Author: Kema Christian-Taylor

Summer Internships in NYC for College Students

Quality late-night pizza, Broadway shows, celebrity sightings, and buzzing nightlife – who doesn’t want to spend a summer in the city that never sleeps?

If you’ve been dying to explore NYC during the summer, your golden ticket is here. These internships will give you the opportunity to immerse yourself in a young, exciting, and bustling city– not to mention that living in the city for 3 months will give you a sense of whether or not New York is the place for you to move after graduation! Check out these summer internships in NYC for college students, and apply on WayUp.

Development and Communications Intern at Pro Bono Net

A national nonprofit transforming the way legal aid reaches those in need, Pro Bono Net is looking for a Development and Communications Intern. The student who takes on this NYC-based role will research new foundations and grants to apply for funding, assist in event planning and organization, and contribute to marketing materials for newsletters, campaign emails, proposals, and donor correspondences.

The position is perfect for an energetic student who is interested in marketing and PR for nonprofits. The best part? This job is one-click apply, so it only takes a second to submit your application!

Research Team Intern for Triton Research

Investing in young, innovative businesses can be risky, and Triton Research is setting out to improve analytical insights about new companies in the innovation and disruption economies so that investors can make data-driven decisions.

As a Research Team Intern, you will research companies and market opportunities and address client requests. You must be passionate about new technologies and startups and be able to communicate with precision and insight. The position is based in NYC.

Marketing Intern for Eight

Love sleep? So does the Eight team – so much so that they’ve created technology around tracking and improving your sleep. They graduated from Y-Combinator (just like WayUp!) last fall, and they’ve already made $1.4 million in revenue in just a few months.

As Eight’s Marketing Intern, you will track website performance, identify influencers and press outlets, support the company’s social media efforts, and respond to incoming customer support requests. You must be pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s in Marketing, Advertising, Business, Journalism, or a related subject. The position starts May 14th in New York City.

Design & Product Internship for Jenny Yoo Collection

The Jenny Yoo Collection provides a rich variety of bridal and bridesmaid’s dresses. As a Design & Product Intern, you will research trends and colors that will help to guide the Design team, communicate with fabric vendors to get the right materials, create the mood and style for development boards, and help prep for meetings with vendors and buyers.

Apply to these summer internships in NYC for college students today! Remember that only students who match the qualifications will be able to see these jobs – so make sure when you sign up you fill out as many details in your profile as possible. P.S. If you end up getting hired, check out our quick guide to commuting in the city.

Which 2016 Presidential Candidate Is Really For College Students?

The candidate you vote for should be worthy of your vote.

This is especially true for young voters: the decisions a President makes during a 4-year term can impact you beyond your college years and well into your career. In fact, just this week a man was arrested by US Marshals for not paying his student loan bill from 1987 because the federal government is using private debt collectors and to track down those who owe student loans. That’s why it’s so important to assess each candidate’s platform or views to figure out which candidate will encourage the government to support your education instead of profiting from it.

WayUp has put together this short college guide on the 2016 presidential candidates in the running so far. Take a look, research each candidate on your own, and then make your own decision on who will be the best candidate for your future.

DEMOCRATS

Hillary Clinton

Clinton may have raised eyebrows when she tweeted an unpaid internship back in August for campaign interns, but a big part of her platform is geared towards relieving the financial burden for students. Clinton’s “New College Compact,” a plan that will cost $350 billion over the next 10 years, is said to achieve two primary goals: to remove cost as a barrier to a great education and to ensure debt doesn’t hold anyone back.

The first goal, removing the cost of college, will be accomplished by encouraging the state and federal government to step up and absorb tuition fees. States who accept Clinton’s proposal for “no-loan tuition for four-year colleges and universities” will be rewarded through grants from the federal government. Clinton also plans on upholding Obama’s legacy and continuing the free tuition plan at community colleges.

The second goal, relieving student debt, will be accomplished by allowing students to refinance their loans at lower interest rates. Students struggling with student debt will also never have to pay more than 10% of their income when paying back student loans.

Bernie Sanders

When I say college, you say free. Bernie Sanders’ “College for All Act” aims to make all public colleges and university completely free for students. While many are skeptical that this is nothing more than a utopian idea, Bernie argues that countries with far less wealth than the U.S. like France, Germany, and Brazil, offer free tuition or low-cost tuition. Under Sanders’ plan, the federal government would pay 67% of the cost each year while state governments would stomach the remaining 33%.

REPUBLICANS*

*Based on the candidates in the running so far, Trump and Cruz are in the lead, though Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are the two Republican candidates with a full-fledged higher education plan. For the purposes of this article, we will outline the two frontrunners’ campaigns. If the standings change, we will update this review accordingly.

Donald Trump

Though known for his bold, controversial statements, Trump stands with many other candidates in his views on student loans, asserting in an interview with thehill.com: “That’s probably one of the only things the government shouldn’t make money off.”  While he hasn’t laid out any specific plan to tackle the cost of student tuition or student loan debt, his comment seems to weigh in favor of relieving college students of this financial burden.

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz may identify with the plight of college graduates, having just paid off his $100k student loan bill, but he also voted down Senator Warren’s  Student Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which would have allowed students to refinance their loans to interest rates lower than 4%. Let’s hope that it was simply holes in Warren’s plan – and not Cruz’s sentiments towards resolving college student debt — that led to his decision.

Which of these candidates is really for college students? That’s up to you to decide. Keep reading, researching, and following the campaigns of each leading candidate — then when the time comes, get out there and make your most educated vote!

Taylor Swift Owns Her Success at the 2016 Grammys

Taylor Swift took ownership of her professional success at the 2016 Grammys by shutting down Kanye West (like a boss) and setting an example for women who have to deal with less-than-empowering comments in the workplace.

When Kanye West released his new album, Life of Pablo, last week, fans were shocked by his new song “Famous,” in which he referenced Taylor Swift: “I made that b*tch famous.” This lyric left everyone swiveling their heads like, “Excuse me?”

no paul mccartney

We all know that Kanye was referring to the 2009 VMA incident where he got up on stage and tried to steal Taylor’s shine. Nevermind the fact that at 19 years old, Taylor was already receiving the award for Best Female Video of the year, beating out Beyonce’s Single Ladies. Nevermind that she has sold over 40 million albums and is one of the top 5 music artists with the highest worldwide digital sales. Nevermind that when Kanye accepted his VMA Vanguard speech last year, he publicly apologized to Taylor, saying, “If I had a daughter at that time, would I have went on stage and grabbed the mic from someone else’s?”

Guess he’s flipping the switch on other people’s daughters now.  

The complete “Famous” lyric referencing Taylor is disappointingly chauvinistic, suggesting that Taylor owes Kanye a one night stand because he made her famous. It’s clear that Kanye speaks of her not as a professional artist who has worked hard to get to where she is today, but as a young girl who needed a man to draw attention to her accomplishments. This message was not lost on Taylor: When she accepted her Grammy for Album of the Year last night, she used Kanye’s comments to shed light on how young women should carry themselves when haters try to undermine their hard work and success.

“As the first woman to win album of the year at the Grammys twice, I want to say to all the young women out there: There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame,” she said gripping her Grammy proudly.

“But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you’ll know it was you and the people who love you who put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”

Moral of the story? Never minimize a woman’s accomplishments — or anyone’s accomplishments, for that matter. Kanye, you may take several seats. (Share this.)

Why Joining a Startup Turned Out to Be a Reward, Not a Risk

“Joining a young startup is a huge risk. You know 75% of startups are projected to fail, right?”

That was the advice I ignored when I joined what was, at the time, the 10-person team at WayUp. I had already bought into the mission: helping job-seeking college students and recent grads to gain valuable experience and pay off their tuition. What I didn’t realize was the impact it would have on me as a recent grad. It was the type of role, which, at age 24, pushed me out of my comfort zone in a way that was sometimes painful, but extremely rewarding.

Now, I strongly encourage recent grads to join a startup early on in their career. Here’s why.

Startups aren’t too big for their customers.

One of the most important lessons you can learn as a recent grad is that your customers, clients and users can make or break your business: If you don’t connect with them on a regular basis to figure out how to improve your product or service, you won’t be able to keep going. Because our company is so young, we know that customer feedback is vital to our growth and our future, so we go the extra mile to speak with our students: conducting user surveys over the phone, having lunches with our users in our headquarters, visiting students on campus, etc. Our head of the Campus Rep Program, Elana, regularly has one-on-one’s with our 600+ (and counting) campus reps to hear about their experience and see how we can improve our business for students.

Because we’re small, we’re able to get in front of our customers and have real, personal interactions with them rather than hiding behind a chat screen to connect with our users – and because of that, we are able to make strong connections with our users and get genuine, valuable feedback.

Less hierarchy to slow you down.

Millennials are the “I don’t have time for this” generation. If we click on a cool article we see on Facebook and it loads too slowly, we give up after 5 seconds (wasn’t worth it anyway), but despite our impatience, we’re also a generation of innovative momentum — something many companies desperately need and most startups encourage.

Having worked in startups since my senior year of college, I’ve found that you’re less likely to run into hierarchical structures that will slow you down: Gone are the hoops of approval you have to jump through in a corporate environment. If I think I have a good idea, I swivel my chair around and ask our CEO Liz, who sits right behind me. If I want to coordinate with sales on featuring a cool job on our blog, I walk 10 steps over and say, “Hey, got a minute?” It’s incredibly empowering to be in a supportive, collaborative and fast-paced environment where you can get input on a great idea and, with the right planning, run with it.

Your tasks are your own.

Startups are known for putting a lot of faith in their young employees. Some days aren’t easy, and you’re left feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing at the exact moment your team is expecting you to deliver, but there is nothing more rewarding than owning a project or responsibility from ideation to implementation — nothing more empowering than having a tangible product or result that you can point to and say, “I made that happen.” As a recent grad, it gives you confidence in your own abilities early on — something which wouldn’t have otherwise happened if you hadn’t been trusted with the responsibilities and tested in your role.

Startups rarely lock an employee into a single role.

Our generation is projected to have around 15-20 jobs in our lifetime, so it’s safe to say that we get restless fast. Because there’s so much work to be done at a startup, it’s rare to be bored or restless. I’m often handed tasks that have absolutely nothing to do with my role, which not only allows me to expand my skill set, but also allows me to constantly learn, grow and adapt because the startup environment and its demands have kept me on my toes in the best way possible.

No recent grad should be a paper pusher, so I encourage every young candidate to look into startups that will invest in their potential. Think about which opportunities will test your abilities and allow you to make an impact so that you can quickly develop the professional skills that will propel your career forward.

What to Do When Your Major and Your Career Choice Don’t Match

You’ve emailed everyone from your boss two summers ago to your stepfather’s sister’s cousin. You’ve searched through what feels like hundreds of job search sites and barely any of the jobs you’ve stumbled across have caught your eye, and then, you come across a job you absolutely love…that has nothing to do with your major, so what do you do?

Do it. Seriously, click apply on that job. Too many students get locked into the idea that their major is something that they have to stick to for the rest of their lives. That, or, they become concerned that they’ll never get the job because they don’t have the necessary qualifications. By preventing yourself from applying to jobs that lie just outside your field of study, you’re missing out on an incredible opportunity to dive into new and exciting interests. (What else is college for??)

Here are a few ways you should approach applying to a job outside of your major.

Remember that your major does not define your career.

Family, friends and complete strangers will have expectations of your career path from the moment you choose your major your first few years in college: “Oh, so you must want to be a [insert completely limited role].” However, you’ll find that many of the people you talk to – from recent grads to older alums – veered away from the career path previously set forth by their major.

Liane Hajduch, Head of University Partnerships at WayUp and a former campus recruiter for Venmo, says that the college candidates who didn’t have majors required for the position were the ones she found to be most successful: “They had a genuine passion and were willing to go the extra mile to prove themselves.”

Candidates who aren’t “trained” in an industry are able to approach it more creatively and find non-traditional and incredible ways of getting results, so if you’re passionate about trying something new, go for it. Your major will not determine your success: You will.

Have a great answer for why you want the position.

As a candidate whose resume and cover letter may not show any obvious relation to the position, you’ll need to have a genuine, convincing answer when your interviewer asks, “Why should we hire you?”

Chances are this position caught your eye because there’s something about it that appeals to your interests. Think about your past experience whether in your classes or in your student groups and try to identify the transferable skills you have that you can market for the position. If the position is asking for someone who is able to handle multiple high-priority tasks at once, talk about how you managed all the demands of your classes and extracurriculars. If the position is asking for someone with leadership skills, talk about that time you lead your team to score the winning game. The more you relate yourself to the position, the more your interviewer will be able to envision you in the role.

Be prepared to start at the bottom.

We’ve talked before about how you shouldn’t let your lack of experience keep you from going for the job you want. At the same time, though, you should also be humble: You will have a lot to learn in a completely new position because you haven’t had the required background for the position. Be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up.

Taking the chance to veer outside of your field of study will be very rewarding long-term: It will teach you what you’d like to pursue or at the very least, expose you to a new set of professional skills, so go ahead: Step out of your comfort zone.

Help Discover the Next Snapchat: Apply to Shadow General Catalyst

Help discover the next Snapchat. Apply to shadow General Catalyst for a day.

What do Snapchat, Warby Parker, and ClassPass have in common? Top Venture Capital firm General Catalyst has invested $3 billion total in these tech startups, and many, many more. Now one lucky college student will win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a day with Spencer Lazar, a Harvard graduate and General Catalyst investor who paved the way for ClassPass, Fundbox, and – yours truly – WayUp.

You will learn what it takes for investors to believe in (and invest in) a young business, sit in on a startup pitch to see how entrepreneurs think — and you’ll even get the opportunity to have lunch with Spencer and pitch your own business idea to increase your chances of success. You will have a seat at the table with one of the biggest investors in the country, so make sure you bring all your big ideas with you!

“The hardest part of being an entrepreneur is not predicting the future, but timing it. My mission is to identify and support founders who have an astounding sense for where we are in history, coupled with the courage and talent to will a vision into existence.” – Spencer Lazar

We’re accepting applications from now until February 20th, so apply today for your chance to Shadow General Catalyst for a day! You must be from the tri-state area with a background in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship.

If you don’t win this incredible opportunity we have several more Shadow for a Day competitions coming up with some companies you’ll be sure to recognize. Stay tuned!

The Interview Cheat Sheet Every College Student and Recent Graduate Needs

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could walk into an interview and smoothly answer any and every question that came your way?

After going through many interviews ourselves as college students and recent grads, we know that being caught off guard isn’t fun (and won’t land you the job). That’s why we, here at WayUp, have decided to share our strategies for the 7 common interview questions you’ll have to face during your job search. This is the interview cheat sheet every college student needs to knock the interview out of the park.

1. So tell me about yourself.

Cut the life story to a minimum, and approach the question this way: What’s something that has happened in your life that speaks to your personality or your values? Are you someone who never gives up or the person your friends go to for advice? Tell your interviewer a succinct yet impactful story that isn’t shown on your resume or your cover letter. Read more.

2. Tell me about a time you failed.

Everyone has failed at some point in their life. All employers are trying to do when they ask you this question is determine how well you bounce back from your mistakes. Start with a real mistake, talk about what you learned from it and outline the steps you took to make things right. Read more.

3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

“Idk…employed?”

You don’t have to know exactly what profession you want to pursue in order to answer this question — but your answer should include an essential component: at least one skill that’s simultaneously vital to the position and something you want to hone and pursue in the future. Read more.

4. What is your greatest weakness?

Employers don’t want to hear a “fake” weakness like “I work too hard” or “I’m a perfectionist.” Start with a real obstacle you’ve faced (whether in school or in your professional life) and talk about ways you’ve been working to turn it into a strength. Read more.

5. Why do you want to work here?

We all want to suppress a “Because I need the money!” in response to this question. Do your homework on the position and the company and talk about the initiatives that impressed you. Highlight some of the positive ways the interviewer spoke about the company and play up cultural fit if you’ve interviewed with more than one person in the office. Read more.

6. Why should we hire you?

Connect the dots for your employer by highlighting the top 3 or 4 qualifications you have that would make you successful in the position. (Hint: to do this correctly, read the job description very carefully and listen to the way your interviewer talks about the type of person needed for the position.) Read more.

7. What other companies are you interviewing with?

You have the right to remain silent.

Well, not really – but you do have the right to your privacy. It’s usually not a good idea to show your cards early on in the interview process (if you’re interviewing with the company’s competitors, that won’t go over well; if you’re not interviewing anywhere else, that won’t make you look great either). Focus on making your interviewer feel confident that you want this position, even if you’re considering other options. Read more.

Now go out there and land the job!

How to Get Hired When You Don’t Have Experience

Must get a job to have experience, must have experience to get a job…

It’s an endless cycle that can make even the most accomplished college students feel insecure. You’re worried that you don’t have the skills employers want, and you’re not sure that you bring anything to the table (other than your eagerness to get a job in the first place).

Relax: We created WayUp to give college students a fair playing field in the job market and the opportunity to connect with employers who would be willing to take a chance on young hires, but even with WayUp in place (you’re signed up, right?), there are a few things you can do to make sure that you win employers over — even if the experience section of your resume is almost nonexistent.

Stop apologizing

Whether you’re writing your cover letter or answering the What’s Your Greatest Weakness? interview question in your interview, you should never, ever reference your inexperience during the job search. By doing so, you’re disqualifying yourself early on in the game, when you should be framing the conversation positively around your candidacy.

Be confident: Every single professional — from your older friend working their first full-time job to the Sheryl Sandbergs of the world–had to start somewhere and convince an employer of their worth, so stop apologizing for your inexperience and start showing off the qualities that make you employable.

Talk up your extracurriculars, classes, and leadership experience

College has provided you with the perfect opportunity to develop skills you’ll need in the workforce. You develop discipline through your classes (no one’s telling you to), teamwork through your extracurriculars, leadership experience through group projects, greek life and so much more — and that’s just the beginning. Think about what you’ve learned so far in college, and choose the opportunities that would definitely catch an employer’s attention. (Hint: making sure to speak to the desired skills and qualifications listed in the job description will give you a huge advantage.)

Start your own personal project

Employers love self-starters. When you use your spare time to start on your own initiatives or passion projects, your motivation and drive make you an extremely competitive candidate. Start your own student organization on campus; write a blog and recruit a few writers on campus to be a part of your team. Rally your classmates for a cause you care about. Your inexperience won’t be a disadvantage when you show how eager you are to dive into new experiences.

As Natalie Portman said in her Commencement speech to the Harvard Class of 2015, inexperience can be an asset that allows you to think outside the box and implement creative change. Be empowered by your college experiences and focus on what you do bring to the table: Employers won’t have confidence in you unless you have confidence in yourself. Speaking of employers, the 7,000+ businesses on our site are looking to hire college students just like you – and we strongly suggest you take them up on it! Apply on WayUp to get the experience you need!

Jobs for College Students That Pay $20/hr

Managing the cost of college is not easy – it’s even more frustrating trying to find a job that will give you experience and come with a hefty paycheck that will help you pay off your tuition.

That’s why we created WayUp: so that you can find jobs that will both expand your skill set and give your bank account a boost. Check out the jobs for college students below that are paying $20/hr or more!

Relcy Campus Ambassador

A Silicon Valley startup backed with $9 million in investing, Relcy is the fastest way to find anything on your phone: the app allows you to search across your favorite apps for the best restaurants, movies, songs, and so much more.

As a Campus Ambassador, you will promote the fast-growing app on your campus, grow Relcy’s user base, and work closely with the Marketing Team to brainstorm and implement creative marketing tactics. The position pays $20/hr for all events where the Relcy team is present and $1 per download!

Outbound Sales & Partnerships Assistant at Chargebee

Subscription billing simplified: Chargebee partners with SaaS and subscription-based companies to automate online and offline invoicing and payment collection. As an Outbound Sales & Partnerships Assistant, you will organize social events around the product, prospect new partners, and build leads to increase sales. The position is perfect for any college student with previous marketing and sales experiences and pays $20/hr.

Sales & Marketing Intern at Chase Group

A boutique healthcare consulting firm, Chase Group is hiring a Sales & Marketing Intern. This intern will research prospective client organizations, coordinate marketing efforts with the social media team, and work closely with the CEO on projects that will help to drive revenue. The ideal candidate believes that the right healthcare can make a positive impact, has a passion for sales, and is a self-starter who can move an idea forward quickly. The position pays $20/hr!

Campus Manager for Textbook Valet

Textbook buyback is frustrating: you haul all your books to the campus bookstore, wait in a long line, only to get very little pay for your very expensive textbooks. Textbook Valet is changing all of that with an online, affordable textbook service run by students, for students. As a Campus Manager, you will be the boss: you will recruit Campus Reps to work for you, onboard them, schedule daily book drop-offs with your campus reps, and organize and implement marketing campaigns on campus. This position is commission-based, and Campus Managers earn on average over $20/hr.

Ready to get experience and make bank? Apply to these jobs for college students before they fill up fast and get taken down!

Win Lunch with an NBA Reporter for FOX Sports

Want to win lunch with an NBA reporter for FOX Sports? Apply now for the Shadow for a Day Competition.

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“I was never a good student growing up,” says Fred Katz, NBA writer for FOXSports.com. “If there was a basketball game on, I wanted to watch that instead of doing homework, and at some point, I just thought, I have to do a job where my job is to watch the game.”

He did exactly that, heading off the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he received his degree in Broadcast Journalism, took on jobs involving everything from radio to TV to blogging about sports, landed a position as a Featured Columnist for the Bleacher Report, and finally ended up at FOX, where he’s been for over a year.

“When people hear about my job, they say, ‘Oh, that’s my dream job,’ but they don’t realize how much goes into it,” Fred explains. “You have to really love the content: it’s not something you can just like and get away with it.” He doesn’t hold back about the demands of the role: the 70-80 hour weeks, the non-stop influx of information to cover, that time when the Phoenix Suns coach, Jeff Hornacek, was fired, and Fred got called into work at 3 am. “The news doesn’t stop,” he says.

But Fred does have a pretty sick job, and he knows how to handle the nonstop news by keeping his finger on the pulse. “I’m a Twitter addict. It’s an efficient way to produce and receive information.” He also lives for the stories, describing his two favorite articles: a piece where he watched a nail-biting game with the family of potential Rookie of the Year, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and a story about Reggie Evans of the Sacramento Kings, who went from selling crack at 17-years-old to using his NBA earnings to support his hometown through his charity, The Reggie Evans Foundation.

Fred’s advice to college students who want to pursue this career? There’s no such thing as writer’s block. “As a professional, that just means you don’t know enough, you haven’t done your research. When you’re writing about a topic you have to be as close to an expert as possible. You have to read a ton.” Fred’s inspiration came from Bill Simmons, a famous sports columnist whose long form of about 5,000 words took Fred, a slow reader, around 40 minutes to get through – but it was worth it. “You start to develop your own voice, your own tactics, and you’re not doing an impression anymore,” Fred says.

Spots are filling up quickly, and this opportunity will close soon. If you want to win a chance to get one-on-one career advice from Fred Katz, apply here.