No one would ever walk up to a friend on financial aid and accuse her parents of being lazy, good-for-nothing, bad parents for not making enough money to send her to college. Yet people feel completely comfortable going up to a friend with an unpaid internship and accusing her of being a spoiled brat because she’s fortunate enough to be able to afford spending a summer making no money.

Don’t think that’s true? Just read the comments on almost any internship post on this site (like this one or this one).

I had two unpaid internships in NYC and I can’t even count the number of times people told me “it’s ridiculous that your parents are just letting you live in the city and make no money.” But was it ridiculous? In today’s world you’re expected to graduate with internship experience and if my parents decided to spend their hard-earned money paying for me to live in NYC and reach my dreams, was it wrong for me to take that opportunity? Should I have spent my summer waitressing instead? I don’t want to come off like a whiny bitch, but I want some answers on why I should feel bad that my family can afford this. Isn’t complaining about unpaid internships the same as complaining to a friend when her family goes on a week long resort vacation?

Read More »

As the curtain closes on another school year, we embrace the heat of summer. However, for many of us, summer may be short-lived, as we prepare to take on our roles as summer interns. The hard part is over (cover letters and resumes, buhh byee!), and now its time to have some fun and put together a kick-ass internship wardrobe.

Putting together a wardrobe can be intimidating. After all–you are a college student on a college budget. But don’t worry–stores like JCPenney, and Boscov’s offer dress-clothing brands in the Junior’s Department (such as Star City and A. Byer) that are totally affordable! And while building the perfect summer internship wardrobe depends on where you are interning and what the company dress code permits, there are some essentials that every girl should own.

Remember, when it comes to interning, you want to be both professional and practical. Avoid going overboard on the accessories; do you know how annoying it is to type all day with an arm full of bangles? Don’t wear anything that’s gonna keep you pulling and yanking and grabbing all day. And while you want to look good, a full-time internship is not the time to choose fashion over function. Heel blisters are no joke!

Now, get out there and rock the office, girl!

With summer coming (not soon enough), college students are busy pounding the pavement (or the whacking the web?) in order to find that amazing summer internship. Expectations high, most find themselves more than a tad disappointed when they discover their “dream gig” actually has them pushing pencils and delivering mail. (Yeah, not all internships are as amazing as mine at CollegeCandy.) But I have a feeling most of the people thinking that way are forgetting the purpose of internships…to get ahead! To make connections! To leave an amazing impression so the company hires you to do amazing things, or at least gives you a reference some other company can’t turn down.

NOT to hop online and publicly embarrass your boss because he or she is hard on you. Seems pretty obvious, right? Well, apparently it’s not because it happened. And since some young intern was dumb enough to do that, I thought maybe it was necessary to remind interns-to-be of a few other obvious things you SHOULD NOT DO NO MATTER HOW AWFUL YOUR BOSS OR HOW BORING YOUR INTERNSHIP IS. Unless, of course, you never want to work in your field again.

So here goes: Read More »

After spending weeks searching Internships.com, writing cover letters and getting a few interviews, you’ve finally managed to land an internship for next semester. Wahoooo! You’re all ready to start – now what the heck do you wear? Dressing for internships can be difficult, especially on the limited college girl wardrobe. You want to look professional, obviously, but you also want to look, well, like you.

How do you create a work wardrobe that doesn’t make you look old and boring?

Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.

When you’re dressing for an internship, keep a few things in mind. One, if you’re going to be doing any errand running or anything that involves standing, how comfortable are your shoes? If you can’t walk in heels, don’t wear them to the office no matter how cute they look. Also, if you’re not sure of the office dress code, it’s always better to overdress for your first few days than to under dress. Dress pants, skirts and dresses are the safest and most desirable options. Read More »

When I first started this internship, I had high expectations. I knew that it would be different than the other internship I had; I could tell from the interview alone that this one would be a little bit more exciting, a little bit more hands-on, and was definitely about a subject matter that I enjoy. And I have to say, I was pretty much right.

I think that my experience has been exactly what an interning experience should be: there have been highs and lows, exciting moments of feeling like an actual journalist and those back-to-earth moments of feeling like the lowest person on the office food-chain. There have been frustrating moments when I’ve felt like I just want to walk out and never come back (like a 12-hour day where there was absolutely NOTHING to do), and there have also been moments where I wouldn’t give up the job for the world (like when I got to interview Derek Jeter). I’ve had to deal with some rude people, but I’ve also gotten the chance to meet some really amazing people. And probably the best thing was seeing my name in a national publication several times, and knowing that my hard work in school was finally starting to pay off a little. Read More »

A few weeks ago, when my alarm went off at 6:30 in the morning (after hitting snooze at least four times), I rolled out of bed feeling like the very definition of a hot mess. My hair was stuck to my cheek, I reeked of alcohol, and my head was pounding. I stumbled into the bathroom, convinced I was still a little drunk, looked in the mirror, and thought about the 12-hour day I had ahead of me. “I am never drinking before my internship ever, EVER again.”

The next week, the same thing happened all over again.

I think you can all understand – making time for both work and play in the summer is hard.  In the winter, when it’s cold and gross out and there’s not as much as to do, it’s a little bit easier to get cozy in bed at a decent hour when you know you have to be up bright and early on a Wednesday. (Or, if you do enjoy a Tiki Tuesday, you can always sleep right through lecture the next morning….) But in the summer… not so much. There aren’t just bars to go to with your friends, there are barbecues and beach bonfires and house parties and fun things going on almost every single night. And it makes it even harder when a few of your best friends have nothing to worry about but part-time jobs. So this whole summer, since I have a little problem turning down doing something fun, I have been trying to figure out the perfect mix of working and going out. Unfortunately for me, I don’t only have my internship to worry about (although it is the most important) – I also have my part-time waitressing job which PAYS for my internship.

When I first started my internship, my social life kind of died for a little bit. During the winter and spring, I made work a priority – not only did I have to wake up at 6:30 am and travel into New York City three times a week to intern, but I also had to waitress every other night until pretty late, and make time to cover events in the city. I stopped going out and getting wasted all the time because I was either too tired from work, or I knew I had to be up early. And let me tell you – it was no fun. At all. Read More »

When I first started this internship in December, there were only a handful of other girls with me. We spent most of our days interning together gossiping quietly behind our computer screens, venting angrily about the ridiculous tasks we were asked to do, and showing each other funny YouTube clips to pass the time. For the entire spring semester, we bonded in a way only unpaid jobless college graduates can: we shared tips on how to get jobs and which websites had the best job postings, we discussed the different interviews we had gone on, and made fun of the other editors in the room with us. We became Facebook friends and followed each other on Twitter, and eventually, we started going out for dinner and drinks throughout Manhattan.

And at the end of the semester, when their internships had come to an end and I was the only one left at the magazine, I came to the sad realization that it was time to make new intern friends.

For a little while, I was one of the only interns at the magazine. I missed my friends from before – there wasn’t anyone to go on 5 o’clock coffee runs with – but while I couldn’t wait for the other interns to start, a part of me liked having all the responsibility. The summer interns started to slowly trickle in at the end of May, until suddenly one day I walked in and they were everywhere. Read More »

You got a big, bad internship this summer? Living in a big, bad city? Not a clue what to do? CollegeCandy’s got you covered. We’ve got ladies in all pockets of the U.S.A. and we’re gonna be your private guides to the biggest internship destination cities around: New York, Chicago, D.C. and Los Angeles. If you’re looking for the best place for a deal, the best weekend excursion, or best bars to drink (with a fake), stick with us.]

Ah, Los Angeles. The city where dreams come true; where any long-legged, doe-eyed girl can become an actress; and where you can make it big, REAL big!  Yes, that may be a slight exaggeration, but L.A is a place of delicious food, great culture, and really, really cheap bars. While you may think running into Julia Roberts and George Clooney is like catching a bus (it is – but you try catching a bus in L.A.), celebrities aren’t the only thing that make up this wonderful city. That’s why I’m here to guide you through L.A, like a true Angelino. We all know about the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Grauman Chinese Theatre, but what makes this city so great is the little quirky gems that only locals know (and rarely share).

Put on your sunglasses and get ready, the Cali sun isn’t so forgiving.

Best Cupcakes: Heard of Sprinkles? Yes you probably have. It’s where the West Coast Cupcakes craze originated, right at the heart of it all: Beverly Hills. Their famous red velvet cupcake is, in my opinion, the best piece of heaven you will ever have in your mouth. People have compared these cupcakes to crack, because they are just so damn good. You might wait an hour for 5 cupcakes, but it’s so worth it.

Have Your Hot Dog and your Celebrity Sighting Too: If you watch Entourage, you’ve heard of Pink’s (Hollywood) Hot Dogs. It’s where everyone from the hottest celebs to those D-list go to get their hot dog fix. Right off Melrose Ave, the added bonus of getting your tasty hot dog here is you actually might see a celebrity stuffing their face with a wiener. What a sight. Read More »

[You got a big, bad internship this summer? Living in a big, bad city? Not a clue what to do? CollegeCandy's got you covered. We've got ladies in all pockets of the U.S.A. and we're gonna be your private guides to the biggest internship destination cities around: New York, Chicago, D.C. and Los Angeles. If you're looking for the best place for a deal, the best weekend excursion, or best bars to drink (with a fake), stick with us.]

Welcome to Washington, D.C.! It’s a truly awesome, magical, fulfilling place to live for a summer (or, if you’re like me, you come for the summer and end up staying indefinitely…) D.C. is packed with fabulous food, great bars, and tons of free activities. So when you’re not interning, studying, stalking the White House hoping for a glance of Michelle, or (particularly if you spend any time on Capitol Hill) swooning over the guys in suits doing their best to channel Don Draper, check out this guide to our nation’s capital.

Cure That Sweet Tooth – If you’re a cupcake whore like me, you must try Hello Cupcake. It’s located right next to the Dupont Circle metro (red line). Their lemon cupcake is TO DIE FOR and for a limited time, they have a strawberry cupcake that will change your life. Curbside Cupcakes is a mobile cupcake truck that you can catch all over the city (and they accept credit cards!)

And if you’re totes over cupcakes, D.C. does a great donut. I know, donuts are not particularly fashionable these days, but in Silver Spring (red line), there is an adorable, unassuming store called Fractured Prune that has the absolute best donuts I’ve ever tasted (Krispy Kreme, what?). Their donuts are totally gourmet, made-to-order pieces of perfection with flavors ranging from lemonade to strawberry shortcake to chocolate cherry. You can also create and customize your own, selecting your glaze, type of sugar, and toppings. Read More »

No one would ever walk up to a friend on financial aid and accuse her parents of being lazy, good-for-nothing, bad parents for not making enough money to send her to college. Yet people feel completely comfortable going up to a friend with an unpaid internship and accusing her of being a spoiled brat because she’s fortunate enough to be able to afford spending a summer making no money.

Don’t think that’s true? Just read the comments on almost any internship post on this site (like this one or this one).

I had two unpaid internships in NYC and I can’t even count the number of times people told me “it’s ridiculous that your parents are just letting you live in the city and make no money.” But was it ridiculous? In today’s world you’re expected to graduate with internship experience and if my parents decided to spend their hard-earned money paying for me to live in NYC and reach my dreams, was it wrong for me to take that opportunity? Should I have spent my summer waitressing instead? I don’t want to come off like a whiny bitch, but I want some answers on why I should feel bad that my family can afford this. Isn’t complaining about unpaid internships the same as complaining to a friend when her family goes on a week long resort vacation? Read More »