When you have to look up internship possibilities, there are two ways that will keep you going: you can choose among those opportunities that are provided by your university or look for something on your own. Either way, your internship choice poses great importance since it will help you to understand your future career from the inside and see what kind of skills and knowledge appear to be most helpful.

Our experts at Nerdify reviews recommend taking due time to analyze the existing options because some internships have specific obligations, while others provide international cooperation as a part of the socio-cultural exchange.

1. Make a list of companies that interest you. Regardless of your subject or field of interest, you must start with a list of those companies that seem inspiring and interesting to you. If you are a Data Sciences student who thinks about joining Google or finding an internship at Intel, simply go for it. Nerdify reviews experts have done so more than once. If you are determined and contact the company in question, they will at least review your application. It may be you precisely what they are looking for!

2. Discuss the possibilities with your college or university. If you have joined a Christian college or a university that belongs to the famous Ivy League, you must consider checking the internships that are offered by your alma mater. In other words, talk to your college advisor and discuss your requirements. It is not often made available to the public, yet students have a right to choose and adjust their academic schedule to make the most out of any internship opportunity. Even if it is a small community college, you can combine an internship with social work and still get your academic credits and recognition.

3. Seek online lists of internships in your scientific field. Since the majority of internship offers are published online, do not ignore the lists that are regularly updated. Just make sure that you add an “internship offer” to your primary scientific field search’s query string. Make sure that you work only with reliable websites and check the company credits and information twice. Avoid making any payment for “full” information and seek only open listings that offer direct contacts. It will help you to avoid fraud and build up confidence as you read through the various requirements.

4. Consider international exchange programs. Nerdify reviews recommend taking a look at the international exchange programs that let you learn in a foreign land and pass your internship time at the remote branch of a certain company. While it may be not yet possible in the current environment, consider such internship options for the future. Even though everything looks rather vague now, It may be a good idea as the world’s situation improves, especially if you are majoring in Journalism, Political Science, or Linguistics.

5. Social media searching. The majority of experts at Nerdify reviews instantly mention LinkedIn as the way to find good internship ideas. Moreover, most HR managers constantly scan social media profiles and professional networks as they look for students and various specialists that fit their requirements. It means that you should never ignore your online presence and add all the info that will help various HR managers find your profile and offer you a great internship. Of course, you do not have to sit and wait, yet if you reply to the messages and look for ideas, things always improve!

6. Creation of a good resume and social profile. Speaking of Facebook and Instagram, it is a good idea to start with the creation of a good resume, CV available online, and the profile that will help professionals to find you. It does not have to serve as an advertisement of any kind. The reason why we believe it is important is the following fact: most companies in the United States and beyond often check our social media profiles to determine our moral qualities and even political preferences. Therefore, it is always better to be safe than sorry! Keep things professional and make sure that you set the personal things to private.

7. Cooperation with professionals in your field. If you know at least one person who works in your field or if you have contacts of someone who gave a wonderful online lecture at your college, make sure to contact them and ask them for their thoughts regarding a certain company or recommendations in terms of a good internship. It never hurts to ask, after all! Discuss your existing ideas, stay polite, ask about this person’s experience, and you will always remain on the right track. This way you will approach a professional who already knows the safe internship companies or can point you in the right direction.

Today we’ve decided to do something we’ve never done before. We are introducing a new type of content on the Nerdify blog – Nerdify Reviews. From now on, we are going to be reviewing books/podcasts/movies/ etc., that we think can add value to students and are interesting even to the general public. Nerdify Reviews is going to appear on our blog every month, so stay tuned, lot’s of great content coming your way!

For our first “Nerdify Reviews” we’ve chosen a brilliant book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. We think it’s a must-read for pretty much anyone, it’s in our company’s library and it has amazing reader-reviews online.

So, without further due, let’s jump into it. The book describes 7 habits that are aimed to boost your productivity and general motivation to achieve your life goals. These are the habits:

* Be Proactive

Imagine 2 circles in your life – one is the circle of concern (that’s the stuff you are worried about) and within that circle there’s a circle of influence (that’s the stuff you can actually have certain control over – your relationships, work, health, etc).  Being proactive means only be concerned about things YOU HAVE CAN INFLUENCE. That will save you a lot of time you waste worrying about stuff you have zero control over (no point about worrying about whether the Earth will be struck by an asteroid – there’s pretty much nothing you can do about it, mate). So habit number 1 – be proactive.

* Being With An End In Mind

Imagine you are at a funeral. At your funeral (ok, it’s not real, just bare with us for a sec). Ask yourself the following question: “What do I have to say about myself”. Do you want people to say that you were an amazing friend? A great boss? A business leader? But are you actually DOING things that will make people say all of that about you?

In the modern world, it’s really easy to get distracted. Always have the end in mind and CONSTANTLY do a reality check whether you are doing things that get you closer to the end goal?

Learn to say no. This is actually one of the Steve Job’s superpowers – saying no to things that do not get your closer to your goal.

* Put First Things First

This is actually about setting the priorities right. Look, life is FULL of events and opportunities. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do everything you want. There are only 24 hours in 1 day. And your workday may be full of interruptions. So, learning how to set up your priorities right will go a long way. Answer to yourself “what is the most IMPORTANT thing I have to do right now and how URGENT I have to do that”. Based on that – construct your to-do-list.

* Think Win-Win

This is a very powerful mentality, especially if you want to work in business and be an entrepreneur. Our world is not a zero-sum game (meaning that in order for you to win, someone has to lose). By far in most cases, you can always find a win-win scenario. Usually, people who think that, have integrity, maturity and abundance mentality (meaning they actually believe there’s enough for everybody).

* Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

This is the holy grail of any negotiations. You have the following “levels of listening” – ignoring, pretending to listen, selective listening and active. Now, you might think that active listening is the maximum level of attention you can dedicate to your counterpart. But it’s not true. The highest level of listening is Empathic listening. This is when you are trying to understand both the content and feelings of your counterpart. It’s as if you are putting yourself in “their shoes”. By doing so you can actually understand what the other person truly feels are really wants. It’s absolutely vital if you want to be a successful negotiator.

* Synergize

This actually is a natural extension of habit 4 and habit 4. When working in a team being able to negotiate and find win-win scenarios is incredibly important. But, being able to unite a few people who have skill sets in different areas – that’s what makes up a very strong team. Always look for opportunities where you can achieve an additional value out of the partnership due to synergize.

* Sharpen The Saw

Imagine a guy cutting a tree with a saw. He is exhausted, he has been working for hours. You approach him and say “Hey, why don’t you take a break and sharpen that saw – you’ll cut the tree down much sooner this way” and the person replies “I don’t have time for this, I have to cut down this tree”. See the problem here?

There’s no point taking on a task if you haven’t prepared for it! Make sure you spend an adequate amount of time PREPARING and planning how you are actually going to execute your task.

This is it, that’s our first review, we hope you liked it. If you want us to review some other books, please let us know in the comment section below 🙂 Nerdify is always trying to provide useful content. Check out our previous story about Secrets behind great success.

It is hard to imagine anything as challenging as writing down your lecture notes online. Just think about your Internet connection always breaking down or Zoom swallowing half of what has been said. Some people at Nerdify reviews even compare it to some odd writings made by the nursing students. Jokes aside, however, we decided to share the tips that have helped us in 2020 and before when getting a hold of our lecture notes online. It is also helpful for various online conferences and those times when you have to get ready for some online exam and need to take helpful notes.

1. Ask questions. Do not be afraid of asking questions. The majority of students that we spoke to at Nerdify reviews have told us that they were afraid of asking this or that because college professors online would easily become irritated. Still, you are there to learn, which is why it is completely normal to ask something that you have misunderstood. Asking for some clarification is your legal right, which is only natural when someone has an unstable Internet connection or misses the point that is hard to understand when you are online.

2. Write down the key phrases. Write down the key phrases that you hear. You don’t even have to do it right away. Take your time to do it the way they always seem to implement at international conferences. Act just like a good journalist and take notes that come to your mind. This way you can use any break from the lectures or any free moment to write something down. You can easily type it into your Notepad online or save it somewhere where you can easily find it. Just write it down in your own words and reference it later by rephrasing things.

3. Share Notes With Your Friends. Do not forget about sharing your lecture notes with your online friends. Some of you may be more tech-savvy, which is a good way to share your tips and ideas. You do not even have to go outside or sit waiting at your friend’s porch because you can share audio recordings, screen captures, or anything that has been used to write down your lecture notes. Learn about the culture of sharing and assist the best way you can. It will always pay off and will help to make sense out of all the mess that you may have had in the beginning.

4. Ask For Sources. Another great lecture tip that has been proposed by our experts at the Nerdify reviews is asking your college professors for sources that would help you see where the information is coming from. You may not hear something well, yet sharing a link online by posting it as a text message is much easier and will save you a great deal of time. Think about this idea the next time you are participating in an online lecture and make sure to share this great tip along. It will also help you to keep the links at hand when you compose your Bibliography or References page.

5. Make Audio Recordings With Your Phone. Since you might be watching your online lecture via your laptop, remember that you can use your phone to record the lecture and playback things later. We often did so at the Nerdify reviews and it has helped us to notice some things that we could not capture before. Since you can playback things more than once, it helps a great deal to determine what has been said and write down an exact quote for your next assignment. It is a handy trick that you must try and see if it helps you to keep your lecture notes in control.

6. Record Yourself Talk. Alternatively, you can try a different approach by recording your thoughts with a voice speaker by using your phone as well. Remember how famous detectives always do so in the movies? It is exactly the same approach! Just record your thoughts during the lecture and playback them later when you have to start with your assignment.

7. Organize Additional Sessions. When all things fail and if you could not write down your online lecture notes for some reason, ask your friends for help. If they are in the same boat as you are, organize additional online sessions, and ask each other for some assistance. While it may not be always possible to approach your college professor, unite your efforts together, and think of a good solution to this unpleasant situation.

Most importantly, remember that you have a right to contact your college’s online help center and explain the situation in case there were any technical troubles. Just make some screenshots and share your and your friends’ evidence as you do!