cautious of websites such as Craigslist that often feature scams. Do all that you can to verify the legitimacy of any listing that you come across so that you can ensure your physical and financial safety.
• Many universities and colleges offer internship housing to non-students during the summer. Be sure to reach out to local universities in the area to inquire about summer internship housing.
• Living with another intern could easily cut down costs in half. If possible, connect with other incoming interns and try to find a place to live together.

Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you in your internship housing search for the summer. The search process isn’t easy, but with the right know-how, you’ll be able to find a place in no time!

Time to Apply for the Summer Internship

By Melissa Wyatt, Toppel Peer Advisor

It’s that time of year again – time to apply for a summer internship. With many application deadlines fast approaching, here’s a quick checklist of how to perfect your applications and find an internship.

1. Visit the Toppel Branding Lab

You can visit the Toppel Branding Lab Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 4:30 PM to help perfect your resume and cover letter. You don’t need an appointment, and can solidify your application materials by critiquing them with a Peer Advisor. When applying for a competitive internship program, you need your application to stand out.

2. Ask for letters of recommendation and references now – don’t wait!

Ask for letters of recommendation today! You won’t be able to get a great recommendation if you wait until the last minute. Whether your application is due December 1st or February 1st, reach out to former employers and professors now about writing you letters of recommendation. Even if an application doesn’t ask for recommendations or references in the first application round, still reach out to potential references now. Stay in touch with them throughout your internship search, and ask their permission to use them as a reference if needed.

3. Practice your interview skills with a practice interview

You can schedule a full practice interview with Toppel’s professional staff at (305) 284-5451. In just one hour, you can have a practice interview specifically tailored to your field, and you will receive detailed feedback about your interview performance. If you’re pressed for time, drop in for a 20-minute mini mock interview and assessment with Toppel’s Peer Advisors. Both options will help you learn how to answer the tricky questions interviewers might ask, and will teach you how to sell yourself to an employers.

4. Use Handshake to look for an internship

Last but not least, log onto Handshake and use Toppel’s job search feature at miami.joinhandshake.com. Through your Handshake account, you have access to the 2,000+ jobs and internships that employers advertise through Toppel. Once your online resume is uploaded and critiqued by our staff (3-5 business days), you can even apply for an internship directly through Handshake.

You don’t have an internship? You don’t have to sweat it

By Maura Gergerich, Toppel Peer Advisor

As many of you have experienced, the past few months have been a rush of applications and interviews in order to figure out what you’ll be doing with your life for the summer. For those of you who have heard good news from companies, congratulations! Some of you may not have had the best of luck, but don’t start your panic just yet. Summer has just started, so there may still be opportunities out there for you. Although it may seem like every position has been filled there are many large companies that have less rigorous recruiting periods and can still include you as an intern. You may also feel like there aren’t any postings in your field. If this is the case you can send a letter of intent to companies that you want to work for and inquire if they happen to have any openings that just might not be posted in the places you’re searching. This is basically the same format as a cover letter except you won’t be applying for a specific position. Even if the companies you contact don’t have openings at this point in time it will show that you are eager to work for them and will probably up your chances should you decide to apply there in the future.

Internships aren’t the only way to spend your summer. Maybe you can expand your search to find a day job so you can start saving up money. This can benefit you by giving you some extra references and also extra pocket money never hurt anyone. It might help to save up in case down the line you get an unpaid internship. You can also try to do some volunteering or acquire a research position in the area. Talk to professors and see what they recommend. There could be on campus jobs that you might not be aware of that would be perfect for you.

While having a summer internship is a wonderful opportunity, it won’t make or break your career. There’s nothing wrong with taking your time off to actually have a break and do things you enjoy. Hanging out with friends from home or catching up on Netflix could be how you want to spend your summer. There’s always the option of fall internships or just waiting till next summer.

The Summer Internship Hunt

By Kelly Martin, Toppel Peer Advisor

It’s that time of year again: the humidity is creeping back into our weather, professors are starting to remind you to actually start that final project you’ve known about for the whole semester, and the “what am I doing this summer?!” panic sets in as you realize we are a little over a month away from the end of the year. So inevitably, we here at Toppel are hearing the same question over and over: how do I find a summer internship?

As college students we are constantly being told how important internships are to our future career, but often, heavy course loads and on campus involvement makes it difficult to balance an internship during the school year. Summer is the perfect time to dive head first into an internship and get some valuable experience. So, how do you find that elusive summer internship?

To start, check out HireACane.com. After logging in with your CaneID information, click on the “Jobs” tab and start searching. Use different keywords to narrow down your search and find exactly what you’re looking for.

Can’t find your perfect internship on HireACane? Here’s where you might have to do a bit more work. All of the internships and jobs I’ve ever gotten have come from just doing a Google search and seeing where that takes me. I follow tons of organizations in my field on Facebook and Twitter, and constantly keep up to date on what they’re doing to see if they’re places I’d be interested in working at, and sometimes they’ll even put job/internship postings on Facebook.  

So what if you find your dream company, but there’s nothing posted about internship openings? While many websites will have a “careers” or “internships” page, you might have to dig a little further with others to find the opportunity you’re looking for. You can send a letter of inquiry to a company expressing your interest in working for them and asking if they have anything available. They might turn you down but you really have nothing to lose!

Once you find the internship opportunities you want to apply for, come to Toppel for walk-in advising and we can help craft the perfect cover letters and resumes for those applications. Before you know it, you’ll have an awesome summer internship lined up!

Important Reminders for Young Professionals

By Rebecca Graffam, Toppel Peer Advisor

One year into my college career, where I have been majoring in Business Administration and minoring in napping, I am also one year into my first real “big girl” job.  Starting off at Toppel afraid to make a slight misstep, my daunting position soon turned into a promotion for taking initiative in my job and showing I can handle responsibility.  With Toppel becoming like a second home, I can now say with confidence that I am ready for my next job this summer with a real estate firm.  And I’m pretty ridiculously excited. 

While juggling school, extra-curriculars, a social life, and a job, I had a lot of people telling me to just chill out this summer.  However, I cannot stay still for long and not only decided to branch out to this job but also take summer classes in the upcoming months.  Even though I may be putting a lot on my plate for the summer, I am pretty pleased with my decision and I am eager to begin exploring new career paths. 

I am also insanely scared, because once again, I will be the new girl in a new industry. 

I’m starting over.  Again.

So, how does a college student handle so much in a year without going crazy? Bubble wrap.  Both for packing purposes for your oh-so-delicate thank you cards you will be writing up the ying-yang to potential future employers thanking them for interviews as well as an inexpensive stress reliever.  Secondly, this list of reminders for the sanity and confidence of the young professional:

1.  Age does not define you.

Just because you do not have as much experience (or as many wrinkles) as the person next to you, your youth is not your defining trait or a detriment.  Never allow anyone respect you or your work less simply because you are from a different generation.   

2.  You are valuable.

You should constantly be on the look out for learning opportunities.  Whether it is a promotion in the company for which you are working, or the knowledge that you are worth more somewhere else, always be on the lookout to grow.  Though loyalty is important, it is also important in the early stages of a job to use the period as a learning experience.  Gather information and absorb the knowledge of the people around you, but never forget how significant you are.  Remember that they are learning from you too.

3.  Be yourself. 

The best way to succeed is to be unapologetically you.  Attempting to be someone else will only hurt you in the long run.  Do not lie in an interview and do not act like someone you are not when communicating with your coworkers.  You want people to like you for you.

4.  Network. Network. Network.

You should be connecting with professionals everywhere you go.  Take all your interactions with people and absorb as much information as possible.  There is something to learn from every person you meet, and the people you meet in your career have the potential to be valuable assets in the future. 

5.  Do not be afraid to press the reset button.

Starting over after a failure means you are growing.  You will develop your professional brand and who you are as a person through trials and tribulations and hitting the reset button multiple times in your life.  When you look back on your career, you will remember how exciting and terrifying it was to get knocked down and get back up again to move on.  Keep moving forward and never stay down. 

And if you are just starting, do not forgot to remind yourself how far you are about to go.

Think Before You Post

By Emma Melissa Reyes, Social Media Intern

Summer is here! That means fun in the sun, new adventures, backpacking across Europe, traveling to new exciting places, and making lifelong memories.
 

However, sometimes we can get so caught up in our fun that we forget to think twice before posting pictures or a Tweet. We have to remember that the Internet is a place for the good, but also for the "what did I just post?"  

Those posts can sometimes backfire when it comes to future employers. Employers take to social media to find out more on the person he or she is considering to hire. To avoid a misunderstanding, put your best face forward and think about what your future boss may say about that picture of you taking shots with your bros or your girls before hitting post. 

Here are a few tips to contemplate before posting content… 

1) Don't post any photos of you drinking alcohol. If you post photos of yourself drinking, that image will become a part of the perception the employer has of you. Be aware of posting content that includes any illegal substances, because what you do in your own private time, is that … YOUR private time. Keep it that way. 

2) Don't post pictures of yourself with a lack of clothes. No nudity whatsoever. You want to convey an image of professionalism.

3) Don't post any content that includes profane language. Might be funny at the time to post something that has inappropriate language, but think of what your future self would say about it. 

4) Don't post emotionally reactive content. Remember summer is supposed to be a fun and memorable time while on break from school and the last thing you want is to post something negative that you will regret later. Because you will regret it. Please keep this tip in mind every time you feel the need to post a reaction to something when emotions are high. 

5) Be careful of leaving your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account open for anyone to login and post. You will always have that one person who wants to play a joke on you by posting or Tweeting something you have no approval of and before you know it, you'll find yourself deleting the post and explaining what happened to people. The last thing you want is for a post like that to be on your profile at the exact time an employer is viewing your page.  

To ensure your profile is as private as you want it to be, check the privacy settings on each social networking site because they are constantly changing. However, remember, anything posted on the Internet will live forever, so no matter how private your profile might be there is always a way to find it.

Ace those finals!

By Maura Gergerich, Toppel Peer Advisor

 

The day every student has been looking forward to the entire semester is almost here; summer vacation! The entire semester summer break has seemed forever away. Now let the realization sink in that its actually only one week from now. BUT in order to get that much needed R&R that comes with the end of the semester, you first have to be able to make it through those finals exams. It might be a struggle and super tempting to blow it all off, but hang in there! 

Take it a little at a time

Studying in small doses is a lot less overwhelming than trying to learn 12 chapters of your textbook in one day. Put some time aside each day to try to lock in all the information that’s going to be on your final. It’s a lot less stressful to know you only have maybe one or two chapters to look over the night before your final.

 

Look over notes the night before

So maybe you do procrastinate a little. Everyone does at some point. If this happens make sure you at least look over your notes the night before rather than waiting until the morning for those late finals. While you sleep, your brain has the opportunity to lock that information into your long term memory. Studies have been done that show students that only study the night before an exam do better than those that study right before. Now this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t review in the morning as well to give yourself the best chance at acing your test.

Take study breaks

Studying for 12 hours in a row is super tiring and stressful. Your brain is more likely to retain all that information if you take one ten minute break for every hour.  Get out of your seat and stretch a little to keep your body awake and mind alert. Also its important to keep in mind that if you miss the time you are supposed to go back to studying that doesn’t mean you get to extend your break for the next five or ten minutes. Set alarms to keep you on track if you are prone to distractions. 

Sleep!

Get lots of sleep this upcoming week. It’s important for your brain to function at full capacity. Its ok to go out and have fun for a night or two but don’t wear yourself down when you have important schoolwork to keep up with.

Remember to relax

This is your last chance to enjoy yourself and spend time with your friends before everyone departs for home, vacations, and trips abroad. Be sure to schedule time for fun so you don’t miss out on the fun times here.