Just when you thought the school year was winding down, high-achieving Ivy League students are ready to leap into action again. Life at Princeton can be competitive and downright cutthroat, depending on your major, and nowhere is this more clear than when it comes to summer internships. Whether you’re doing community service in a developing country or learning what it’s really like to be a money-grubbing I-banker, it’s all about building the resume.

The institutions that hire college interns don’t help relieve the competitive atmosphere; in fact, they aggravate the problem by beginning their recruiting as early as October and November of the previous year. If you want to work at Goldman Sachs or Merril Lynch, you’d better be ready to be interviewed before you’ve even had your fall midterm exams.

The interviews themselves are grueling. My economics-major friends report on five-hour interviews in which they’re drilled on mental math, business sense, and whether the choices made by some corporations were wise or foolish and why. My female econ friends had to have a ready supply of pantsuits or skirts-and-blazers for the rounds of interviews, and my male friends kept pre-knotted ties hung on their bedposts to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Read More »

At your job interview, you might think it’s your potential employer’s responsibility to ask you questions, not the other way around. Well—yes and no. They won’t be able to get a good idea of how you’ll perform if they don’t ask you questions, but finding a job is all about finding a good fit, and that means you should be posing some questions as well.That’s all fine and good, you might think to yourself, but what do I actually ask?

Good question (see—you’re on your way already!). First of all, stay away from asking about salary. I know the first thing on my mind when I go to a job interview is how much I’m going to get paid, but you can always negotiate that with the employer if you’re offered the job. One time when it is okay to ask about salary is if you’re really not sure whether the job or internship you’re interviewing for even pays (yes, sometimes it’s unclear). In that case, ask away.

It’s always a good idea to ask a question that isn’t really a question for the purpose of selling yourself. For example, you could say something like, “I love learning from a wide variety of people and cooperating with lots of different working styles. Is there an opportunity for me to do that here?” Since the answer is yes (duh), the employer will remember that an integral part of the job is really important to you. Read More »

After a lot of hard work, you’ve finally landed an interview for your dream job (or internship, as the case may be). Sure, what you say is important—but what are you going to wear? There’s that knockout Hermès scarf your rich aunt bought you for your birthday—oh, and that sweet pendant from the vintage store that you snagged last week—and the professional and stylish pleated pencil skirt you bought on clearance that fits you like it was tailored for you. Throw in a button-down shirt and some stilettos, and you’re hot to trot.

So you’re all set, right?

Wrong.

Unless you’re planning to follow in the footsteps of Andy in The Devil Wears Prada, you can’t always wear whatever is hip and trendy to your job interview. The good news is, though, that there are some easy guidelines you can follow that will lead you to a great interview outfit.

1. Dress conservatively. This is really difficult to do if you have a personality that you like to express through your clothes, but do your best to rein in that desire. It’s fine to wear a shirt with a splash of color or a pair of shoes with a little detailing, but it’s really important not to let yourself go overboard. You want the people interviewing you to focus on you, not on what you’re wearing. Think simple, classy, and professional. Read More »

There’s no question about it: finding somebody to pay you is hard. In some cases, it’s even hard to find somebody to not pay you but instead give you something that’s supposed to be equivalent: college credit, for instance, or a big-ticket line on your resume.

Yeah, I’m talking about the Real World.

I’m far from a career counselor, but I have picked up a lot of helpful tips along the way. Since it’s sometimes hard to know where to start when looking for a job or internship, let me offer a few things that I know to be helpful:

• Work those connections. Connections, connections, connections. Have I made my point clear yet? CONNECTIONS! If you know somebody whose friend knows somebody whose brother knows somebody… well, what are you waiting for?! There’s only two degrees of separation between you and that person, and nobody else is going to do the legwork for you. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that a ton of industries are based on connections, and at some places it can be impossible to get your foot in the door unless you physically plant it there. Talk to people, ask questions, and be proactive. Networking is far more important than you think. Read More »

I experienced the real meaning of the saying “April Showers bring May Flowers” the other day as I walked through a part of Manhattan I hadn’t visited in two weeks and suddenly realized it was now home to green tree branches and blooming tulips (…as well as a homeless guy who kept trying to get me to make out with him…).

New York City is in bloom. And it’s fantastic. And will only last for about three more weeks and then summer will roll in and burn everything to a crisp and cause me to sweat so badly on the subways that I become concerned for my own health.

BUT. Before summer truly has us in her hot, hot choke hold, we are being blessed with May. Sweet, little, darling, beautiful May. It could be my favorite season. And not just because it signals the end of school and the beginning of constant barbecues and awesome hippie skirts. To me, May always represents rebirth. Nature’s ability to forgive and forget. Our ability to move on. Brighter things to come.

And the freaking beach.

What are your May plans, dear awesome readers? Graduating? Finishing up finals? Heading home for some much needed R and R before an internship / job / summer classes start? What exactly ARE you doing for a summer internship or job? Have any hot tips to pass our way?

Oh yeah, and also…what’s your favorite summer treat?

[Questions, Comments, love letters for CollegeCandy? Contact J directly at jess@collegecandy.com]

Don’t get me wrong, Christmas at home is wonderful. The big bed, the stocked fridge, the friends from high school you haven’t seen…it’s all amazing.

But then comes the fateful day. The day. When all of your immediate and extended family gather ’round and gang up on you, their little college student, and bombard you with questions you never, ever want to answer.

From experience, most dinners tend to play out the same way with the same questions getting thrown around for almost anyone who considers themselves an undergrad, so let College Candy help out this year with a few questions you may be asked (with the answers included)!

1) So, how’d you do this semester?

The old grades question. Here’s the deal: if you didn’t spice up the week with Wednesday night study sessions at the local pub, and therefore have good news to report, then you’re in the clear!

Not so lucky this time? Deny. Deny. Deny. Obviously, you’re not denying the fact that this semester happened, but make sure your parents know you’re looking for your grades, they’re just not available yet. Blame the computer, blame your campus’s network, blame crappy professors. Anything to hold off reporting that C- you got in Bio.

Because nothing ruins Christmas faster than pissed off parents. Read More »

The end of August is rapidly approaching. Your room is filled with overflowing boxes, you’re hugging your friends goodbye and you finally feel as if you’re fully prepared to launch into collegiate life, especially after reading Solmaaz’s wisdom on What Not to Do in College.

If you plan on attending a college anywhere besides New York City, Sol’s tips should be read like the Bible.

For those of us who have been granted the opportunity to spend our four years of academic growth (ha!) in the greatest city in the world, things must be done just a little bit differently.

Things you must do in order to survive in one of the toughest cities in the world:

1. Spend your money buying a good, solid wardrobe before you head off to school (because God knows you can’t afford anything at Bergdorf Goodman).

On a regular college campus, you would be able to sport a pair of sweatpants or even (gasp!) pajamas on a typical day. In New York, your 8:30 class will be chock full of girls in full make-up and carefully calculated outfits. Even the majority of male students will appear as if they have stepped away from a runway show for an hour and a half to attend your Level I Spanish class.

Don’t be that schlumpy girl hiding in the last row. Buy the basics and add trendy accessories when you arrive at school. Read More »

As we all well know, summer is ending. No more long days at the beach and long nights at the bar. Instead, it is time to head back to school where you will spend long days on the couch and long nights at the bar.

Oh, and you will probably be studying too.

Anyways, don’t head back just yet; there are still plenty of things that you must do before packing up your Yaffa blocks and moving back to the dorms.

Since I will not be returning to school this Fall (though grad school is starting to look mighty tempting), I have compiled a list of 5 Must-Do’s before its time to crack those books:

1. The Summer Fling - Three months have gone by and still you haven’t had some good ole commitment-free summer fun? Forget those standards; just get out there and get some. With only a few weeks until you move away again, “commitment” won’t even come up in conversation. But wild nights of romping will definitely be had.

2. Treat Yourself - If you have spent your summer working some crappy job/internship, it is time to give yourself a little treat. Maybe a facial or a massage. Or those oh-so-fabulous jeans you see in every magazine. Or maybe, if you are really feeling frisky, one of these bad boys. Read More »

As I feel the final month of summer inching towards me, I have been forced into cramming everything I wish I did all summer into one last month.

While this makes for lots of late nights and some memorable moments with my favorite girls from home, I often find myself missing my friends from college. If this were last summer, my longing wouldn’t be much of an issue.

Unfortunately, my friends and I are approaching our junior year of college, a year plagued by the ever-so-popular study abroad program.

Whether it be Italy, Nicaragua, China, or South Africa, a semester abroad is a semester of discovery and growth. Some countries have limited access to computers and telephones, making communication difficult. Read More »

The prestigious summer internship. Or just any internship at all. Nowadays, it’s basically necessary to gain some sort of “professional” experience during your college years in order to make yourself a viable candidate for a job post-graduation.

Having lived in NYC the past two summers and spent my days happily as a lowly intern, I know what it’s like to be unpaid, exhausted, and basically melting in a non-air conditioned housing situation. But, I have noticed one recent trend lately that I think could be really damaging for an intern’s future. And that is “complaint blogging” or posting your misery all over the internet. Employers do notice these things and it really can come back to bite your ass in the future. Read More »