Jenny Hofler’s Post

Before Career Ready, Grace had no experience in the world of work. "I felt I lacked the skills and experience employers look for," she says. But with support from mentor Anthony and a paid #internship with Zest under her belt, she's built confidence, independence, life skills, and got a head start on her future career. Read what Grace and Anthony had to say: https://buff.ly/3NfllDM #CRInterns #InvestInYoungTalent

I asked to be paid … One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned throughout my career is the importance of clearly and confidently articulating my needs and expectations to my potential employers. Last year, I got an offer to intern with a philanthropic organization I admired and attended their conference. This offer imposed full time commitment but was unpaid, and although I was happy to support and be a part of their team, I expressed my concerns about being compensated for the value I would bring. I opened up conversations about time adjustments, including my availability for meetings to accommodate with my class schedule, discussed compensation and explored a work arrangement that made a paid element feasible based on their budget constraints. If you don’t figure out what exactly it is you want and tell people exactly that then you won’t get it. 📍Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and don’t stay silent about what you need to thrive. I’ve found that being upfront about your needs to be successful and fulfilled is not only empowering but also demonstrates self-awareness that employers value. Remember; closed mouths don’t get fed! #zulshare #earlycareers #internship

Happy Interns Day! I spoke with one of my clients about the interns she has working with her this summer and she told me about a question she asked each of them recently. She asked each of them what they hadn't worked on yet but wanted to before the end of the summer. I think this is such an important thing to find out. Remember, you have the ability to help a young person determine their future path right now. Talk to your interns. Ask questions. Find out what they love and don't love. You never know, you may be talking to your future best employee. #internsday #edistoconsultinggroup #nowhiring

🌟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐰?🌟 Today, we’re looking back on some of our past interns and their accomplishments. We are incredibly proud to have been a part of their professional journeys and applaud them for their success. Scroll through the photos below ➡️ for a spotlight on what some of our talented former interns are up to now, featuring Sumorwuo Zaza - Nicklpass, Ashleigh Shannon, Collin E., and Olivia Dehoff, M.S.. #Interns #SuccessStories #CareerGrowth

🎉 Happy National Intern Day! 🎉 Ah, the glamorous life of an intern—where we get the unique opportunity to "gain experience" and "build our network" while mastering the fine art of coffee brewing and copier repair🤹♀️. As an intern organizational psychologist with countless internships under my belt, I can truly say I've seen it all. From handling complex projects to providing real value to teams, my resume is nothing short of impressive🧠. Let’s take a moment to celebrate all the interns out there who are perfecting their multitasking skills by juggling real work and the ever-so-important task of making sure the office plants are watered🌱. Despite the sarcasm, I must admit all my experiences were actually invaluable, even if they were underpaid. I feel fortunate that I was given the chance to focus on meaningful work, rather than tasks like watering plants, making coffee, or fixing the copy machine🌟. So here’s to us—the unpaid, the underpaid, and the overworked. May we continue to grind, hustle, and occasionally be acknowledged for the actual contributions we make to our organizations🙌. Happy National Intern Day, fellow interns! Let’s raise our coffee cups (that we brewed ourselves) to another year of “invaluable experiences” and “career-building opportunities.” (Posting this a few days late because my busy intern schedule is just that packed! 😂) #NationalInternDay #InternLife #OrganizationalPsychology #CareerBuilding #UnpaidLabor

Today wraps up my 10-week internship at CampusESP in Operations. In the spirit of the office, I thought I’d reflect on the company goals as I offboard: 1. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻. I’ve honestly been spoiled from working here. Watching a company truly care about its employees (and put money and time where its mouth is!) has raised my standards for what I should expect from management. I’ve watched leadership genuinely listen to and consult members of their team for big decisions, and everyone tries to make themselves approachable — my co-intern, Sammi Chai, and I even got to have breakfast with co-founder/CEO Dave Becker! I’ve learned a lot from everyone, but in particular wanted to highlight my managers Jobi John, Brianne Alvarez, and Dan Combs for the time and care they put into training me and Sammi, supporting us when we had questions, and serving as mentors for us. 2. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆. I’ve been thinking a lot about this as Sammi and I tackled a larger-scheme data project regarding our customers that culminated in a presentation to several teams/leadership and co-founder/CTO James Bright. It’s so easy to get lost in a sea of numbers, but I’ve been reminded constantly of two things. Firstly, any data project should be human-driven and inform human-efforts. Every data point is a person, and at every point in the process Sammi and I tied our work back to: What core problem are we trying to solve? The results need to be human efforts, and I'm excited to see our work drive personalized support to customers. Secondly, I've seen that there is no dollar amount that can be put on connections - this team cares deeply about its customers, and their customers care deeply in return. 3. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲. Sammi and I both started our internships at the company summit this May in Philadelphia. What an incredible privilege it was to meet countless admin in higher ed who had taken time off of work to come talk passionately about CampusESP, network with other colleges, and think creatively about how to make the college experience better for students and parents. I attended talks and listened in on discussions about targeting First Gen/Low Income Families, International Families, Students of Color, and more. What emerged was many creative solutions to very human problems. I am so lucky to have gotten a taste of a growth company - while the work was hard and the deadlines were fast, the payoff felt incredible. So, tl;dr is, thank you for an amazing 10 weeks! I have learned so much and am excited to see this company grow.

There's nothing like summer worker (intern) season to invigorate and energize your workplace. Having the chance to collaborate with young minds and hear how they perceive our workplace and way of doing business is definitely a way to get out of your own bubble and start to think differently about things. I've written a bit about advice to interns, and it remains the same: 🙋♀️ Ask questions! If you hear an acronym used and you don't know what it is, raise your hand or interject a question into the conversation. I will bet you 100% of the time you're not the only one who doesn't know what it means! 🤝 Meet everyone that you can. This is a golden opportunity to build your network, and it's rare that someone gives a definite "no" when asked to meet with an intern. 🧠 Keep an open mind. You never know what discussion will spark something new in your thinking and change what you want for yourself. 😋 Never turn down free food. And make sure your manager knows where to find it too. I'm thrilled that after years of typing MAYHEW into my Outlook email bar and getting David or Justin, I'm able to select Carly. #IYKYK What are your words of advice for summer interns? Interns, what do you want managers to know? #internships #leadership #summerjobs #fridayfun

New interns - Balance your strengths at work. Last night I took my 5-year-old on a daddy date. In our wake as we pulled out of the driveway, we left two screaming boys - his older and younger brothers 😬 They were both devastated they weren't the one going. They'll get their turns, and according to my wife they chilled out pretty quickly after we left. But my 5-year-old is a strong, STRONG empath - one of the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful kids I've ever known. He is incredibly aware of other people and their feelings. So while the other boys moved on... He worried the whole time we were out, saying things like "I wonder if he's still crying" and "can we call Mommy to see if my brothers are still sad?" And ultimately, he said "I'm ready to go home. I'm tired, and I want to share my food with them." 😭 I absolutely LOVE this trait in my boy. But there's a potential dark side to it. If his entire evening was focused on them instead of being able to enjoy our time together... Which he'd been requesting for weeks... That's of course a bit sad. I want to help him figure out how to use this gift to help and love and care for others. But I also want to help him use it sustainably and healthily rather than constantly internalizing other people's feelings. We all have strengths that, when used too much, too often, or too intensely, can cause us problems. I'm a context person - I want to collect all the information I possibly can and see every situation from literally every possible angle to make sure I haven't missed anything and won't disregard someone else's perspective. That's a great talent when used well. But I'm often way over the top and can take a long time to get anything done because of it. You might be super confident. Super organized. Super analytical. Super outgoing and personable. All those things are amazing when used to the appropriate degree. Bring them to your internship - it's why they hired you. But be self-aware enough to recognize where you might need a little coaching to help you moderate your gifts. You nail that balance and you'll knock this out of the park! #dadlife #careerdevelopment #strengths #internships

🌟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐰? 🌟 Today, we're looking back on some of our past interns and their accomplishments. We are incredibly proud to have been a part of their professional journeys and applaud them for their success. Scroll through the photos below ➡ for a spotlight on what some of our talented former interns are up to now, featuring Tomás Freire, Jamie Gagliano, and Claire Pave. #Interns #SuccessStories #CareerGrowth