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Monday
Jun202011

Guest Post: Top 5 Strategies to Land an Internship

How do you make yourself stand out among others? Photo courtesy of shahsjunkie. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.

Today's guest post was written by Luke Richter, a Senior at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo majoring in Business, minoring in Statistics and Economics.  He recently spent time interning as a campus ambassador for InternMatch connecting with students and improving localized brand outreach.

Internships in today's economy are becoming a necessity for any student looking to remain competitive in the job market. Most employers expect internship experience, while at the same time it has become harder for students to distinguish themselves when looking and applying for internships.

The big question remains, how can I stand out from other internship applicants? Here are a few tips to help you.

Personalize & Customize Your Resume

In today's environment most students consider internship applications a numbers game, but I would argue that it revolves around how you personalize and customize your resume. But exactly how can you be sure that your resume will stand out from the rest? One way of doing this would be to use your college’ s seal as a watermark on your resume. It adds another level of elegance and depth to your resume in the crucial seconds that your resume is evaluated. Another useful trick is to incorporate the company’ s logo into the objective section of your resume. I have personally gotten a lot of "brownie points" for this and feel that it is an easy way of differentiating yourself.

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Monday
Jun202011

Take To College Opens Up Private Beta for HackCollege Readers

Ah, the familiar sight of freshman year. Photo courtesy of Flickr user bfhoyt. Licensed under CC BY 2.0For some of the students here in the Sunshine State, their summer is ending early and the threat of summer semester is looming on the horizon. Don't worry, they make up for their lost time at the beach with plenty of their first college parties. Unfortunately, there's not a class in Beer Pong or Flip Cup yet, so they actually have to pass their summer classes and get adjusted to campus.

One of the major worries of incoming freshmen is what to bring. For those who might not be able to have mommy and daddy bring up something on a whim, this is an important decision. One that I was able to make with the help of Dan O'Connor's What to Take To College.

So a year later and reflecting upon that, I've realized I brought way too much stuff. That hit me throughout the year but most during move-out. Dan recognized that problem with his new version of Take to College, and he's allowing HackCollege readers to be the first to use it!

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Thursday
Jun162011

Get Drunk Not Fat Is A Handy Chart For Waistline-Conscious Drinking

Get Drunk Not Fat helps you choose the most calorie-conscious alcohols for your next party. Image courtesy of Flickr user swimparallel and licensed under CC By-SA 2.0

We've already discussed the all-important topic of getting drunk on the cheap, but what if you're more concerned about your waistline than your wallet? Lucky for us, Get Drunk Not Fat has compiled an exhaustive list of beers, liquors, and wines and arranged them by their calorie-to-alcohol ratio.

As you'd expect, the harder alcohols rank among the least-fattening, with Everclear placing second behind only pure ethanol. Among beers that you'd expect to find in the typical frat party keg, Natty Ice is going to be your best bet, with a ratio comparable to many hard liquors. If you opt for Mike's Hard Lemonade instead, you'll be taking in more than double the calories per ounce of alcohol. 

There are well over 100 different beverages listed on the site, and you can submit your own favorite if you want it added to the list. Happy drinking!

Tuesday
Jun142011

Reorganize Your Daily Routine to Increase Productivity

Reorganizing your daily schedule can make it feel like you have more hours in your day. Photo courtesy of robstephaustralia. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.It's midway through June. By now you've moved to your summer location and started your job or internship. You've probably also adjusted to your new summer schedule so it's now just another routine. Sometimes when we fall into a routine, however, we can get complacent. The routine may not be scheduled to bring out our most productive ability. In order to make sure you're getting the most out of your summer days, try rescheduling your daily routine with these tips.

Waking Up On Time

I love sleeping in just as much as any other person out there. If I could, I would hit the snooze button for three hours and just keep lounging around in bed all day. I am very good at that. However, it really kills my productivity and the hours in my day. This Lifehacker article points out that with good habits like a balenced diet and regular exercise, getting up in the morning shouldn't be all that difficult. If you need help getting up in the morning, check out our tips on waking up.

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Monday
Jun132011

Use Air Tran’s Student Fares for Cheap Last-Minute Travel

Pack up your duffel bag: it's time to travel. Image courtesy of Flickr user Jeff Harbert. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

AirTranU is a fairly well-known program among students, but it’s worth revisiting during the summer months when schedules are likely to be freer than during the school year. AirTran offers $49, $69, or $99/leg standby flights for people ages 18-22 through its AirTranU program.

 

To use the program, students have to show up to the AirTran desk at your airport and work the flight out with an employee—so it takes longer than just buying a ticket online, and getting a seat isn’t guaranteed (AirTran recommends calling ahead at 1-800-AIRTRAN to check on availability, but my friends who use the program tend to just go and see what happens). However, if you need to book a last-minute flight home or are up for a spur-of-the-minute visit to a friend, it’s a cheap way to fly—particularly during the week, when flights aren’t as crowded.

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Friday
Jun102011

Guest Post: How to Handle Collegiate Introversion

Introversion can be tough to deal with, but certainly not impossible. Image courtesy of Flickr user Schleickmeister and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post is by Shahzad Saeed, an Indian Engineering student and founder of the blog Tech and Project. His site is geared toward students hoping to participate in international science fairs and student project programs, like the Google Summer of Code.

The best thing about college life is we get to meet all types of people on campus, both introverts and extroverts. Recently, I came  across an article explaining why introverts can make best leaders. The article says 40% of the executives and leaders are introverts like Bill Gates and Barack Obama, and it also describes the characteristics that help introverted leaders build on their quiet strength and succeed. Despite these success stories, many introverted college students worry about their ability to adapt and do well in college, and in life.

Am I introverted?

If you aren’t sure whether you’re introverted or not, try this this test to check. It also describes the top signs of introversion, and the results may surprise you. In this extroverted world there are a lot of myths about introverts. Many think that introverts hate people, they are shy and don’t talk too much. As an introvert I can say that these are completely false. Talk me about blogging or something I am really interested in, and I will keep talking for hours. That is why most of my friends never consider me as an introvert. For tips on dealing with your own introversion, or the introverts in your life, read on.

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Thursday
Jun092011

Evernote Peek Turns Your iPad 2 Into the Ultimate Pretentious Study Machine

If you're lucky enough to own an iPad 2, you've probably also fallen in love with its accompanying magnetic Smart Cover, which caresses your ears with each satisfying snap. Where we saw a simple case though, the folks at Evernote saw an opportunity, and Evernote Peek was born. 

The concept is simple, but brilliant. Using your the Smart Cover as a cover sheet, the app allows you to quiz yourself on anything in your Evernote library. Simply fold up the bottommost tab to reveal a question (pulled from the note titles of the Evernote notebook of your choosing). When you're ready, lift the next section of the cover to reveal the answer (determined by the contents of aforementioned notes). You can then mark whether you were correct or incorrect, close the cover, and start again with a new question. Flash cards have never been this high tech!

Obviously, this app is mostly just a party trick. Evernote even has some great integration with online flash card service StudyBlue, which doesn't require an iPad 2 and smart cover. Still though, if you already use Evernote and you own the required gear anyway, Peek could be helpful cramming alternative.

Monday
Jun062011

Refuse to Dwell, Move On, Kick Ass

Yeah, this? Don't do that. It's not helpful. Image courtesy of Flickr user Hishaam Siddiqi. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Thursday was not a good day for me. I botched a quiz I'd spent time studying for, discovered my lab locker was missing equipment, and managed to completely screw up my lab experiment for the week. I felt like a complete failure, as far as chemistry went. My lab TA must have noticed, because when I told her about the mistake I'd made in the experiment (the straw that broke my chemistry-related back), she took me aside.

"Don't dwell. It happens. Re-do it and move on."

The woman is getting her PhD in chemistry, so I assumed she knew what she was talking about. So I followed her instructions, re-did my experiment, and was back on track in a few minutes. Nothing exploded. No one ate me. My grade for the experiment, and in the class, will probably not be what I want, but I'll survive.

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