[This summer a dream internship with Lucky magazine moved me from Austin, Texas, where I’ve spent all 21 years of my life, to New York City for the summer. Come along for the ride and follow me through this column as I take on all that the city has in store for me. I’ll share tips I’ve picked up along the way about everything from how to pack (stop, drop and roll people!) to dating to fitting in (or standing out) and so much more.]

My summer in the city had officially come to an end and by the time you’re reading this, I will be back in my hometown, probably eating a home-cooked meal and driving my car with reckless abandon on the highway. (God, I missed driving.) Though I’m excited to be home, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of sadness as my cab led me out of the city, toward LaGuardia airport and toward life after New York.

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By now, most college students have started their jobs and internships for the summer. After the first-day jitters, paperwork and orientation, you’re probably starting to feel comfortable in the workplace. Don’t give way to bad habits with these typical intern mistakes and solutions:

Wardrobe Malfunctions
When your standard summer uniform consists of a worn-in pair of Levi cutoffs and beat-up gladiator sandals, transitioning into an intern-appropriate wardrobe can be a little difficult. If you’re not familiar with the ways of the working world, you may show up to work overdressed or under-dressed. Play it safe with office appropriate dresses and skirts while getting a feel for your office’s choice of couture.

No Questions/Ideas
You landed the interview, wooed your supervisor and got the offer for the internship. Now what? Impressing the higher-ups before beginning work is only half the battle. Don’t be surprised when you’re asked for ideas or input at work or in meetings.  If you’re too startled to come up with anything, remember this: you were chosen for the position for a reason. Get your shine on and come up with something!

Overspending
If you’re working in a big city, be prepared to shell out some dough. Your metro fare and lunch will run up a pretty large tab, especially in Manhattan. $9 for a sandwich? Crazy! Avoid the spend-shock and prepare a budget ahead of time.

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In my accumulated two years as an unpaid intern at a variety of different magazines and websites, I have learned a LOT about the art of interning. I’ve worked with super nice people, but have also had horribly scary bosses who think they’re better than you — and I have spent countless hours trying to impress and suck up to those same people. And, well, I kind of rocked those internships. I worked hard, stayed organized, and tried my hardest to stand out in the crowd. At each different job, I had at least one or two people who told me constantly that there was no way they could get anything done without me.

Everyone knows the whole purpose of working long hours FOR FREE is to make some amazing contacts, get some great references, and most important of all: potentially get hired full-time. Yes, internships can be a total pain in the ass for a practically poor college graduate or student, but if you play your cards right, they can also be MAJORLY beneficial. I got my current full-time job (finally, YAY!) thanks to a former editor I interned for who gave me an amazing recommendation to a friend at the company I now work for. So here are my tips on how to easily be the life-saving intern who makes an impression.

Dress the part. For some internships, there’s a pretty standard dress code that’s easy to follow. For others, not so much. I know journalism jobs can be super casual – employees wear anything from suits and dresses to jeans and Uggs. Go by your office standards, but always make sure you look nice no matter what. You might not have to wear heels, but get a nice pair of flats or cute sandals, and try not to wear flip flops. How you dress is an indication of how seriously you’re taking your job. Walking in wearing the top you wore to the bar the other night or your fave Juicy hoodie is inappropriate and will only make you look inexperienced and young.

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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?

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With internship season right around the corner, we thought we would help you out! I know, we are just too kind. So we’ve put together some of our best advice just to help you out, you know make sure you not only land the internship, but keep it, AND make the most of it.

I know you are just itching to check it out now, so here’s a quick preview of all the awesomeness we have on hand for you:

Prepping for the interview? Might as well go over common questions

Worried about an employer seeing your Facebook status? We’ve got the low down on keeping it work appropriate,

The big debate: Part time job during the summer or an Internship

And the question that keeps us up all night: What do I wear to an interview? Yea, we’ve got the answers.

So check out our new section to find all the tips and tricks that CollegeCandy has to offer.

The following post is written by Brian Willett from UNC-Chapel Hill, one of our many friends at Uloop, a student powered marketplace. Read more great posts in their blog.

Ask any student what the best part about school is, and you’ll most likely get the same answer – summer vacation. The carefree days of summer make all of the homework and pop quizzes bearable and give students something to look forward to during April showers.

Because summer is so precious to students, making the most of every moment of the two or three month respite is crucial. So when it comes to filling the time between fun and games, a fierce debate rages over which is better – a summer internship or a part-time job. Though many assume the only point of contention is filling one’s resume versus filling one’s wallet, there’s more to the question than that. 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 »

Post-grad life is a lot about taking two steps forward only to take a step back. Some days, you feel like you’re ahead of whatever curve you’ve set for yourself and then other days, you feel like you’re falling behind. Although you have a lot more freedom and responsibility than life as a college student, the constant evolution of figuring out what to do next and what’s right is never ending.

Example: Two months ago, I scored what I considered to be my dream internship. I was meeting and interviewing celebrities, hanging out at some of the fanciest Hollywood locations, rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous at LA parties, frequenting red carpet events, and finding out celebrity gossip before the masses. And now, well … I decided this isn’t for me. There I go again. Two steps forward, and now that I quit, I feel like I’m one step back again. When can a girl get ahead?

In college, I feel like everything was a constant one-up. You know, where you out-do yourself and then you’re like “Damn! Look at what I accomplished.” Post-grad is more of a sporadic line graph that goes all over the place, where you have highs and lows and they fluctuate more than Lady Gaga’s outfits. While I like to think that all of this yo-yoing will get me to where I want to be, it can feel a little frustrating. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a morning after story (though most don't involve a large group of potential sorority sisters) and we wanna hear yours! Send it over to us and we’ll post it – anonymously, of course – right here!]

During the summer before my senior year, I obtained the holy grail of unpaid internships:  working the green room for a popular late-night talk show.  Sure, I was sans-paycheck and super poor, but hanging out with SJP right before the release of the first Sex and the City movie was completely amazing.  Personally sneaking Brad Pitt down through a freight elevator to avoid the mob scene in the main lobby made me go weak at the knees.  And holding Maddox while Angelina was in makeup made me feel like a celebrity mom. Those instances were memorable, yeah, but one celebrity run-in was really head and shoulders above the rest.

It was getting toward the end of my internship and I had the job down pat.  I could anticipate a guest’s Starbucks craving ten minutes before anyone else, had a mental catalogue of foolproof one-liners to relax even the most nervous (or snobby) A-Lister.  Things were good.  Until he happened.

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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 »