Category Archives: Lia

Thinking About Thesis

Posted on by
1

This isn’t just a blog about my internship search, though that has been the focus for at least the past several entries. The blog is also about me as a student – specifically as an international relations major – and as a future employable unit. (I know, inspiring.)

I’m essentially done with my junior year. As I write this, I have one final left to take, but by the time this is posted on the site, it will be over and I will be as good as a senior. There’s a weird thought. It’s not just about classes anymore: I will have to balance that with thesis, preparing for post-grad plans, and hopefully some sort of social life. The senior women who have been posting this semester have inspired me to keep on top of things; I know that if I stay organized I will be able to succeed.

My thesis is due in less than a year. For most of my peers, this means three months of relaxing summer (or internships) until it’s time to get back to anything academic. Personally, I know I always have to be busy. A 40-hour workweek is a great start for the summer, but I’ll need more. Luckily, during class in DC I was inspired by our discussions and have already formulated a rough thesis topic: The Effects of Globalization on the Future of International Conflict. I could not be more excited about it and I can’t help but smile when I tell people about it. Most of my friends tell me I’m planning way too far ahead, but I disagree. I know that having the summer to narrow my focus (e.g. define “globalization” and “international conflict”) and shape a more specific topic will be endlessly useful in allowing me to get ahead – and hopefully stay ahead – in the fall. I also plan to take advantage of my surroundings. Once again, I’ll be in DC, a place I love because it’s so busy and bustling. Now that I have a basic idea of what I want to study, I will use my ten weeks there to make contacts and set up interviews with people who work in my field of interest. At the very least, I’ll get some information for my thesis. At best, I might make valuable contacts who can help me find a post-graduate position in a field with which I am obsessed. It’s a win-win situation and I couldn’t be more excited to dive right in.

The New “First Day”

Posted on by
Reply

In four weeks I’ll be starting my new internship. That’s really not a very long time. I’ve already gone through the process of applying, interviewing, and finding housing. I have one final step: preparing for my first day.

The way I look at it, the first day at a new job can be very similar to the first day at a new school. First of all, you need to know the basics. What time should you be there? (For me: 8:30am) How long will you be there? (8 hours) What should you wear? Ah, there’s a question. Some summer jobs have nearly zero dress code (e.g. working for Google or Apple, working in retail, or nannying). Some internships are fairly casual and interns can get away with dark jeans and a nice blouse (e.g. management positions at a clothing store). Some require more than that. Something at the top of my to-do list is to contact my soon-to-be supervisors and ask about the dress code. Will it be business casual (meaning slacks or a skirt paired with a nicer top) or will I need to buy a suit? Are open-toed shoes okay? (It will be over 80 degrees and incredibly humid, but the office will more than likely be air-conditioned.)

Next, I’ll need to know what to expect at my first day. There are five other interns working with me and I anticipate that we will spend June 1st taking a tour of the office, meeting other employees, and getting situated at our new workstations. I wonder if I’ll have my own cubicle or desk – I will probably be sharing a space with at least one other intern, kind of like elementary school.

Finally, I will learn what my daily duties will entail. In junior high and high school, there was a clear schedule: two hours of class, then a break, two more hours followed by lunch, then at least two more hours. I don’t expect to get a definite schedule, but I am sure I’ll have some sort of routine. For example, I’ll step off the metro, walk to the office, greet the front desk staff, quickly check my e-mail, and then go to a morning staff meeting. I have always been a planner, and a very visual person. I need to be able to picture myself going through my day.

I have a few things to do before I leave for Washington. I need to figure out what’s important to have with me for the summer and start shipping boxes. I also need to get in touch with my supervisor and start getting a feel for how my first day – and the ten weeks following – will go.

Finding Somewhere to Live

Posted on by
Reply

Sometimes I feel like finding summer housing is more stressful, difficult, and time-consuming than applying for a summer internship. Am I alone on this?

There are so many factors to consider: cost, location, amenities. Then there are the actual options: apartments, houses, dorms. Where does one begin?

Personally, I started with my parents. I discussed my situation with them in great detail and they kindly offered to help pay for my summer living arrangements, considering that my internship is unpaid and that I did not get the grant I was hoping for. Washington, DC is a funny city in the sense that it’s pretty divided; like any big city, parts of it are “nicer” than others and I want to make sure I’m in a safe area. Parts of Virginia and Maryland are pleasant and safe, but living there would make for a long daily commute to and from work and another long trip if I wanted to spend free time in the city, meaning I would be unlikely to leave my abode on weekends. That’s not what I want. I’m spending the summer in DC as a “test run” to make sure I really am in love with the city before I fully commit and move there after graduation. I won’t be able to learn that if I’m living in another state.

After ruling out a number of less expensive options so that I could live near my internship and my friends in the city, I began trawling Craigslist and asking friends about housing in the city. Georgetown is very nice and a friend of a friend was looking into getting a house there. It would involve taking the bus downtown, rather than the metro, but that wasn’t the end of the world. What was obnoxious was that the bus stops running earlier and that rent was fairly steep, even split three or four ways. I strongly considered that for some time, but what other options did I have?

A few days ago, I decided to bite the bullet and call American University. I lived there last semester so I know the area really well. The campus is conveniently a 5-minute walk to the metro and only six short stops from my internship. There are drugstores, a grocery store, a hardware store, and other convenient amenities nearby. Also, because I would be living on a campus, I would have laundry facilities in my building and a gym (and indoor pool) only a 10-minute walk from my dorm. I would have to live in a double, but I would not have to worry about finding furniture or dealing with any of the stresses that come with having my own place. In a dorm, I would need to bring bedding, clothes, and my computer.

I’ve sent in my summer housing application and it looks like I’ll be back on campus this summer. That’s one more thing off my checklist. The next step? Booking flights and packing!

Another Tricky Situation

Posted on by
Reply

These just seem to happen to me far too often. Muse on this:

You’ve just accepted a fantastic internship position. Your application / interview process is over and you’re ready to move on to the next step: finding somewhere to live in a new city. Then something happens that makes you take pause. You get a call from one of the internships you had applied to a month earlier – one you were really interested in. They went over your application and want to schedule an interview. What do you do?

Would you do what I did and politely squeak out a contritely apologetic “I’m so sorry, I’ve already accepted another offer”? Or would you, as my mother recommended, take the interview – for the experience only, of course – knowing you couldn’t take the internship if they offered it? (I know no one out there would take the interview and then backtrack and take the offer if it came.)

It’s another tricky situation, and again, one that I’ve been in before (last semester in DC, no surprises there). It’s funny how these things seem to repeat themselves.

I chose to not to take the interview both times. I’ve always been very into steps, clear progress, and checklists. Applications? Check. Interviews? Check. Offer? Check. Backtracking just doesn’t make sense to me, even for the “experience.” I can’t even stomach the possibility of getting the offer and knowing I would have to turn it down, especially if it was a particularly appealing position at an ideal company. (This is all on top of the fact that I’d be wasting the employers time.) I can, though, see why some people might be tempted to do it anyway to get the experience.

These sticky situations are what makes the internship search so frustrating; it’s not like the college application process where you know at one time what all of your options are. I’ve had to carefully navigate them, but what’s “right” for me might not be “right” for everyone.

Good News Delayed

Posted on by
1

First, the good news: After sending out multiple applications over spring break and having what I thought was a positive interview a week later, (followed by some anxious waiting) I finally got a DC internship offer! I will be working in communications editing the website, writing press releases, and attending briefings and hearings on the hill. It’s very similar to what I was doing at my previous DC internship last semester, but in a completely different environment and a completely different company.

The offer was bittersweet: about two hours before I got the offer e-mail, I got a call from another company that wanted to interview me. This (super competitive, I discovered) internship also focused on communications, and I would be doing many similar things, but I would also be dabbling in event planning. Plus, unlike the first internship, this one was paid.

Here’s the real dilemma, and it’s one I had been in before: I had to reply to the first offer by Monday the 12th. My interview with the second company wasn’t until Thursday the 8th. It was incredibly unlikely that I would know if I had the second one before I had to either accept or turn down the first.

I wanted to handle this semester’s situation professionally. Unfortunately, there was not much I could do to change anyone’s mind. After my interview on Thursday, I asked the second company to try to let me know by Monday morning. They told me that I made the top three, but that they could not make a final decision and to not hold out. And so I happily accepted the first internship – with about an hour to spare. It was a tricky situation, but I somehow doubt that this will be the last time I have to go through it.