Starting Out (Elliott Stewart GS 490)

I'm currently in my second week of my new internship and would like to describe the steps I took to receive this great opportunity. First was the process of actually finding the right internship for me and one that would put my skills to good use. This at first wasn't a easy task. I would look all over the internet trying to find a position that would work around me still being a full time student and that would also be within driving distance from Purdue University. I research and was disappointed that I could find anything that would fit my criteria. Then a good friend of mine informed me about the internship that I'm currently in today.

I looked into the opportunity and found that it would be a great fit for me if I could get it. I found the requirements of the application and started working to update my resume. That's one thing I would tell everyone in college to do, build a resume now with your highest achievements, then when it comes time to apply for a specific internship you can tailor the information to better show how you would be a good fit for that position. I sent in the resume and cover letter the intern supervisor and waited to hear back.

I got a call from the office about four to five days latter asking if I could come down for an interview. I set the time and date and began to think of questions they might ask me and how I would answer them. Also I came up with questions that I had about the internship to make sure it was right for me. After the interview I was offered the position and I told them I would have to think about it over night. It was a big time commitment for me and I needed to make sure I could revise my class schedule to allow me to take the position.

I started the internship last week and on the first day I started right in with organizing ballots that had to be sent out that week. This is a very important task because there were about sixteen thousand signatures that need to be organized into counties of Indiana and then verified for authenticity. This obviously took me the first couple days to do.

This week is a little less hectic and now I’m being shown around the office and how to do daily tasks that need to be done while doing other jobs. For example I was shown how to work the printers, intercom, phone system, and other tasks that will be necessary for me to know. I’m really enjoying my position right now and I’m looking forward to the weeks to come.