How to use the new AUDIO EMBED tool on Adobe

SPECIAL, special thanks to Sue and Joan for experimenting with this, to Katherine for agreeing to purchase it, to Colin for arranging it, and to Dame Sue Gordon, STAR of our little "How To" video! The idea is that rather than writing a long email to a student, which might not get read, or could be misunderstood, an audio note is more personal to the student, and 66% faster for you. (Remember the session on Asynchronous Audio Feedback off the SLOAN-C conference site? It's still up there!)

My piece is up on Internshipratings.com!

From one blog to another . . . here's my two cents on "What to do when you leave your internship."

$16 Million for Grad Internships in Ontario

Canada is putting its money where its interns are. The Charlatan reports that "Accellerate Ontario is a graduate research internship program that is designed to build strong connections between industry and research." These unpaid internships offer transportation and research costs at $15,000 each for the four month graduate research internships.

Photo by Eric Wüstenhagen titled, "Superbokehtheorie"

Lies my Applicant Told Me: 50% of Hiring Managers Found Fibs

Your applicant wasn't really a member of the Kennedy clan or a professional basketball player, and those vaguely familiar work samples he submitted . . . were YOURS! Yes, although only 5% of applicants admit to embellishing their credentials, MarketWatch reported that 50% of the hiring managers in a CareerBuilder.com survey have come across lies, untruths, misstatements, and whoppers. (So, that 5% must really be getting around!) Common lies were:

• Embellished responsibilities 38%


• Skill set 18%


• Dates of employment 12%


• Academic degree 10%


• Companies worked for 7%


• Job title 5%

Click here to see the best whoppers.

Photo from AP Photo by Chitose Suzuki of Marilee Jones, former MIT Admissions Dean who resigned after admitting to fabrications on her resume

Green Applicants Far Exceed Green Lobbying Slots

Though "Young lobbyists dream green," this Politico piece summarizes the huge interest students have in environmental advocacy internships, and how there just aren't enough slots to go around! The ratio of internship applicants to slots at Greenpeace was almost 10:1. Students are still willing to work for free, being so passionate about the cause, then organizations can avoid lobbying restrictions. Ben Adley and Erika Lovely wrote:

Young activists say they have several advantages over older lobbyists, including being able to connect with younger Hill staff members.“Members and older staffers are willing to, in the words of a character in ‘Clueless,’ ‘take a chance on an unknown kid,’” said Jennifer Pugh, a Washington lobbyist who leads the Young Leadership Network of the American League of Lobbyists. “You still have to prove that you’re competent, of course. But I find that a lot of folks in Washington remember starting out and are happy to listen to what you have to say and give you a break.

Photo by Matt Redmond

Less Is More: More programming = Lower attendance

This is very counter intuitive, but in looking at the number of events we've had each academic year, and the total attendance we've had at events each year. More events DID NOT equal more outreach. For example, for 2003/4 and 2005/6, our events increased by 34%, but our attendance dropped 21.5%. Last year, we were 58% ahead in terms of number of events from 2004/5, and our attendance was 3% lower.

Why? It could be that too many events send mixed messages to students. They only have so much time and can't decide where to go. Different events compete with each other for students' attention. And it's hard to develop a coherent marketing campaign with so many programs happening all the time.

So we have permission to consolidate, and we have permission to say, "no." When others make requests for a specific program, let's ask what their learning objectives are, and see what the best way to meet those might be. And let's focus on quality, not quantity. Remember, we are most appreciated for our appointments!

Photo by !anaughty!

AU Mentioned in Article on College Greening

In an article today on College Greening, Jura Koncius notes, "Nebraska Hall, American University's first eco-friendly dorm . . . reopened last year after renovations that included non-toxic, low-VOC paint, chemical-free Marmoleum flooring and Energy Star appliances.

(Photo illustration by Mark Finkenstaedt for The Washington Post)

Woe to Wall Street Interns?

This CNBC story begins, "Imagine being a summer intern at a company that was getting slammed by huge losses, laying off hundreds of workers and even subject to rumors about its survival . . ." This doesn't seem to be the best time to be a Wall Street intern, but "neither Merrill Lynch nor Goldman Sachs has considered lowering or eliminating intern pay as a cost-cutting measure . . . the benefit of exposing bright college students to your business significantly outweighs the cost of a first-year salary, off which most Wall Street interns’ pay is based." (Really? Does Merrill Lynch pay their interns? THAT'S news!)

Photo by epicharmus

Need a Career Change? (I hope not!) Advice from Christine Hassler

Truly, I hope none of us is contemplating a change right now. But there was a decent piece in the Huffington Post that you might want to use for graduate students and alumni stuck in a rut while trying to switch careers.

Photo by Dave Gingrich

Happy Hour: 4% Regret singing Karaoke

CareerBuilder's story on Happy Hours is a nice piece and what folks tend to do and what strategies folks can use that can work for them. My favorite was to think of the Happy Hour venue as the "branch office" to help keep behavior in check.

Photo by Les Chatfield