Kema Christian-Taylor, Author at Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog

Add Your Summer Internship Experience to Your Resume in 30 Minutes

Finishing up your summer internship is a huge accomplishment. You made it through a taste of what the real world is like, and now you’re starting to settle into the new school year. This is the perfect time to show off your summer accomplishments by updating your resume. That way, you can get a head start on applying for jobs on WayUp during the school year.

Adding your internship experience doesn’t have to be daunting – in fact, we put together a quick 15-minute to-do list so that you can update your resume in no time.

Step 1: In the “Experience” section of your resume, write the company name, your position title, the office location (city and state), and the length of time you worked there, e.g. “June 2015 – August 2015.” If you worked remotely this summer, just put “Remote” where the location should be.

Step 2: Now you’ll actually have to talk about your experience! We recommend no more than 3 bullet points (after all, your entire resume shouldn’t be longer than a page). What were some of the major projects or tasks you completed this summer? What are you particularly proud of and what would impress future employers? Pick those 3 things and write a brief phrase about each of your accomplishments (these do not need to be full sentences, as you’ll see below).

Another quick tip? Always make sure that each bullet point starts off with an impressive action word. For example, if you came up with creative, effective ways to market the brand to larger audiences, you can write something like, “Conceptualized and implemented creative marketing strategy that increased user acquisition.” Take a quick look on thesaurus.com for some great action verbs – it’s definitely helped our vocabulary and will impress anyone reviewing your resume.

Example:

Conceptualized and implemented creative marketing strategy that increased user acquisition by 15%
Conducted outreach to over 500 campuses to improve brand visibility
Managed company social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, improving user engagement by 30%

Step 3: Spell check! Read everything over at least 3 times to make sure there are no grammatical errors or missing words. You should even try reading your sentences out loud to see if everything you’ve written makes sense.

And you’re done! If you need extra help, use your resources: Find a professor or someone at your school’s career center to take a look at your resume. If you really need the big guns, there’s a tool called ResumeRuby, which was founded by Penn State Students and is used by companies like Google and Johnson & Johnson. ResumeRuby has customizable templates built for your desired industry – perfect for making a great-on-paper first impression!

Once you’re done, upload your new version on wayup.com, and get ready to apply to some amazing jobs!

The Hiring Factor You May Not Know About

Getting your first job interview hinges on how great you look on paper. Getting a job offer depends on so much more than that. You can have the best credentials in the world, but there is a hiring factor you have to pass in order for certain companies to seriously consider hiring you.

Olivia Gold, who manages Social Innovation at Warby Parker, refers to this hiring factor as the “layover test.” When Warby Parker is making a hiring decision, current employees analyze the candidate by asking each other, “Would you be comfortable being stranded in the airport with this person during a layover?” It’s a question that allows the decision-makers to evaluate your likeability and how well you mesh with a company’s culture.

Warby Parker isn’t the only company employing this hiring factor: Shawn Levy, director of the movie “The Internship,” the hilarious comedy in which Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson become interns at Google, said that the layover test is actually part of Google’s interview process as well. “It’s something they actually have in their interview process and it is, at the end of the day, beyond what school the kid went to, beyond GPA, etc.,” he says.

So, how can you show off how personable you are during your interview? Check out our tips below:

Treat everyone as if they have equal weight in the decision-making process. Be kind and professional towards anyone and everyone you encounter during your interview – from the receptionist who checks you in at the front desk to the employees you pass by in the hallway. Prove yourself to be the type of person who treats everyone with respect and who is comfortable interacting with new people.

Get to know your interviewer by asking a lot of questions. It’s no secret that people love talking about themselves. Ask your interviewer questions about why he or she chose to work for the company. Ask about the skills he or she has learned on the job. It will not only help you determine how much your interviewer values the company, but it will also be a great way of connecting with your interviewer right off the bat.

Smile! Positivity is infectious…and absolutely essential in the workplace. Important projects coupled with demanding deadlines can cause office tensions to run high. Your interviewer wants to hire the type of person who can have a positive outlook even during those difficult times at work, so the more you show off your pleasant personality, the more you’ll prove yourself to be a beneficial influence on the company culture.

So, as you’re preparing for your interview, make sure to practice showing off your great personality. The next time employers are thinking about who they would choose to spend a layover with, we want them to pick you!

How to Answer: Tell Me About a Time You Failed

You bought the perfect professional outfit and you shaped and refined your presentation skills so that you can articulately convey what a great candidate you are to your interviewer. You’re trying your hardest to put your best foot forward. Then comes the prompt that could cause everything to come crashing down:

“Tell me about a time you failed.”

This prompt is tricky, but it’s not meant to trick you. You know that no one is perfect–that everyone has failed at some point in his or her life, especially in the workplace. Regardless, you didn’t envision your interview as the forum to uncover those hidden skeletons. Best foot forward, remember?

Well, answering the “Tell me about a time you failed.” prompt is a surprisingly great way to show off a quality every employer wants to see in a candidate: your ability to learn and bounce back from your mistakes. Instead of focusing on the negatives of your error, talk about what you learned, and describe how your mistake changed you for the better. Maybe you ended up with a lower GPA one semester because you spent too much time procrastinating, so you started dedicating a few hours every day – phone off, noise cancellation headphones on – to finishing up your projects.

An even richer answer will show how you were able to convince the person you let down — your manager, your professor, a teammate or classmate — to trust you again. “It’s easy to make mistakes, but it’s hard to recover really well in a memorable, impactful way,” says Allison Stadd, Sr. Marketing & Communications Manager at Shake Shack. While interning as a magazine fact-checker during college, Allison made a mistake that cost the publication a lawsuit; instead of letting it define her, Allison leveraged the opportunity to make an impression of how she dealt with it. For the rest of her internship, she came in early and stayed late, putting extra time into developing a laser-focused attention to detail. To this day, she’s still close to her former boss.

So, when you’re confronted with this prompt in your interview, make sure you:

Start with a real mistake you made. Your response should be a lot like your answer to the “What’s Your Greatest Weakness?” question in that you should be honest and genuine about your shortcomings. At the same time, the mistake you mention should be a mistake you were able to fix and recover from so that you can easily put a positive spin on your answer.

Talk about what you learned. Each mistake you make helps you to identify a potential weakness and highlighting your own areas for improvement will show your interviewer that you’re self-aware (a huge plus).

Outline the steps you took to make things right. How did you prioritize the development of your skills/behavior to ensure that you would never make the same mistake again? If your boss or professor noticed an improvement in you, mention that as well to show that your determination made an impression.

Talking about your failures isn’t easy when you’re trying to impress your interviewer, but the way you frame your answer to this question can help you realize that your mistakes are learning experiences–learning experiences that can contribute to the development of your greatest strengths!

No Word After Your Interview? Try This

Three days after your interview, you were still feeling hopeful – a little impatient, but definitely optimistic. A week has passed, and there’s been no word after your interview, so now you’re really starting to panic. You thought the interview went so well! Are they interviewing a candidate more qualified than you? What are you going to do?

Simple: Take the initiative.

You spent time and energy preparing for the interview–picking out an outfit, practicing your responses, researching the company, mapping out the office location beforehand, getting there 30 minutes early and spending more time writing a thank you note than you ever have in your life. That’s why following up isn’t aggressive or pushy–given the effort you put into applying and preparing, you absolutely deserve an answer. That way, you can determine what your next steps will be.

Your follow-up email should be thoughtful and should always reiterate two things: 1. that you appreciated the time your interviewer took to consider you as a candidate and 2. your interest in the position. You should also make sure that the tone of your email is polite and avoids any accusatory language like, “I haven’t heard back from you.” Instead, your email should be written similar to the example below.

Subject Line: “Interview Follow Up” or “Checking In.”

Email Text: Hi [Interviewer’s Name],

Thank you again for meeting with me last week! Speaking with you about the responsibilities of the role and the company’s culture confirmed what a great fit this position would be for me.

I’m following up about the status of my application. If there’s any more information that you need from me in order to make your decision, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

While following up doesn’t guarantee a response (the worst, we know), taking this kind of initiative is great practice for becoming more proactive in your professional life – and it will hopefully ease your mind as you wait to hear back from your interviewer!

4 Jobs on WayUp With the Best Student Perks

We aren’t kidding when we say that WayUp has some pretty awesome jobs — and the positions below prove it. These hiring companies offer the best student perks — from free food to custom Jordans (yup, you read that right). So if you’re looking for a cool job where you’ll be showered with swag, you’ve got to apply to these positions on wayup.com.

Campus Rep for Elizabeth & Clarke

It’s cool enough that you’ll be paid to promote this chic womenswear brand on your campus, planning and running promotional events and getting hands-on experience in the marketing and fashion industry…but on top of that, you get 4 free un-stainable shirts to add to your wardrobe. Who, we ask you, doesn’t want un-stainable shirts?!

Oh, and there’s more: The E&C Campus Reps who are graduating seniors will have the incredible opportunity to interview for a full-time position at the company in New York City. Talk about a wardrobe and a career upgrade.

Mattress Sales Affiliate at College Comfort

College students love sleeping. (Shout out to anyone just trying to make it to 10 am lecture on time.) College Comfort is all about giving students the best beds in the business at an affordable price. As a Mattress Sales Affiliate, you’ll get paid for every sale you make and there’s the potential for you to get a high-quality memory foam mattress for free so that buyers can test out the product (it’s all in the good name of research, guys).

So if after reading this, you’re ready to pull a Rory Gilmore and toss out your old, creaky college mattress, you’ve got to apply.

Brand Ambassador at 41 Winks

Are you a writer? And an event planner? Do you believe in the mission statement “Just as clothes express our personal style, beds are also a canvas for self-expression?” Then you probably should check out the fashion bedding company, 41 Winks.

In addition to giving Brand Ambassadors writing, marketing, and social media experience, this company is offering 41 Winks discounts for your family and friends, swag, and food. Seriously, the listing actually reads, “We’ll order you pizzas, tacos, or froyo, depending on which food trend speaks to you.”

We don’t know about you, but ALL of those food trends are giving us life right now…

Sportslock Rookie for Sportslock

Sportslock is an app that is revolutionizing the way we play fantasy sports with friends, and they’re offering their Brand Ambassadors some insane incentives. If you prove yourself to be a true all-star, and you’re on top of customer acquisition and social media sharing, you have the potential to win monthly prizes like an Apple Watch, paid trips, concert and sporting event tickets, AND a custom pair of Jordans. I mean, are we on The Price Is Right or something?!

We hope you’re as excited about these student perks as we are! So be a true hustler, and apply on wayup.com. Because if you’re not on WayUp, then you may never know what it feels like to get a free, custom pair of Jordans. Just sayin’.

5 Signs Your Interview Went Well

During the job search process, you’re always looking for positive affirmations. You’re wondering what it means when your interviewer says, “We’ll be in touch.” You’re freaking out that you haven’t received an email two days after your first-round interview. It’s incredibly stressful not knowing what the final decision will be (and feeling like you have no control over it).

Luckily, there are hints along the way that let you know you’re an extremely competitive candidate. While these hints don’t necessarily guarantee that you got the job, if you’re noticing any of the signs below, then we have five words for you: Go get some celebratory froyo.

You get to meet the entire team.

Your 30-minute interview has turned into an hour-and-a-half-long meeting. Your interviewer keeps saying things like, “Do you have an extra 10 minutes? I’d love for you to talk to Brad and Shauna,” and you’re thinking, “Who are all these people?”

Meeting multiple people at once during your interview is an extremely good sign. It means that your interviewer is seriously considering you as a candidate and wants to make sure that you mesh well with your potential coworkers.

The best way for you to handle this situation is to treat every person as if they have the same amount of say in the decision-making process. If you continue putting your best foot forward, the rest of the team will be able to see and confirm the qualities that make you a great candidate for the position.

You’re shown an extremely detailed part of the role.

No, your interviewer is not showing the password-coded, company-specific admin area to all the candidates, so if this happens to you during an interview, it’s another good sign that your interviewer is envisioning you in this role and wants you to seriously consider the responsibilities and tasks you will be managing.

Be attentive and ask a lot of questions as you’re taken through the company’s processes. Ask about what former employees have struggled with when encountering the system (or when facing tasks within the role) and ask what they’ve done well. Make sure you have a clear idea of expectations and how you should go about executing any tasks in the role.

You’re asked about your expectations for salary.

If an interviewer is asking about what you’re looking for in terms of salary, you can bet your bottom dollar that they’re thinking about hiring you. Your answer should not affect whether or not your interviewer gives you an offer, but you should be well-prepared to respond to this question. Do your research on Glassdoor about the typical salary offered at the company and for roles like yours at other companies. Then say something like, “I’m expecting a typical salary for this role, and according to my research this ranges from…”

Remember: Now is not the time to negotiate salary – you’ll only need to worry about that if you get a formal offer.

They’re asking around about you.

If your interviewers are contacting the professional references you’ve provided (and doing some research on their own, reaching out to professional contacts you didn’t provide), the company wants to make sure they have all the information they need before making a final decision. Word on the street? You’re totally employable.

They’re asking when you can start.

This one speaks for itself – if they’re asking this question, they want to know that you’re available to start working soon. It’s an important factor to consider in any hiring decision.

It’s tempting to respond, “As soon as possible!” However, you need to make sure you have some time to relax before embarking on your new career. If you’re changing jobs, it’s a good idea to let them know that you will need two weeks to wrap up your responsibilities in your current role and a week off between jobs. If you’ve just graduated, and you’re able to afford a little time off, then asking for a week off won’t hurt, as long as you let your interviewer know that you’re flexible: “I’d ideally like to start a week after I receive an offer, but I’m happy to discuss this if you need me to start earlier.”

You can rest assured that the hard work you put into your job search is being recognized – your interviewers are considering you of all the candidates who applied for the position. Fingers crossed: We hope that offer letter is coming soon!

Starting a Business in College: 4 Things To Know

If you’re interested in starting a business in college, you’re in great company: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and our very own CEO, Liz Wessel developed business ideas during their undergraduate years. As encouraging as these success stories are, it’s challenging to forge your own path during college – especially if many of your friends are planning on entering into companies that have been well-established for years. Even so, as a college student, you have a lot of leverage and resources at your disposal – you just have to know what you need to do in order to succeed. Check out the tips below – they’ll help to lead you in the right direction as you embark on this new venture!

1. Be willing to give up your free time.

If you’re not in class, you’ll probably be working on your idea. Jesse Kaplan, now the founder and CEO of an NYC delivery service called Parcel (they’re hiring!), started a popular bakery and coffee shop in his Harvard dorm, Cabot Cafe. He spent about 10-15 hours a day working on the cafe during its launch (and after the cafe took off, about 20-30 hours a week).

Yeah, that’s a serious time commitment, and it’s no surprise that with a full academic schedule, extracurriculars and a campus job, giving up your free time won’t always be easy. However, if you’re passionate about growing your startup, then keeping yourself motivated won’t be as difficult as you think.

2. Don’t be secretive about your idea.

Anyone with a great idea (or anyone who has watched Silicon Valley) knows that there’s always the possibility that someone might steal your idea. However, as counterintuitive as it may seem, it’s better not to keep your idea under wraps, but instead to ask for feedback and support – not only from the people you trust, but from professionals who can give you the guidance you need to implement your idea.

“Cold email a ton and lead with ‘I’m a student,’” our CEO, Liz Wessel says. “Get really good at writing [and] sending great emails.” Liz’s mantra is that everyone wants to help college students, and she would know: She started UniEats, a company that sells restaurant discount cards to college students, during her sophomore year at Penn before working on Campus Job.

Think about all the speakers–from celebrities to dignitaries–who come to your school and share their insights, and you’ll realize that people LOVE giving advice to college students. It’s crucial to you and your business’ development to learn from new people in order to gain invaluable advice and direction, so be bold and email someone asking for their expertise; no one is going to be offended by your request, and the worst that can happen is that the person will say no.

3. Be adaptive.

As innovative as your idea may be, your product or service may go in a completely unexpected direction. Venmo’s original prototype conducted money exchanges through text messages and is now a mobile app. Not to mention that even after your idea takes off, you’ll have to adapt to feedback from future customers and investors.

This doesn’t mean saying “yes” to every piece of feedback you receive along the way. You’ll just need to be thoughtful about responses and reactions to your idea, and do your research–whether that means Googling potential competitors and seeing if they are implementing something similar, or polling friends and innocent pedestrians (we literally did this just last week).

4. Be willing to work hard without recognition.

“If you start a business, no one’s going to know about you for a long time,” says Jeff Carelton, founder of Carelton Energy Consultants and Heatwatch, two companies which help to reduce energy usage for building owners.

Not getting immediate gratification is frustrating – not only because we live in the instant age of “I want this now,” but also because in college, immediate rewards are everywhere: from winning a game to getting an A on your midterm. However, Jeff says that you “have to be happy with what you’re doing” — your entrepreneurial passion is what will ultimately keep you going.

Ready to start your own business? We hope the answer is yes – and we DEFINITELY hope you’ll use WayUp for all your new hires :D.

“I Got the Job!” Our Favorite WayUp Testimonials

At WayUp, our job is to get you a job. We love it when our students and recent grads get hired, but what excites us even more is when we get thank you notes from newly employed WayUp users! Watch the video below to see how the students hired on our site were able to pay off their student loans and their tuition.

Check out more WayUp testimonials below!

“WayUp absolutely changed my life! I not only received Campus Ambassador jobs for two amazing start-ups, Drop Messages and Crux, but I also met people in the industry through it and am currently co-founding an app called NotMe, which will be launched on the App Store. I am amazed that I have these opportunities in college and am so excited for everything I am learning that I will carry with me throughout my career. Thank you, WayUp!” – Sarina, USC, Class of 2018

“Thanks for all the relevant job listings – your website really helped me turn my life around. Through WayUp, I was able to land SIX interviews over the span of three days and have received 3 (and counting) offers just by mass applying to internships on your website over the course of about a week and a half…I consider myself a success story.”- Justin, NYU, Class of 2018

“I am a psychology major at IU, but recently I’ve been considering expanding my horizons in my studies outside simply studying the brain. When I found a marketing opportunity on WayUp, I applied and was hired. Since working for Myndbee Inc., an app developing company, I’ve developed broad professional skills applicable to multiple fields of work. I am happy to have the opportunities I have been given, and seek to continue expanding my knowledge during my time at IU through positions such as these!” – Lindsay, Indiana University Bloomington, Class of 2017

“I just wanted to say, thank you guys for creating this site…It has actually given me several job opportunities. I have applied for over 8 jobs and heard back from 4 of them saying they want me. I accepted 2 of the best job offers/ internships that best fit me, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity given to me through this site. I have told many people about this site, and they also got hired at different places. Thank you so much again for making it easy for college students like me! – Prathik, Texas A&M, Class of 2018

Consensus? WayUp is awesome :D. Keep the messages coming – they let us know that we’re working toward something truly rewarding!

We’re Interviewing 8,500 Campus Reps: These Are the Qualities of an Ideal Candidate

This summer, our goal is to interview 8,500 college students across the country to see who will make the best Campus Reps for WayUp. Even though the interviewing process is still in full-swing, we’re easily able to pick out the students who stand out as our ideal candidates…as well as the students who may need a little help when it comes to interviewing. This compelled us to make a list of the interviewing habits that got us even more excited to make calls to students day in and day out. Take note of the tips below – we’re not the only interviewers who love seeing these qualities!

Ask questions.

Think about it: what if you were in an interview, and you weren’t asked any questions? Besides being a little uncomfortable, you would get the impression that the employer wasn’t interested in you as a candidate.

The same idea applies vice versa. As a candidate, you need to show your potential employer that you’re listening to all the job requirements, and you want to have a complete understanding of what success looks like in the role. To do this, you’ll need to ask questions like, “What has been a common challenge for previous campus reps?” or “What would you like to see someone in my position accomplish this semester?” This shows your interviewer that you’re not only forward-thinking, but that you’re also thoughtfully considering how to execute your goals.

Sell yourself.

Every student we interviewed has a different level of involvement on campus – we completely understand that. However, if you don’t know how to sell yourself, a conversation similar to this one happens:

“What organizations are you involved with on campus?”

“None.”

#Awkward. Even if you decided to take a break last semester and focus on yourself, you should find a way to spin that in a positive, engaging light. For example, the conversation above could have gone so much better if the response were more like this: “Last semester, I actually decided to take some time off and focus on my academics, which was a really good decision for me. This year, I’m looking forward to getting involved in X, Y, and Z on campus.”

If you are involved in a lot of on-campus activities, that’s great – but you should still work on selling your candidacy. For example, if you’re the head of an organization on campus, you should be able to talk about lessons learned or valuable leadership skills you gained and tie it back to the position you’re interviewing for. Showcasing your accomplishments will show us (and your other interviewers!) that you’re the best candidate for the position.

Ask about next steps.

The best candidates we interviewed were the ones who were confident and proactive, saying things like, “I’m so excited to see that contract!” Even better? The ones who sent a follow-up email, thanking us for our time — and you’d be surprised how many people didn’t! Making sure your interviewer knows how excited you are to start working shows that you’re a go-getter–we always want to see that type of passion in our Campus Reps. Plus, sending a thank you note just shows that you’re courteous – exactly the type of candidate anyone would want to work with.

So whether you’re going on Campus Rep interviews or you’re still on the job search (hello, why aren’t you on WayUp yet?!), use these three tips and you’ll be one in a million (well, at least one in 8,500 :D).

Venmo’s Product Manager Reveals the Secret to Being a Standout Intern

Initially released in 2009, Venmo is now the go-to social mobile payment app to pay anyone back instantly. With mobile payments expected to reach $90 billion by 2017, Venmo’s product has to continue growing and adapting.

That’s where Venmo’s Product Manager, Matt Hamilton, comes in. As Product Manager, his job involves figuring out what to build next, understanding how to prioritize new web and app features, and knowing how to build those features in a way that’s both usable and valuable. In addition to knowing how to build an impressive product, Matt also knows how to build a reputation as an impressive intern. When the Campus Job team asked him what made an intern stand out more than any other, he replied, “One of the fastest ways that you can be invaluable anywhere is to do the thing no one wants to do.” Back when he interned for Urging Career, an ad sales staffing and recruiting firm, he was able to automate one of the most manual invoicing the company had, learning V8 script over the summer and becoming close friends with his boss as a result.

So where others see challenges, you should see opportunities–and seize them. Think about the issues your company is currently facing. Is there a manual database that needs to be automated or organized? Is there some kind of procedure that hasn’t been clearly documented– like onboarding new clients or new hires– that could be more efficient and replicable if it were recorded? Ask your boss about the nice-to-haves on his or her priority list and then try to tackle one of those in addition to your required tasks. Your initiative will not only make the company function more productively but will also strengthen your career skills and impress your supervisors. Not to mention that it won’t look too shabby on your resume!

NICE!