On October 5, I attended an Internship Seminar workshop offered by STARR Career Development Center during club hours. Even though I had to give up a general interest meeting for a club I was interested in, I am glad I decided to attend the event.
I was surprised at how many people attended the workshop, but it also made me feel better because I realized others were just as unfamiliar with internships as I was. The event was hosted by Michael Kalish, the Associate Director at STARR. He was very friendly and understood the anxiety caused by and the daunting nature of internships. He encouraged students to ask any questions they had, and answered them all to the best of his ability.
Michael began the workshop by discussing the difference between paid and unpaid internships, and then transitioned to internship courses. I also learned about on-campus recruiting and the different ways to search for internships and jobs, including STARR Search. Michael demonstrated to all of us how to use this tool to efficiently look for potential opportunities. Furthermore, he discussed resumes, cover letters, and the tools we have at our disposal to aid us in the application process, including the Mock Interview Module, Focus-2, and Vault. He touched on interviewing strategies, which I found very helpful.
During the workshop, Michael emphasized the importance of completing internships related to your major. This made me consider applying for a Computer Information Systems (CIS) internship in my junior or senior year in order to gain valuable work experience. It would also make my resume more attractive to prospective employers. Michael also introduced me to zero-credit internships, which I might consider applying for as well. Since the job interview is one of my weak points, the Mock Interview Module would be incredibly useful for me. Lastly, I plan on taking the Focus-2 Assessment soon.
