As part of Nonprofit Career Week we're highlighting Mason Junior Karmen Perry. She spent summer 2019 interning at the Urban Institute, a prominent DC-based nonprofit think-tank, gaining valuable research experience for her resume.
In the Q&A below Karmen recounts the process and resources she used to land and be successful in this role.
Name: Karmen Perry
Class: 2021
Industry: Nonprofit
Major: Sociology
Class: 2021
Industry: Nonprofit
Major: Sociology
Q: Describe your position:
A: I was able to work at the Urban Institute in the summer of 2019 as a Research Intern in Washington, DC. I worked on three projects for the Victimization Team. For one project, I was in charge of creating and populating a spreadsheet of validated screening tools. I also had the opportunity to help solicit responses to a nationwide survey and write a detailed annotated bibliography on the same subject. When I wasn’t doing research or writing for them, I was attending weekly meetings with the project managers or informative brown-bag lunches open to all employees and interns at the organization.
Q: What skills do you need to work within this environment?
A: I needed good time-management skills, and also the ability to work independently was crucial. Usually, I would work all week with only one or two meetings with my project managers to direct me in their desired direction for my projects.
Q: Why were you interested in this position?
A: I was interested in this position because I wanted to see what the field of research entailed and if it was what I wanted to do with my degree after I graduated.
Q: What resources helped you gain this opportunity?
A: I religiously updated my LinkedIn and Handshake and constantly looked for positions that would fit my interest and skill set.
I found out about this opportunity after I received a Handshake email from Urban Institute about 15-minute long virtual information sessions with a representative from the organization. He gave me tips on how to make my application stand out and he told me to email him after I submitted the application so he could try to personally point it out to hiring managers.
I found out about this opportunity after I received a Handshake email from Urban Institute about 15-minute long virtual information sessions with a representative from the organization. He gave me tips on how to make my application stand out and he told me to email him after I submitted the application so he could try to personally point it out to hiring managers.
Q: What challenges or obstacles did you encounter during your job search or professional experience?
A: I had to apply to many positions to get an acceptance. I also had a hard time being comfortable with asking professors and advisors to serve as a reference.
Q: How does your position fit into your long term career goals?
A: This opportunity showed me that I would enjoy working in research where there are many things that I could focus on.
Q: How did you make yourself stand out during your position/job search process?
A: I focused on having strong interview skills, such as seeming enthusiastic about the mission and knowing about the institution.
Q: Can you share a highlight and/or proud moment that you experienced during your professional opportunity?
A: The highlight of my internship was the final presentation at the end of the summer where I presented all of the projects I worked on to all of the other interns and a large number of employees from Urban Institute.
Q: Do you have any tips or advice to share with other students about your experience?
A: It works best if you are persistent in applying to multiple jobs and have professors that you know can serve as a reference. It can be easy to be discouraged, but you can't gain opportunities that you don't apply to. Once you write one cover letter, get someone to review and edit it; once you have one good one, it is easy to tweak the format for each application. The first one is the hardest and most intimidating to write.
Finally, don't only look for jobs that are the exact thing that you want to do as a career, apply to things that may not completely line up with your major but seem interesting.
Finally, don't only look for jobs that are the exact thing that you want to do as a career, apply to things that may not completely line up with your major but seem interesting.
Are you tuned into virtual employer events and maximizing online networking tools such as Handshake and LinkedIn? Hopefully, Karmen’s story reminded you of the importance of responding to an opportunity, networking, and checking your email - all strategies that you can use to help continue your job and internship search virtually in the era of social distancing!
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