When answering a question or conveying an idea, do you have difficulty relaying what you mean? The type of communication you hold with friends, university staff and even professors is very different from the type of speech that is most effective in the workplace.

Taking on an internship or even a volunteer experience will put you in a professional atmosphere that you may be foreign in. It's worth a moment of your time to think about how you will communicate with your co-workers and your supervisor in these situations, especially concerning stressful topics or during crisis moments.

To speak the most effectively when communicating problems or issues to a supervisor or boss, make sure that you clearly understand what the issue is and are prepared to articulate it to others. If you feel angry or intensely frustrated over the issue, take time to cool down. It is perfectly acceptable to gather your thoughts. Second, know how you would like to see the issue resolved, or at least have a suggestion at the ready on how to improve the circumstances.

Once you are ready to speak, eliminate weak language. "I" statements are the most notorious for weakening your comments. Just as your professors ban the use of "I" statements in your papers, don't include them in the professional atmosphere. Here's how to turn those sentences around:

1. I am too stressed and over-burneded to take on an additional research project.

Considering these two research projects and quantitative data that I am already working on, an additional project of this size will be too large to handle until next Wednesday.

2. I have a problem with one of the associates in our department; they are not completing their work on time and it has made all of us late in finishing this project.

Our department has been unable to complete this project on time because there is a productivity issue with one of our co-workers.

It is also important to communicate effectively in your daily office interactions. Have you responded to a co-worker or boss' statement with offhand words like "cool" or "that's great" and felt immediately that it was not the best response? Don't worry, every one of us has made this mistake. Here is an example on how to respond with a stronger and more professional comment:

1. Respond with a simple okay. Acknowledging their statement shows that you listened and can now act upon their words or are ready to move on to the next topic.

If you need further clarification on their statement, say something like this: "If I heard you correctly, __________" or, "To clarify, ______________." Make sure to repeat what they said, using the same key phrases that they used while speaking to you.


Resources on Honing Your Speech:

For more tips on managing your communication in the professional space, review these two books.

Words that Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Frank Luntz
Words that Work is incredibly valuable for use in the workplace even though Luntz designed the book to guide people in the political arena. One of the best pieces of advice Luntz offers is to use a few, well-thought out words to convey your meaning instead of delivering a dissertation-like comment. The longer the email, letter or discussion, the less attentive the listener.

How to Say It For Women: Communicating with Confidence and Power Using the Language of Success by Phyllis Mindell
This book is more valuable than you can imagine. It's advice comes from a seasoned professional communications expert and will guide you through handling awkward situations, from working through communication mismatches and misunderstandings to handling hot button issues with dexterity. Each chapter is simply written and easy to digest. You'll be utilizing these principals the same day you read them.

Intern season is right around the corner. As you are trying to gain real world experience during your summer vacation, whether you're in your home town or still on campus, your summer should definitely include an internship or two.

I don't need to tell you guys how it is in the job market; the news does that for you. Every industry is becoming more competitive, and you will rarely be considered even for entry level positions if you don't already have some type of background in what you're doing.

I have done 11 internships and I'm only a sophomore in college. Intern Queen Lauren Berger completed 15 by the time she graduated. Yes, I'm trying to take her crown, and I've told her that. The more background, the better.

Internships don't just give you something to do and don't just give you industry experience. They also teach you how to deal with people. Sure, being in public school all your life can do that also, but being in a real workplace will give you that experience face first.

Here are a few tips on your quest and journey during intern season. Whether you've never had one or if you've had many, I think you can benefit from these tips.

1. Apply early: Even as I'm saying this, if you're starting today, you're a little late in the game. Many companies like to get their interviews out the way, notify people if they got it, and start them right away. If you haven't already, start applying.
2. Apply for many: I have applied and interviewed for so many positions, it's ridiculous. There are so many interviews I just knew I aced, and guess what? I didn't get the position. Apply for as many as you can.
3. Don't let pay get in the way: If you've read my Recessionista Real World post, you may be thinking I'm contradicting myself but that's my particular situation. Most of my internships have been unpaid and have made up for lack of finances with lifelong connections. Many of these positions lead to full time positions in the future.
4. Meet everyone in the company: Whether it's a huge corporation like MTV or a small company with no more than 3 people not including yourself, make sure as many people as possible know your name. Everybody knows somebody that knows somebody.
5. Always be polite: There will be days where everything is going great, then there's that one grouch in the workplace who runs you over. No matter what, always be polite.
6. Don't allow people to take advantage of you: As an intern, a lot of companies (not all, but quite a few) see you as free labor. The New York Times did an article about illegal internships using interns and not giving them anything in return. I've been in this situation as well where the supervisor was using me for personal gain. If you get any kind of red flags, run it by your parents. If you all agree something isn't right, leave.
7. Communication is key: I just ended one of my internships and one of the reasons was because of lack of communication. Never assume your supervisor knows your schedule, even if it's in their Outlook calendar. Constantly remind them if you have other obligations. Treat it as if they are like Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates; they won't remember tomorrow.
8. Punctuality goes a long way: 15 minutes early is on time. Traffic can be atrocious, especially in Los Angeles and New York. If your internship is 30 miles away, leave an hour and a half before you're scheduled to be there. If you're running late, contact your supervisor immediately.
9. Unplug: A lot of companies hate when interns are listening to their iPods, text messaging, instant messaging, on Facebook and Twitter, etc. Unless it's your job (and some positions are; a lot of my internships deal with social media) stray away from social media and your phone. Turn it on vibrate or silent and keep it out of sight.
10. What are you wearing: It's best to start stocking up on summer intern wardrobes right now. Sure, jeans and t-shirts work for some companies with the casual, laid back atmosphere, but if you want to be viewed as a professional, you have to act the part. Look for a future post on intern wear.

I come from a unique perspective where I was once standing in your shoes. I felt like I had a lot of talent and that I should be getting paid for my work. However, what I quickly realized that saying I wanted to work and telling them I had the ambition to do great things wasn't enough. In short, Ambition and Drive didn't sign paychecks. Fortunately I got up to speed and took a few unpaid, for-experience-only positions first to demonstrate my value and ambition and then the paid internships started rolling in. The funny thing about this world is that you get exactly what you give…and if you're patient, you can uniquely position yourself for success!

Pretend for a minute that you are a hiring manager and put yourself in their shoes. A university student walks into your office for a posted, unpaid internship position with your company. They have no applicable work experience, a small works portfolio at best, and they say that they are really interested in becoming the world's most fabulous fill-in-the-blank. You will have to not only take out time from your busy schedule to train them, but you have no real way to guarantee that the work they will get done will be of any presentable quality. They then ask for a $15-$20 an hour (even though the job posting said 'unpaid') because…well, they have the drive and ambition! Would you hire them then? ...I didn't think so!

Here's a few important things to keep in mind:
-Just because you're not being paid in dollars and cents doesn't mean that you're not getting paid in other ways. Internships are a two-way street: You are being groomed for a job or industry. It is the experience that you have to pay with your time, instead of dollars (like tuition, for instance).
-Don't value yourself too highly. That doesn't mean that you should strive to get paid what you're worth, but know what you're really worth before you ask for a wage, stipend, pay, etc.
-If you aren't willing to bet on your own performance, why should they? Taking on the risk of an internship and knowing that it may not pan out into full blown employment is an admirable risk to take and demonstrates a commitment that you are willing to make.
-Take advantage of your unpaid internship by cross-training in as many aspects of their business or position as possible. You will not only show initiative, motivation and drive (what you probably mentioned at your interview),  but you will also walk away with that internship with valuable on-the-job training that you can now list on your resume or demonstrate your proficiency in.
-Know that nothing is guaranteed. That, of course, is more of a philosophical discussion and we'll go into that later!

Oh, and that first unpaid internship? Mine was with the Special Olympics -- I designed a one-off logo for their Winter Games. My "payment" was building a positive rapport with my faculty (the people who recommended me for the position) and getting a lot of press coverage for it. Shortly after that I got three more paid internships that year…which catapulted my marketability in the job market. (Hey, I started my job hunt in a recession too!)

I just recently had a week full of interviews after applying to over a hundred jobs online.  Off to NYC for a week! How exciting!


During my trip I was reminded of a bunch of interview tips as well as some new ideas to add to my list!

Before going into a string of interviews make sure and review your OWN resume and refresh your memory of everything listed.  If you have any new experience be sure to add it to your resume.   (ex. I forgot I had written punctual and organized and a potential employer asked me about it!  Thank goodness I arrived right on time!) 
 Plan what you are going to wear ahead of time to avoid running late!  Based on my experience if it is a traditional corporate company go dressed more conservative but, if it is a creative company put together a business casual outfit.


 Take advantage of  your trip and schedule as many meetings as possible!  I had the opportunity to meet with the head of  HR  at a corporation. It wasn’t  an interview for a specific position, but it was a wonderful meeting!  I had the opportunity to speak with 3 employees who offered invaluable advice!  I was lucky enough to gain industry contacts and I received valuable feedback on my portfolio.

Don’t forget, this is your chance to interview the company also.  Take your time asking questions and discovering how the office works and where you will fit into that system. 

I always ran into more people at the company than planned so I was glad that I had stashed some extra resumes in my bag! 

When job searching and planning for interviews keep an open mind to your career possibilities. Most importantly, always be ready to go, you never know who you might run into and where you will see them.  Someone may email you last minute to come in for a meeting! 

Have some fun, enjoy the city, and snag a great job!