Notes from an Intern: From the Other Side of the Desk

By: Amanda Norell

As college students, rare is the occasion when we get to see things from the professional perspective. For example, we so often worry about being prepared for interviews without really knowing what happens on the other side. This semester, however, I have had the chance to sit behind the desk, sitting in on interviews for applicants in both my internship with LACD as well as with Liberal Arts Student Council.

Life on the other side is quite fascinating. You see things from an entirely new perspective (shocking, right?). You realize that writing the ‘perfect’ resume and cover letter isn’t as difficult as you think it is (or all that matters), body language speaks volumes and first impressions are key.

When reviewing my first stack of resumes and cover letters, I found them to be pretty evenly split as far as quality is concerned. I began separating them into three piles: ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’. When going through the ‘no’ pile a second time, I found the common thread they all shared was not necessarily lack of experience (which is common among college students), but grammar. Simple grammar rules that most of us learn in grade school were violated or ignored, weakening these pieces far more than their lack of experience.

If you want to present a strong resume and cover letter, double, triple and quadruple check your grammar! If grammar isn’t your thing, have a friend, sibling or roommate review it. Also, don’t be afraid to make use of the CCO, LACD and other career resources on campus. Be honest and straight forward in what you are trying to accomplish and what you can bring to the table, and you will stand out more than you think.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but posture is not the strongest for our generation. Many people are completely unaware when they slouch because it has become so natural. In the interviews I helped conduct, posture was one of the first things I noticed of the interviewees. When you walk in the room, keep your head up and shoulders back and keep that posture throughout the interview. I saw more than one person slouched forward on the table with their legs in all different directions. Sit straight and proper without looking uncomfortable and stuffy.

We’ve all heard it before: first impressions are everything. I don’t necessarily like saying that they are everything, but they definitely have an impact on how you will be remembered. In this case, we kind of back track to the resume and cover letter, which are really your first impression. Make sure the person on paper matches the person in the room.

At the end of the day, your qualifications and potential for success should speak for themselves, but making little mistakes like these can overshadow what you have to offer. 

Head Start Internship Blog

For the past couple of months I have been working with the Head Start Program in Flora Indiana. The program is based out of an elementary school in Carroll County called Carrol Elementary School. I have played a major role in the classroom throughout the last couple of months. I have done little things such as setting the tables for snack and lunch, and larger more important things such as observing the kids and entering them into the system and participating and helping out with Brigance screenings for the kids. The thing I love most is playing with the kids obviously! They are so adorable. Most of these kids come from low income families and do not live under the best circumstances, but you would never know it. The kids walk in the classroom with big smiles on their faces and run up to me and give me hugs and it instantly makes me day better. I always look forward to coming to work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, even though it is a challenge at times and the kids can be difficult, it has been a very rewarding experience. I am on a lunch break right now and will be writing more about my day later!

Covering Senseless Tragedies

Ray Carter

    Heading toward the end of the second month, getting used to newsroom pace and politics have gotten easier. The Tuesday routine of trying to shadow a reporter in the field or help assist sports producers is usually slow. Not expecting much, I headed to the lunchroom to put up my dinner. Breaking News screens in bold white letters flashed over the screen; I wondered what  happened. A one-year-old boy had disappeared in a St. Louis Suburb north of the city, causing some to make a Kansas City connection from the Lisa Irwin Case. The 20-y.o. mother did not know how it happened nor did the Grandmother. As the coverage continued, the newsroom found that a small body was located in a nearby park; the station’s worst fear came true.  Soon producers and editors paced around the assignment desk to find correct information for viewers.
As the coverage continued, many newsroom employees gave advice to the interns on these stories. Two of our head anchors Kay and Leisa, gave analysis while trying to balance their opinion. The reporters’ on-scene carefully rehashed the events of the day and expanded on knowledge from previous stories. Employees told me that it’s better to give viewers correct information over gossip.

    Glued to the television, many of us wondered how a baby could vanish in the middle of the night. ‘Could the mother not hear the Burglar?’ ‘Did she know any bad people?’ The next day the situation had gotten worse, the mother was the person charged with murder. It turns out she had been partying the night before and mishandled the child.  After the press conference, an impromptu memorial service invited community members to grieve where the child’s body was last scene. I was allowed to shadow Multi-Media Journalist Casey Nolan on this assignment.

   Casey cautioned that reporters have to be careful when going into this type of story. Tensions can run high from neighbors and family members. People banning us from shooting the memorial service would not be a surprise to Casey.  I was a little nervous to go on such hard news story, but I felt I needed the training.  When we arrived on the scene, hundreds of people gathered around a large oak tree where police discovered the body. People left birthday cards, candy, and even stuffed super heroes. As the evening passed, Casey respectfully interviewed several friends, asking only questions about the child’s young life.  When one of the crowd members started to cry, it sparked a chain reaction. Countless others joined in hugging each other.  It was depressing, but most of the reporters kept their composure while recounting the events to the studio.

     All of the reporters on scene had to be professional and not let their emotions get the best of them.  Toward the end of the night, the five or six stuffed toys soon turned into a mound of teddy bears and birthday cards. A Scottish Bagpipe player sang a Scottish Hymn with hundreds of lit candles in the shadows.  It was good to learn how to do a news report in this type of situation.  I trailed Casey interviewing the crowd members while trying to get different shots of the tree. It taught me how to handle an emotionally devastating story on the job.

    This is a depressing article, but that is what I’ve been working on! My internship only has one month left. I’ll write back in a few weeks!

Obscure Interview Questions

by: Tiffany Smock 

Perhaps one of the most stressful parts of applying for a job is the interview process. It is at that moment when the employer will decide whether to hire you or not; no pressure right? We take classes at school to train and prepare us for the questions employers will ask us; helping to boost our confidence when the day comes. However, within the past ten years or so a new trend has emerged in interview questions that will throw students for a loop.

Interview questions have taken a turn for the "weird and wacky" as employers try to gauge the interviewee's personality. These questions range from asking "what's your favorite color?" to "if aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet, what would you want?" Pretty wacky right? This new trend is not going to change as employers ask these questions to make you think, think creatively and quickly, and tap into your inner resources and personality components.


Here are a few examples of the obscure interview questions and tips on how to answer and what the employer is looking for.

How many gas stations would you say there are in the United States?
This one displays how you think about solving a large problem. It's about estimation vs. actual calculations and sometimes you can do both.


What makes you angry?
Be careful about admitting to having episodes of anger. Indicate that you handle problems as they arise so that they don't build up to the anger point.


If I assembled 3 of your former supervisors in a room and asked them about you, what would they say about you that you would say is not true?
It would likely be good to say that they all probably would over-praise you; that you worked hard for all your supervisors, but are a humble individual. 


How would you design a spice rack for a blind person?
Any creative answer would be great - Braille labels, "talking" containers, etc.


What would I find in your refrigerator right now?
This would show planning and personality traits.


Why are manhole covers round?
This question is looking for a creative answer.


If you want more tips and questions check out this great article: http://pattyinglishms.hubpages.com/hub/Off-The-Wall

Good luck to you all going through the interview process!

Office Etiquette

By: Amanda Norell

Transitioning from the life of a collegiate to world of work can be tough. There are new schedules, new assignments and new norms that may take you a while to get used to depending on how easily you can adapt. One of the easiest ways you can smoothly transition between the two very different environments is to be well versed on office etiquette. I know not all jobs are held within an office, but entering a professional office environment can be intimidating and difficult to become comfortable. Here are a few dos and donts to make that transition seamless.


1. Greet coworkers you pass when you enter the office
This might be natural for you anyway, but being friendly and approachable is a good trait to have when working with others. Be careful, though, as you don’t want to appear too nice. People sometimes see niceness as weakness, so learn how to be pleasant and approachable while still standing your ground.


2. Office time is not personal time
When you’re in an office all by yourself, it may be easy to put your real work on the back burner while you tend to personal matters. Personal calls, checking Facebook and Twitter, reading a book, knitting—whatever you may do to decompress—it’s not what you’re getting paid for. Avoid the temptation to check your notifications or Tweet what you had for lunch (since everyone is so curious). If these are things you just can’t wait to deal with, use your lunchtime for personal business.


3. Music in the workplace
If you’re anything like me, you’re more productive with a little John Mayer or Adele crooning in the background. Music in the workplace can be a tough call to make, but unless your office has a very strict policy when it comes to the tunes, then I don’t see why low-volume, appropriate music can’t be played at your desk. We all know what’s appropriate and what’s not (at least I hope we do), so just be smart in your song choices. And if you find yourself breaking out in random dance sessions way to frequently, you may want to reconsider listening at all.


4. Keep your desk and office neat
Now I may sound like your mother, but this may be one of the best ways to make a seamless transition from college life to work life. A messy workplace does not lend itself to being productive. Also, you don’t want your first impression on your coworkers to be a negative one for being the office slob.

Breaking into the Business

Ray Carter

This week has been spent researching various options for future employment. The job market isn’t the best for college graduates but there is a slight uptick in newsroom hiring. This past weekend I had to prepare for an interview for a News Reporting Internship with WISH-TV in Indianapolis. Most of the newsroom employees gave me advice on where to start your career and how to not burn out in the world of television news.

 Some anchors start small, while others get lucky in mid size markets. John Kelly, KSDK’s new Multi-Media Journalist, says that he got lucky by landing in Springfield, Mo. The area includes a lot of tourist spots such as Branson and The Ozarks. Kelly told me that it’s great to start in a medium city because of workload and housing costs. For example, in Chicago, there might be twenty-five fires on any given day whereas Springfield may only have one. Traffic in smaller markets can be attractive for some news reporters and photojournalists. A one hour’s drive to a story versus a twenty minute drive can affect news coverage.

Mid Size cities usually provide, a lot more activities for a younger crowd; employees say that Casper, WY may not provide good living for a single college graduate.  Darrin, my Assignment Editor, says the Green Bay Area is a great place for new college graduates to get hired in television news. The city is over 100,000, and it’s a ninety minute drive from the beach. He also couldn’t forget to mention Packer’s Stadium.  Darrin said that the NBC station in Green Bay and area newsrooms were pretty good about hiring fresh talent. He also points to Madison, Ws, because it’s located near the University of Wisconsin and the Dells.

 Pay can also be an issue for starting journalists. A lot of newsroom employees caution working for free. Mike Rush, the Four O’clock anchor, told me that it took him a while to find a job. When he finally found one, it was in the 150+ market of St. Charles, Louisiana. His starting pay was well under twenty grand, but he was close to home.  Mike says that a lot of small markets, like St. Charles, Louisiana or West Lafayette, Indiana have only one news station. While this is a positive for a small town, Mike says that reporters have to be creative when finding stories to write.  In Fast Track, Jim Schenke, told us that it doesn’t matter which market you wind up; you just need to love the job.

 A lot of the newsroom employees had interesting tracks to get to St. Louis. Some started out in small cities such as Kingsport, TN or Medford, OR. While others started out in hotspots such as Vegas, New York, or Phoenix. My Sports Boss Rene Knott worked in Washington D.C. and Oregon before coming to St. Louis. He says that it doesn’t matter which affiliate or newsroom you start in, as long as you get a job. College graduates can get hung up on a name or a title; this doesn’t matter when trying to break into journalism. Some get lucky, while others don’t. He also tells me to make sure a college internship helps you decide what to do in the future. What may seem fun one day may not be fun ten years from now. 

Some photojournalists or producers get stuck behind the scenes when the really want be a reporter and vice-versa. My internship Boss Ava Ehrlich suggests saving all work done from an internship and putting together a resume tape in order to get a writing job. Newsroom employees always state the old saying “You put into it what you get out of it.” That’s all I have to write for now, I’ll write again in a few weeks.

Utilizing Resources

By: Amanda Norell

How many times have you been sitting the Class of ’50, feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Chances are, on a university campus the size of Purdue, you’ve felt unnoticed from time to time. These feelings can also transfer into the workplace as the new guy or gal. I have found, both on campus and in professional settings, that the easiest way to stand out from the crowd is to utilize the resources that are made available to you.

In a 400-person lecture hall, the likelihood of your professor knowing your name or even recognizing your face is pretty much zero. On the first day of class, go down and introduce yourself. Even then it make time more than one interaction for him or her to remember, so visit the professor’s office hours to build rapport. These hours are there for you to make use of, so don’t be hesitant to stop in if you are struggling with a topic or would like feedback on your work.

Utilizing resources is also a helpful way to excel in the professional world. Pursuing the knowledge of your bosses and superiors is one way to progress and distinguish yourself. You can also make use of past files and other documents that are made available to you in your company library or database. Don’t always feel that you have to do everything on your own. By seeking out help and collaborating with others you gain multiple perspectives and also catch mistakes you may have not seen on your own.

Surviving Group Projects

by: Tiffany Smock


Being a college student, it's inevitable that at some point in our academic career we will have to do a group project. If you're like me, hearing you have to do a group project is like a weight has been added to your back. I've never had a pleasant experience when working with groups. A hard-worker by nature, most, if not all of the work, was pushed on to me and I just accepted it and completed the project on my own because I cared about my grade. It was unfortunate because then my group members would take credit for all the hard work that I, not they, had done. I'm sure that many of you can relate to my story and feel the same way I do about them.

But my fourth year at college, bound for the job market within a year, I was ready to make a change. This semester I personally have several group projects spread out among my classes. This can be intimidating and hard to schedule meeting times; an equation for disaster. I, however, would not have it. My grades are very important to me and I was determined to not have another bad group experience again. And I can honestly say that this semester has not been as bad and, dare I say, the best one so far with group projects.

Something I learned that really helped me out was to take charge. Don't be afraid to be the person that stands up as the leader of the group. You'll be able to help keep the group focused, on task and ensure that the project gets done in a timely manner. No one likes to be the leader, because all of the work/negative comments usually fall on their shoulders, but don't let that scare you. I used to be afraid to take on the leadership role, but have slowly changed it to be the exact opposite. By taking charge of the group, I established my place as a hard-worker and someone who wanted a good grade on the project and would help others if they needed it. Sometimes you have to delegate tasks to your group to make the project run smoother.

Normally there's a long list of things that one can do to improve certain aspects of college life, but in my personal experience I've found that in group projects being in a leadership role is one of the most effective ways to turn the experience into a good one.

So next time you're in a group project don't be afraid to speak up about being the leader. And even if you're not a leader you are just as important as the other members so please say what's on your mind. A group works best when everyone is communicating with one another. Good luck to you all on your future group projects this semester!