Internships / Summer Jobs / Summer Associateships

Internships, summer jobs, summer associates... there are a lot of names for what basically amounts to a 10-week interview. Here is some of our best advice.

Affordable, Easy Office Decor Ideas

07/07/2016 by Corporette Staff 78 Comments

2017 Update: We still stand by these easy office decor ideas — but you may also want to check out our most recent discussion of the best places to get cute office decor.

Ladies, what are your favorite easy office decor ideas? What’s the first thing you do in any new office, and what ideas would you recommend to summer associates, interns, and others? Decorating your office with cute desk accessories and more can be an essential way to making your workspace happier — and giving yourself more energy. But, if you’re a summer associate, intern, on-site consultant, on a secondment, or any other kind of temporary worker, you don’t want to put in a ton of effort into decorating your desk or office. So what are the top affordable, easy office decor ideas that help you avoid staring at boring blank walls or that ubiquitous cubicle-wall shade of beige-gray-tan?

Obviously, you should make sure not to damage the office in any way, such as leaving behind adhesive residue or accidentally removing paint/drywall when you remove things from the walls. You also won’t want to bring too much stuff, or else by the end of your time there you won’t even want to bring it all home. (Plus, it’s a little weird when a temporary worker looks like they’ve moved in, yes?) So what are the best ideas beyond “colorful tissue box”? (Always an option!) We thought we’d round up some great ideas for cute desk accessories and other simple, fast ways summer associates can decorate their offices.

(Update: as you see in the comments, a lot of readers bristled at the very idea of this post, noting that summer associates or interns should NEVER decorate their office. We’ve updated the post a bit for clarity, but it’s a good reminder to know your office. )

How to Network When You’re Junior

06/28/2016 by Corporette Staff 23 Comments

Here’s a fun question, ladies: what are your best networking tips for younger women just starting out in their careers? What’s your best advice on how to network when you’re junior? We’ve rounded up some tips from readers in our last discussion, and I have some thoughts as well, but I’m curious to hear what you guys have to say about this.

For my part, I remember when I was just out of school I felt like it was so much harder to approach older people whose careers I admired — like it would have been so much easier if I’d had connections, influence, or experience to bring to the the table. One of the best things that helped me overcome this fear of networking was doing a summer internship for magazine students where they heavily mentored us (every week we had a different major editor offering career advice to the group) and week after week people encouraged us to just reach out to people we admired and ask for coffee, lunch, breakfast. The first trick was knowing what not to ask for — never a job, just advice — and even then it was often easier to ask them about their own path than for direct advice about your path. The second trick was to know that their time was valuable, so either ask small (could I get 15 minutes of your time in your office to talk about career stuff / hear more about Magazine X / hear more about your path to Editor in Chief?) or make it “worth their time” by setting up a group lunch with several other interns or junior people. The final trick they passed on was that once you were on someone’s radar, to stay on their radar — say hi at every event, send an occasional email with news that they would find interesting, or more — even just send a congratulatory email when they get a new job or new accolade. (We’ve also talked in the past about the different tactics you may want to use when networking with older men vs. networking with older women.)

Now that I’m older I would also advise my younger self to not discount networking among fellow junior colleagues — make friends, get to know people, stay in touch. Hopefully this is totally perfunctory advice and you’re making friends with colleagues regardless of whether they can help you down the line — but it’s one I haven’t heard said a lot in networking advice, at least directly.

The last time we discussed this, the readers (as always!) had a ton of great advice on how to network when you’re junior:

How Not to Gain Weight Over Summer Recruiting Season

06/16/2016 by GuestPoster 12 Comments

Summer recruiting season: always a trying time for those among us trying to maintain our weight (to say nothing of those of us trying to diet)! I still stand by my old advice on how to diet during the recruiting season, but I thought we’d refresh the post with a guest post from a good friend of mine, L, still in the trenches (which is to say, still attending recruiting cocktail parties and ritzy lunches). Thank you, L! – Kat. Check out more resources for summer associates, here!

When I was a summer associate (in a year I will not name, but it was pre-economy collapse), I gained twelve pounds in about as many weeks. A quantity of food I had previously called “lunch,” I started calling “an appetizer.”

Now, however, after navigating many more summer programs, I’ve figured out how to strike a good balance between having fun (free food! free drinks! bonding!) and still managing to maintain a healthy lifestyle – and fit back into my fall clothes when the summer program comes to an end.

For many, recruiting events are a chance to eat at amazing restaurants and try delicious food, and I’m not discouraging you from participating in that experience. But if you are concerned about gaining weight, then decide each meal whether the calorie splurge will be worth it. For when it won’t be, here is my advice:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Internships/Summer Jobs, Weight Control Tagged With: posts, recruiting, summer, summer associates

What Not to Wear to Work

05/03/2016 by Kat 106 Comments

2017 Update: We still stand by this advice on what not to wear to work, but you may want to check out The Ultimate Guide to Business Casual for Women.

Here’s a fun question as we slide into summer with lots of summer interns and summer associates: what NOT to wear to work? Obviously: every office is different, so know your office. My usual guidelines for readers are these:

If it’s on this list (below) of questionable items, do NOT wear it until you’ve seen ~~your boss~~ several midlevels wear it. Note that these people do not count as “your boss:” another summer intern, a staffer/subordinate, or someone else very junior at the company (e.g., a first-year associate). (See the interesting discussion in the comments — a lot of bosses have earned their right / have enough credibility to get away with dressing however the heck they want — just because they feel ok about wearing something doesn’t mean they’d want to see a summer intern or first-year wear it.)
When in doubt, stick with classics. If it wasn’t commonly worn as workwear five years ago, question whether it’s appropriate at your conservative office — classic styles and prints tend to go over best. Track pants, culottes, ballerina-style lace up shoes… these are in a different ballpark than pencil skirts, button-front blouses, sheath dresses, and blazers.
If it makes noise at all, it isn’t appropriate for the office. Cheap fabric — arm parties — loud necklaces — any sort of a shoe that makes a loud sound: be wary.

(Pictured at top, in case you like them for the weekend or evenings, clockwise: romper / eyelet cami / maxi skirt with slit / pencil skirt with slit.)

My list of “please do not wear this to your conservative office” would include:

Guest Post: 7 Stores to Shop for Summer Workwear

07/15/2014 by GuestPoster

Which are the best stores for summer workwear? Everyone has their own list, it seems, but today’s comes from the online shopping experts at SHEfinds, a blog I’ve been reading since before I started Corporette. Welcome! – Kat.

Whether you live in the city or the country, drive to work or commute, every woman knows the perils of dressing for work during summer. It’s hot when you’re outside, cold in the car or on the train, hot on your walk to the office, and then cool again in your office. How the heck are you supposed to dress for this?

One word: layers. Yes, it may seem like a bother to carry something extra when it’s 80+ degrees out, but not only will a good blazer, cardigan, or jacket keep you warm in A.C., but it will also pull together a professional outfit like nobody’s business.

So as we embark on sweltering summer months, we rounded up seven stores every woman should hit up for workwear to survive the season. Whether you’re looking for business attire or something more casual, these spots won’t fail you. (Pictured: Notch Neck Shift, $67-$134 at Boden, marked down from $168.)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Internships/Summer Jobs, Shopping Tagged With: summer

Summer Associate Series: Ending an Internship Positively

07/08/2014 by Kat

How can you end an internship positively? This week in our Summer Associate Series,* as the summer starts to wind down (for some, at least!), I thought we’d take a look back at some of our best posts on how to wrap up your summers, whether they be as summer associates or interns. (If you do still have a few weeks of work left, though, you may want to check out our post on how to get the work you want, and how to network when you’re at the bottom of the ladder.)

Readers, what are your best tips for interns on how to end on a strong note? How important is the home stretch in terms of making an impression?

(*Name aside, we hope this series will be helpful to ANY intern, whether you’re a law student or another woman interning in a conservative office for the summer.) Check out our previous posts on general summer associate style, what to wear for the creative summer associate events, general business etiquette tips, and business lunch etiquette tips.

How to end an internship gracefully
Should you accept a job offer on the spot? The economy and hiring market hasn’t changed that much since we first talked about this issue back in 2011 — readers, I’m curious what you think today.