When the internship is over, make sure employees know that you are not only appreciative of the experience you gained but you also wish to be remembered. Leave your mark at the place where you interned by writing a thank-you note to the people you worked with and everyone you learned from. Below is an example of a thank-you note written by an intern who worked for his local newspaper:

“To the newsroom:

I want to thank all of you for what I have come to call the most fulfilling summer I’ve ever had.

Art – I thank you wholeheartedly for the opportunity. The past three months have proven to be a true turning point in my academic career. I will not forget you in my future endeavors.

Brian and Linda – You were a joy to work with and talk to every day. Brian, when I first accompanied you at Starbucks for your war veteran column, I knew it would be a great summer. And of course I was happy to help balance the rivalry-driven ratio of Syracuse-to-UConn. Orange pride!

Jacky – Thank you for all of the opportunities to cover stories. Every day I was amazed that no matter how many people approached you during the day with something to expand your work-load, you always remained level-headed with a smile. I can’t imagine meeting a better managing editor.

Bret – You know everything! Through all of the technical work regarding my videos, I felt lucky to have you as a resource. Thanks again.

To everyone else that I had the pleasure to personally work with, I extend the utmost of gratitude. I learned so much this summer that it’s hard to believe my writing professors can teach me anything else.

Thanks again to everyone. Keep in touch.”

This letter, though written professionally, was written with an added personal touch. The intern connected with each employee he addressed on a more personal level and has thanked them each for all he has learned by developing specific relationships with them. Here are a few benefits of writing a thank-you note after your internship experience has ended:

• You’re more likely to be remembered. By thanking everyone for the experience, you show that the internship meant something to you. The chance to work among career men and women was important and you want them to know just how much in writing. Writing a passionate thank-you note will cause your presence to stick around for a while. It will also pave the way for a stronger recommendation if you ask for one down the road.
• It will help you network. The sample letter I included above demonstrates an intern’s true desire to connect with people in the journalism field as well as his appreciation for having done so. In your thank-you note, be sure to include specific reasons why you are so appreciative and address specific people or departments. That way, your thank-you letter is more likely to be shared with multiple departments so others can read it and less likely to be viewed by one person and then thrown away.
• You will appear a more passionate person. Passionate people get the job done! Thanking the company for all your opportunities is the best way for them to know you really cared about the job and that you weren’t just getting through it for the school credit.
• You can improve your communication skills. By getting in the habit of giving gratitude where due, you strengthen your ability to make the most of your work relationships. No matter how extensive or brief you make your note, a thank-you will show that you got a lot out of working with their team; doing so habitually will show everyone you work with in the future the same thing.

It feels good to be thanked, and to know that you helped someone achieve their goals and broaden their horizon. Keep in mind that by making a good impression at your internship, you lay the groundwork for future successes – who knows, maybe the boss at your internship winds up being your boss at a completely different company down the road!

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Adrienne is a Syracuse University student from Danbury, CT majoring in Writing and Rhetoric with a Leadership Communication minor. She is a big fan of impressionist art, ocean views and classic rock. She hopes to one day have her name in the credits of a hit film whether behind the scenes or in front of the camera.

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So you’ve read all our articles here at Brand-Yourself.com about how essential it is to maintain your online reputation and personal brand identity. You’ve successfully set up your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, emphasizing your individuality, visibility, consistency, and desirability as an employee.

The battle doesn’t end there, however.  Maintaining a personal brand is continuous work and will continue for the remainder of your working life – perhaps even beyond retirement.

In order to cultivate your identity and your online reputation, keep three things in mind:

Be smart, not paranoid.
This is the age of the World Wide Web and, although you should exercise basic common sense and abstain from releasing information like your social security number to the general masses, there is no need to be paranoid about your information being online.  Visibility is key, and it is up to you to take advantage of the accessibility of the Internet.  Although you obviously shouldn’t provide, say, a blueprint and a detailed aerial shot of your home, don’t make it difficult for interested employers to contact you, either.

Use your name as often as [logically] possible.
Look at your various websites and social networking profiles as web footprints.  Your online personality should be unique to you, but a clever, intelligent website means nothing if people have no idea who owns it.  It is crucial that your name be prominent on any work you post online – not only in titles and bylines, but also headings, URLs, etc. – so that there will be a higher chance of your page[s] receiving hits.  Exercise  discretion, however.  Sprinkling your name unnecessarily will look cheap and desperate, but thoroughly linking your work with your name shows that you are proud of what you can accomplish.

OWN YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION.
It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to own your personal brand identity.  If you haven’t already, do a quick search of your name and see what the Web says about you.  If you find there are people who share a similar name, you must work hard to differentiate yourself from those people.  Always keep in mind all those professional and personal traits that make you desirable to prospective employers, and protect this image with everything you’ve got.

Remember, your work isn’t finished once you’ve established a personal brand identity.  You must also work hard to regularly manage the impression you make on the rest of the world, ensuring now only that you remain individual but also that your brand remains true to who you are. Your online reputation is how people will differentiate you from the masses.

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Gabrielle is a recent graduate from Syracuse University, where she studied fashion design and fashion communications.  She occupies her time with photography and creating her own comic book, and  she plans to return to Syracuse in 2010 to pursue her Master’s Degree in art journalism.

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Conventional wisdom dictates that a good team player is someone who is always willing to put the good of the whole above personal interests. While true, we, as individuals, want credit for whatever our contribution was. After all, without that, how will the boss know the difference between your work ethic and value to the company compared to that of sir and madame slacks-a-lot? By the same token, the office suck-up is not exactly the most respected person on the team and others may even refuse to work with him or her. Follow these simple tips to improve your interpersonal skills and avoid becoming the under- appreciated but irreplaceable wallflower.

1. Ask questions. Research the project and go to the first group meeting prepared with intelligent questions about the project and do not be afraid to speak up quickly. Be sure to actually pay attention to the given information to avoid asking something that has already been answered. If you are one of the workers who consistently asks important questions, the boss will remember you more easily and will see that you have done the required “homework.”

2. Smile and listen. You may think someone else’s idea is poorly founded and completely worthless, but after all, you want others to listen to yours.

3. Make others feel appreciated. This is not about false cotton candy fluff, but rather being courteous and helpful to colleagues. It doesn’t matter if you are the best at your job if no one will work with you because of attitude issues. When a team member helps with something, thank him or her – do not take it for granted. If a colleague has a brilliant idea, congratulate him or her and help support it with good ideas of your own.

4. Pick up the slack. Even if an associate is not working as hard as you, it reflects badly on all participants if the project fails. Perhaps the straggling worker is confused or has hit the proverbial mental wall. Bosses notice (even if they don’t immediately acknowledge) employees who are willing to help out their colleagues. Even if you feel as though no one noticed, it is much better than standing out as the person who didn’t assist his or her partner.

5. Mediate conflict. Sometimes an impartial third party in a dispute is the best way to help both combatants see a different perspective on an issue. Disagreements can be difficult to diffuse by the individuals involved if it is over an important issue. Emotion, not logic, all too often leads the way. Be careful not to take sides – instead show the good points in each person’s argument.

6. Know your strengths and improve on weaknesses. If you’re the slowest typist in the office, a project meeting is not the time to improve. Work on weak skills in personal time, and ensure the success of the team project by volunteering to do what you excel at. It will really impress and surprise the boss, however, if you (not known as the best negotiator) are able to show that you have mastered new negotiating techniques.

While some of these ideas may not obviously pertain to helping you get noticed, but becoming known as the employee who is great to work with will earn you more and more projects. People don’t want to work with the heartless cut throat, but rather someone who has not only proven his or her intelligence and capability, but also has shown their willingness to consider others’ opinions.

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Bethany Stringer is a graduate of Texas A&M University (class of ‘08) and has her B.A. in English Literature with minors in History and Psychology. Writing her first story at the age of 5 (with help from Mom), Bethany still enjoys writing and researching about everything from business and history to travel and fiction. Enamored with languages, she plans to teach English in Russia in 2010 as a CELTA certified teacher. She owned her own business working horses when she was 17, and still loves riding her horse Romeo. Always appreciating a challenge, she loves sea kayaking and prefers Rachmaninov to Bach.

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What is a job opportunity after college? Is it a job posting on Monster.com or on your school career services site? I would consider these all job possibilities, not opportunities. There is a chance or a small possibility that you may get a job with the company you want in the position you love, but the odds are slim to none. You may have an excellent resume, a phenomenal cover letter, and the answer to every interview question in the book, but what you don’t have are serious job opportunities after college because of all of this. There are several reasons why the odds are completely against you when you are applying for a position blindfolded, which is when you don’t know anyone in the company and/or have never worked or interned with the company.

The reasons are obvious, but people try to put them to the side while looking for job opportunities after college. Let me divulge.

Your buddies (your competition) dad works for the company- Come time for the first round of interviews, this guy will get one, which is one less spot for you. Your chances have declined.

Another one of your classmates just met a high level executive for this organization at a networking event last week- One more spot gone, wow this is getting ugly, but how many people could actually have connections like this? Way more than you think

The slacker in your Finance class has a fraternity brother who interned with this company last summer, due to his brothers internship the year before that. He knows exactly what the recruiters are looking for in a candidate.- That is not fair! Um…yes it is. This person is playing the game and you are sitting on the bench waiting for people to hand you a job opportunities after college on a silver platter, via a web site that everyone in the college uses.

Unfortunately, this is the reality of the situation. Most of my buddies who had a full-time job offer after college either interned with that company the year before or knew someone who knew somebody in the company. These people had legitimate job opportunities. Okay, so it is now the time in your life to create these opportunities out of thin air. Here are some helpful hints on how to create meaningful job opportunities after college and the recurring theme will be networking.

Talk to as many people as you can about your dreams or goals- Talk to your parents friends, your friends parents, your teachers, the guy your playing golf with on Saturday, chances are these people will know somebody who could help you out. Be careful though; do not come across like you are using them. Just let them know what you want accomplish and if they think they can help you out, they will bring it up.

Use your schools alumni network- Alumni love to help out people from their school, so contact the alumni association and ask them if they know of anyone in the field that you are shooting for. Contact them and ask them if you could pick their brain and ask them some questions about their career path. Do not ask for a job.

Everyone you meet is a potential job opportunity in disguise; if you can distinguish the opportunities from the possibilities you will be able to increase the chances of working in a field you are truly passionate about. Get into the game and start creating your job opportunities after college today.

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