My role in my internship with TransportationMATTERS varies from day to day, which is part of why I love it. It is unique too, in the fact that I get to work from home.

TransportationMATTERS is a statewide, grassroots coalition advocating for full funding of a multi-modal transportation network in Ohio. Though I didn’t know a lot about transportation needs before I started, I was eager to learn and to see how my skills and knowledge of public relations could be applied to the TransportationMATTERS mission.

As with any communications internship, I do a lot of writing. Whether it’s a press release, a letter asking for sponsorship, or a magazine article, there is always something to be written. Event planning is another large part of what I do. I’m currently sitting on a committee that is hosting the 2010 Candidates Forum which is an event in which the Gubernatorial and Senate candidates will come to share their platforms on various issues (including transportation). As part of that committee, I am designing marketing materials and organizing the sponsorship for the event.

It’s no secret that social media is becoming a necessity in the business world. I am exploring not only how to introduce TransportationMATTERS to the social media world, but researching how to use it effectively given our audience and goals. It will ultimately be my responsibility to show the Board of directors how important social media is and the positive affects it could have on our organization.

There is also a heavy research aspect to my internship. Policies, proposals, and transportation related studies are constantly being updated and changing. Since it is literally part of the TransportationMATTERS mission to keep its members updated on what is going on in the world of transportation, I stay on top of the news and other transportation web sites to stay informed.

As a Public Relations major, I have been hearing for three years how important networking is. Even though I do my work from home, I frequently get to attend events and meetings where I meet people from organizations from all over Ohio.

I know I have a great internship because not only am I sharpening my design, event planning, writing and networking skills, but I am learning something new- all about the transportation needs in Ohio and about how government funding for transportation works!

Erica Bailey is a senior at Otterbein University.  She is majoring in Public Relations.

The Columbus Internships intern spotlights put the focus on students, their experience in the Columbus Region, what they do and how they’re involved in internships with local businesses. To submit your student story for an internship spotlight contact Alyssa Christian

It starts with the need to have some paperwork filed. Then maybe you need to have a box of envelopes stuffed and sealed.  Tasks like these often cause business owners to start to think about getting an intern.

At Portfolio Creative, we have used interns for years. We’ve found that interns are eager to gain experience in their field of interest and can also get some of the most mundane work done. As a business owner, my hourly rate is higher than the cost of an intern, but cost savings has not been the only advantage.  We’ve discovered that interns have helped us identify staffing needs within our firm.

For example, as we adapted to using interns in our business, we decided to put a person in place with a specialty we needed. In our first year, we worked with an intern who was working on a degree in public relations.  After the filing was done, she worked on PR for our company with our guidance, which was a win-win situation for all of us.  After that intern had to move on, we realized we really liked having someone do that work. It led to our discovery that we needed someone in that role at least on a part-time basis. It was an easy decision to fill the role with an employee, something that might not have happened had we not had the internship first.

While we haven’t replaced every intern with an employee, we’ve benefited from all our interns by being better able to see where our needs were. The process has also helped us write a job descriptions by starting with what the intern’s responsibilities were and building on to them to create a true job description.

Bringing on interns can be a great tool for determining growth in your business without a lot of investment, and it helps a student gain real experience. You can find interns by contacting the school of your choice or by contacting a local Chamber of Commerce.  In our town the Columbus Chamber has a fantastic internship program.  You can tap into it at http://www.columbus.org/about-columbus/find-an-internship.php

©2010 Catherine Lang-Cline, Portfolio Creative, LLC.

Catherine Lang-Cline is co-founder and owner of Portfolio Creative, a workforce innovation firm that was named the 326th fastest growing company in the U.S. by Inc. magazine in 2009.  Portfolio Creative helps companies streamline and innovate their creative work to save time, energy and money.  www.portfolioiscreative.com.

Located downtown in the Lazarus building, the Columbus Chamber has become a learning lab for two Ohio State University students, Quanice Shumpert and Cody Price. Both seniors, Quanice comes from an economic background, whereas Cody is the Chamber’s first city and regional planning intern. Both are interning in the economic development department of the Chamber, specializing in economic analysis.

Quanice’s Experience

As a Columbus Chamber Intern, I am given an insight into a whole new business world that you only learn and read about in college. My internship experience is everything I thought that it would be, and more. This experience will help me gain a better understanding of the possibilities my major in economics offers me.

So far I have sat in on major staff meetings, discussing the changes at the Chamber and the role of Columbus 2020!

My internship coordinator, Dr. Bill LaFayette, has exciting new projects for me to dig into every day. From analyzing data for quarterly reports to preparing economic/demographic assessments for new business ventures to come into Columbus, every task has a real life purpose and meaning.  I truly feel like I’m learning valuable information for my career in economics and building bridges and networking connections to last a lifetime.

Cody’s Experience

Being the Chamber’s first city and regional panning intern first came as a shock to me, because economic development is a key part in planning a successful city. When first interviewing for the position, Dr. Bill LaFayette and I hit it off for we had a similar interest in real estate. Dr. LaFayette received his Ph.D. in Real Estate from The Ohio State University, and being interested in real estate myself, I knew this would be a great fit.

When I first started working for the Chamber, I was involved in numerous data analysis projects that would analyze employment and population statistics for the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area. From this, we would be able to project future trends and find out “the behind-the-scenes” answers to questions such as, “why has the employment rate decreased?” Knowing how to interpret data is a vital part to most careers nowadays because computers are used to compute the data but they are not able to actually analyze the data, which is where I assist Dr. LaFayette in this process.

We have now added more exciting adventures and are currently working on an investment opportunity for the downtown Columbus area. Learning the ropes on how a project is first started to its completion is a valuable learning experience which cannot be taught inside a classroom. I am very excited to have been given this opportunity and will value this experience when I further my career after graduation in spring 2011.

Quanice Shumpert is a senior majoring in economics at The Ohio State University. She is originally from Columbus, OH.

Cody Price is a senior majoring in city and regional planning at The Ohio State University. He is originally from Marion, OH.

Many college students are motivated, excited and desire creating change and leaving their marks in life after graduation. My question is, why wait?

During my nine months as the community affairs intern with the Village of Canal Winchester, not only did I gain experiences that directly lead toward my future career path in government and public affairs, but I helped implement social media for the village’s overall communication strategy.

I worked closely with my boss in drafting a plan, and then working on explaining the benefits of having a presence on both Twitter and Facebook to village officials. We had to do some convincing and we had many obstacles to overcome, but we kept at it.

With a budget of exactly $0 to complete the project, I helped my boss with tips, suggestions and tools from various websites that I had been researching, along with creating a list of people to follow on Twitter. I actually designed the current layout on the Twitter page. What happened? The village of Canal Winchester embraced the new social media presence. Citizens now know where they can go to find answers to questions, and to share any concerns and most often, kind words about what they love about living there.

At a village council meeting, my boss and I presented the new pages to the media in attendance, along with the village officials. I was asked a few questions by reporters, and I was quoted in one publication, and had my name published in another. Having a few quotes in the paper while only being an intern is an awesome feeling.

There was a lot of work involved in the planning, researching, convincing and designing of this project and at first the project seemed overbearing. I knew going in that this project would add a lot of work on my part and it could have been easier deferring the project. When an opportunity like this comes along, however, I knew I had to take it. I believe the whole point in an internship to be challenged and to grow from the experiences; otherwise, what’s the point of having the internship?

My suggestions to you interns out there: Learn all you can about the company or organization you work for. Once you know all you can, don’t be afraid to make suggestions and use research as your source of confidence. Successfully achieving tasks is great, but if you help implement something that makes your boss’ life easier, your organization will never forget you and your hard work. Don’t just reach expectations, but become remarkable and overachieve. Leave your mark, even if you are only in college!

Steven Nyeste received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Dominican University in May. He majored in public relations.

Columbus Internships intern spotlights put a focus on students, their experience, what they do and how they are involved with local businesses.

Some of you may not realize the importance of internships. If that’s true, I was right there with you four years ago, but after a little advice from professors and peers, I finally learned why they are so important Here’s a little bit about my internship journey.

After two years of classes at Otterbein College and still not knowing exactly what I wanted to do with an organizational communications major, I decided that maybe I should listen to my mentors and find an internship. I wanted to see for myself what the hype about internships was all about and if organizational communications or, communications in general, was something I really wanted to pursue.

During the summer before my junior year, I held my first intern position at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County. I worked with the communications coordinator on strategies and the planning of the program’s annual ice cream social. What I ended up discovering was that internship was probably one of the best choices I had made thus far in my college career. I not only found a passion for my field and working with non-profits, but I realized I wanted to do more internships; three more to be exact.

Finding a passion wasn’t the only thing I found that summer, I found myself. It ended up not just being about applying the skills I had been learning in classes, it was, and probably more so, about finding “me.” I gained confidence in all aspects of my life.

That confidence led to my success of obtaining an internship at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus. Since I had gained that confidence and was beginning to see who I was and wanted to be, I was able to build upon classroom skills and apply them to real-life situations. I not only wrote articles for the weekly newsletter, I wrote news releases for local, regional and national media and interviewed doctors and staff. My confidence only increased at Riverside through those tasks and projects.

Finally, I put all that I had gained to use at Leadership Lorain County. I soon found that I, once a quiet, shy and indecisive person was now outgoing, taking charge and working on real-world projects; something I would have never thought I could do in college.

Looking back I was silly to have ever questioned the value of internships. The experiences I’ve had through mine have shaped the person I am today. Without the hardships and successes in the “real world” I don’t know if I would feel as prepared as I am to take on the next step in life: Graduation.

In summary, if you find yourself in the same position I was, not really sure about the value of internships, you should get one, or two or three. You’ll thank me later.

Kaitlin Smith is a senior Organizational Communications major at Otterbein College.

The Columbus Internships intern spotlights put the focus on students, their experience in the Columbus Region, what they do and how they’re involved in internships with local businesses. To submit your student story for an internship spotlight contact Nick Wood.

When considering on-campus employment opportunities, look first for positions with the academic department and/or offices that house your major.  Why you ask?  Well, there are a ton of benefits to obtaining such a position.  Here are just a few:

Relationships with faculty can translate to academic success.  I know, the last thing you want to do is spend more time with faculty, but this can actually play to your favor.  Consider this, you haven’t yet begun your major classes, but you’re working in the academic department that houses your major.  You start to meet the faculty that will be teaching many of the classes you’ll take next year and the year following.  You haven’t yet had them in class, but they come to know you, know your name and a bit about you, etc.  As part of your job, you perform minor duties for them, gain exposure to their syllabus, coursework, readings, etc.  You begin to gain valuable insight on them and the courses you’ll soon be taking.  When it comes time that you do have them for class, they won’t be strangers, you’ll know them, and they’ll know you.  This can be half the battle when it comes to succeeding in your major classes.  Take-away number one, relationships with key faculty is a very good thing for you and your GPA!

Another benefit to pursuing on-campus employment in the department that houses your major has more of a future payoff.  Many faculty members have either worked in industry and/or have significant industry contacts.  They may even lend their expertise from time-to-time as a consultant.  Either way, they know people, that know people, and those people just might be your next employer!  So be sure you give consideration to faculty as a source of finding both internships and/or full-time employment opportunities.  Not only can they serve as a source of opportunities and help network you to key employer contacts, but they can also serve as great references.  A vote of confidence from a well-respected faculty member that you’ve come to know can carry a lot of weight with a prospective employer.  Take-away number two, good standing with faculty can translate to future employment opportunities.

Dave Cofer is President/CEO of Cofer Consulting Solutions, a firm specializing in attracting, developing and retaining young professionals.  E-mail Dave at David.Cofer@CoferConsulting.com.  To learn more about Cofer Consulting Solutions, visit www.coferconsulting.com.

Take what I’m saying to heart even if your employer fails to explicitly identify this as an area of responsibility for you.  Why?  You ask.  First, it’s a sure-fire way to stand apart from your peers.  After ensuring that you are exceeding expectations as it relates to your regularly assigned tasks and responsibilities (this is so key, you don’t want to be out brainstorming news ways of doing things, only to compromise your “regular” work; in most environments, this would be bad!), take on the added responsibility of looking for new and better ways of doing things.

Trust me, it sounds like a lot of extra work, but it really will come to you far easier than you think.  You have the benefit if being completely new to the environment and if you simply make a conscious point of being on the look-out for improvement opportunities, they will come to you.  Now, here’s a little secret.  It’s not as simple as going to your supervisor or manager and saying “I know how you guys can be better” at your jobs.  You’ll have to do a little better than that.  Also, when asked to support your recommendations, if you use words like “I think”, “probably”, “I like this way better”, etc. be prepared for a less than supportive response.

You have to bring data.  Tell your employer that you have already developed the “business case” to support your ideas; they’ll love it.  All the business case represents are the facts to support your idea.  Be able to demonstrate how your recommendation improves the business by influencing a key performance driver / metric.  What are these you ask?  Typically they deal with things related to service, cost, and quality.  Think of it as an experiment.  Formulate your hypothesis (if you do x, y outcome will be achieved).  Test your hypothesis.  Absent a “lab” where you can actually perform the test, gather current state and/or historical data, formulate fact-driven assumptions about how the introduction of your recommendation would change the environment and produce a new set of outcomes.  Present your findings and you’re a superstar.

Now, is it really that simple?  Well, probably not.  But if you commit to doing these things, here’s the worst that will have happened.  1.) You will have fully committed yourself to your employer.  2.) You will have done all that you could to advance their business and make them better and 3.) At the end of your assignment you can walk away feeling very proud of the work that you performed.  Not all bad if you ask me.

Dave Cofer is President/CEO of Cofer Consulting Solutions, a firm specializing in attracting, developing and retaining young professionals.  E-mail Dave at David.Cofer@CoferConsulting.com.  To learn more about Cofer Consulting Solutions, visit www.coferconsulting.com.

Whether you are an intern or an employer that hosts interns, I hope that you take notice to this post.  Now, more than ever, interns can serve as a great source of innovation for the employers they are working for.  Every organization, big and small, for-profit and non-profit, is challenged with how they can do things better.  This may come in the form of doing more with less, improving efficiency, driving down expenses, increasing productivity or raising customer satisfaction. It all comes back to the same thing: how do they get better.  Well, who better to task with that charge than an intern (or for that matter, all of your interns)?

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting that employers start to bring interns in solely under the heading of “find ways for us to be better.”  However, it should be included as an area of responsibility in addition to their “regular duties.”  Why is this so important?  Ever heard the phrase “virgin eyes”?  Well, interns have them.  They don’t know a sacred cow from a legitimately tried and true process.  They don’t know what questions or ways of thinking are taboo or “inappropriate.”  They have no assumptions about “the one right way” of doing something.  They only have questions.  As an employer, embrace this.  Embrace the heck out of it!  Listen to what they have to say. When warranted, and this is most important, act on what they have to say.

I’m not suggesting that you should act blindly. Build the business case, perform the required due diligence, etc. But do take action!  If you don’t, you risk two things.  First, you risk the engagement levels and overall performance of your interns.  If you ask for their input and get them excited about the opportunity to respond only to ignore what they have to say, well, that’s a sure-fire way to turn them and lead them to become disengaged.  Second, if you fail to act on their suggestions, who knows what opportunity you might be missing out on to make your business better (remember, that was the point!).

Employers, here’s one last thing to keep in mind when it comes to the benefit of thinking of your interns in this capacity.  When it comes to getting better, it often requires calling into question and asking hard questions about how it is that you’re doing business today. There’s a really good chance that the people who designed and implemented those processes and thought they were the best ideas available at the time are the very people within your organization today making key decisions about your company’s future (heck , you may even be one of them).  Think about how hard it is for you to now dissect these processes and think of new ways of doing things.  By no means is it impossible, and with a structured, disciplined approach to performance improvement, you could probably get there.  But along the way, don’t miss out on a great opportunity to leverage the insights of your interns.  You are so close to what you do that sometimes all it takes is someone new to call-out and identify opportunities to improve.

For interns, take what I’m saying to heart even if your employer fails to explicitly indentify this as an area of responsibility for you.  Why, you ask?  First, it’s a sure-fire way to stand apart from your peers.  After ensuring that you are exceeding expectations as it relates to your regularly assigned tasks and responsibilities (This is so key; you don’t want to be out brainstorming new ways of doing things, only to compromise your “regular” work. In most environments, this would be bad!), take on the added responsibility of looking for new and better ways of doing things.

Trust me, it sounds like a lot of extra work, but it really will come to you far easier than you think.  You have the benefit of being completely new to the environment and if you simply make a conscious point of being on the lookout for improvement opportunities, they will come to you.  Now, here’s a little secret.  It’s not as simple as going to your supervisor or manager and saying “I know how you guys can be better” at your jobs.  You’ll have to do a little more than that.  Also, when asked to support your recommendations, if you use words like “I think,” “probably,” “I like this way better,” etc. be prepared for a less than supportive response.

You have to bring data.  Tell your employer that you have already developed the “business case” to support your ideas; they’ll love it.  The business case represents the facts to support your idea.  Be able to demonstrate how your recommendation improves the business by influencing a key performance driver / metric.  What are these?  Typically they deal with things related to service, cost and quality.  Think of it as an experiment.  Formulate your hypothesis (if you do x, y outcome will be achieved).  Test your hypothesis.  Absent a “lab” where you can actually perform the test, gather current state and/or historical data, formulate fact-driven assumptions about how the introduction of your recommendation would change the environment and produce a new set of outcomes.  Present your findings and voila, you’re a superstar.

Now, is it really that simple?  Well, probably not.  But if you commit to doing these things, here’s the worst that will have happen:  1.) You will have fully committed yourself to your employer.  2.) You will have done all that you could to advance their business and make them better. 3.) At the end of your assignment you can walk away feeling very proud of the work that you performed.  Not all bad if you ask me.

Dave Cofer is President/CEO of Cofer Consulting Solutions, a firm specializing in attracting, developing and retaining young professionals.  E-mail Dave at David.Cofer@CoferConsulting.com.  To learn more about Cofer Consulting Solutions, visit www.coferconsulting.com.

By Robbie Banks, Young Professionals Manager, Columbus Chamber

Earlier this week, Portfolio.com/Bizjournals announced the results of a study in which they analyzed the nation’s 67 metros with populations above 750,000, searching for qualities that would appeal to workers in their 20s and early 30s. Minneapolis-St. Paul and Columbus were tops in the Midwest. This is one of many accolades our region has received recently. Just in the last few months, Marysville was named one of the most affordable suburbs in America by Bloomberg Business Week. Columbus ranked as one of America’s top wired cities and as a top housing market by Forbes. Delaware County was Forbes magazine’s #2 place to get ahead, Dublin was named one of the top seven international intelligent communities, and Monster said Columbus was among top cities for finding an entry-level job. On the other end of the spectrum, U.S. News and World Report said Columbus is one of America’s best affordable places to retire.

I could go on and on! I’m a life-long Columbus resident, and I think these reports confirm what we’ve known all along. The Columbus region offers the best of everything!

As the young professionals manager for the Columbus Chamber, I’m responsible for connecting and engaging young talent in the Columbus region. And I’m eager to share why I think central Ohio is tops for young professionals (YPs). Here are my top five reasons (in no particular order):

• Diversity. There’s a noticeable respect for diversity whether it’s religious, racial, sexual orientation, age, art, personal tastes, or other opinions and ways of life. Columbus embraces cultural diversity in its community leaders, businesses, arts and entertainment scene. The city is accepting of new people and new ideas as it’s comprised mostly of  individuals who grew up outside of Columbus (fondly dubbed as “transplants”).

• Easy to get connected. You have the ability to get engaged at any level. If you so desire, your professional and social calendar could be filled with a variety of events each week, be it events hosted by YP, professional and networking organizations, civic and cultural activities, festivals, or sporting events. If you are looking to get connected to network, socialize, volunteer and keep a pulse on the community, check out the directory of young professional and professional organizations. In addition, I recommend that you sign up to receive Activities and Events for Young Professionals, a weekly email with information that may be of interest to YPs.

• Living is easy. I appreciate how easy it is to make a life here. The cost of living is reasonable, travel time between locations is minimal, and the central location allows easy access to other cities inside and outside of Ohio. Whether you want to live in an urban, suburban or rural area; commute via car, public transportation or bicycle; or be close to shopping, green spaces or schools, Columbus has you covered.

• Opportunity. Job opportunities. Educational opportunities. Entrepreneurial opportunities. Opportunities to make a difference. You can achieve what you want here. For job opportunities, be sure to explore Ohio Means Jobs. The Ohio Board of Regents is a tremendous resource for information on the state’s educational opportunities. The Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides entrepreneurial development assistance and high-end business consulting to start-up and emerging business owners free of charge. TechColumbus helps start-ups grow, too. Volunteer opportunities of all kinds are abundant in our area. To learn more about them, please refer to number two above.

• Infinite number of places to see and things to do. Yes, even for non-Buckeye fans. There seems to always be a new restaurant or business to check out. I especially love the free festivals, concerts and performances such as the Columbus Arts Festival, Downtown LIVE! Summer Concert Series and Shakespeare in the Park. To see what’s going on weekly in Columbus, pick up a free copy of Columbus alive! at newsstands or check out the listings on the Experience Columbus web site.

What does everyone else have to say? To hear why other YPs love to live, work and play in Columbus, check out the videos on the Chamber’s YouTube channel. Better yet, join in the discussion and post your own video or add a comment on our blog.

Earlier we shared how the experiences that come with serving as a student leader provide valuable examples and scenarios that can be referenced when formulating responses to behavioral interview questions.  This is not the only benefit of student leadership positions when it comes to providing a competitive advantage in securing both internship and full-time employment opportunities.  Student leadership positions also serve as a wonderful means of developing skills highly valued by employers.  These highly valued skills include Leadership / Management, Project Management, Strategy / Planning, and Financial Management.

Leadership / Management Skills. This one is pretty obvious.  Inherent in the role of student leader is the opportunity to exhibit and develop leadership skills.  On a regular basis you will be called upon to influence, inspire and even mandate to those that you have been selected to lead.  Additionally, you will be called upon to manage.  I’m a big advocate of the saying “you lead people and manage things”.  These things are often processes and procedures.  Student leaders have tons of processes and procedures that often govern the student organizations they have been charged to lead.  This serves as a great proving ground for what awaits you in the work world.

Project Management Skills. Elected student leaders are often put in charge of events and activities that require extensive planning and coordination of a myriad of pieces and parts over an extended period of time.  Coordinating the who, what, when, why and how of a major event represents many of the fundamentals of project management.  Learning to successfully coordinate the various pieces of the puzzle such that your project is completed on-time and on-budget is a valuable skill for anyone looking to succeed in today’s workforce.

Strategy / Planning Skills. Most if not all student organizations operate based upon charters, missions and annual plans.  These may originate at the chapter, university, regional and/or national level.  Regardless of the origin they serve as the guiding light for the organization and direct the actions and decision-making of the elected leadership.  It’s the leadership’s responsibility to pursue a plan aligned with the organizational strategic vision.  They have to decide what’s in and what’s out.  They have to answer the hard questions about where and when to allocate resources both human and financial. They may even be called upon from time-to-time to provide their input to the very charters, missions and annual plans that will guide the actions of future leaders of the organization at every level.  Very few roles are afforded to college students to develop this skill-set other than those of student leader.

Financial Management. When you ask most student leaders about their budgets they’re likely to make a comment about how insignificant it is.  While their budgets may be modest, they are budgets all the same and the qualities of sound and ethical financial decision-making still hold true.  In fact, what better place to develop these skills than as a student leader where the stakes are low in comparison to the “real world”.  The same decision making practices that apply to a budget consisting primarily of member dues, university contributions and proceeds from student-led fundraising activity are the very same practices that will apply to the financial decision-making of a for-profit organization.  Mastery of these skills while still in college can translate to future career success.

Post by: Dave Cofer

Dave Cofer is President/CEO of Cofer Consulting Solutions, a firm specializing in attracting, developing and retaining young professionals.  E-mail Dave at David.Cofer@CoferConsulting.com.  To learn more about Cofer Consulting Solutions, visit www.coferconsulting.com.