Black MBA - Summer 2008 - (Page 49)

Given the competition for top internships, a slip in networking etiquette can cost you an excellent opportunity. To be prepared, follow these four simple guidelines to help interact with recruiters and managers when networking for or at an internship. ALWAYS WORK TOWARD A SPECIFIC GOAL As head of Artists & Repertoire (A&R) for Hidden Beach Recordings, Charles Whitfield has spent more than a decade scouting, recruiting and grooming R&B stars and aspiring music business moguls MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT alike. Regardless of the skills they bring IS IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE to the table, Whitfield is most impressed by students who do their homework on Mike Cooney, director of human rethe label and its artists, know what they sources for the PGA Tour, will not hesitate want to achieve, speak with confidence, to set up meetings between his personal look him in the eye, show persistence and contacts and well-performing interns present themselves professionally. with specific career goals. But whatever “It’s just about being confitheir full-time interests are, indent, being prepared and doing terns need to keep in mind that your homework,” Whitfield says. the main purpose of many in“And not being afraid, especially ternship programs is to identify in the entertainment business, to and develop a pipeline for fullhear people tell you no.” time employees. The best way to And according to Whitfield, get a full-time position through working toward a specific goal an internship or at another orwill not only make a better imganization is to excel where you pression on the people who decurrently are. cide whether to hire you, but will Charles Whitfield “I would hesitate hiring an get you where you want to go faster. intern that I wouldn’t see hiring as a full“I like the students who want to be time employee,” Cooney says. “Our goal an artist manager or in the legal side to really is to hire from our intern pool.” ask, ‘What contacts do you have that can Cooney cites full-time placement of help me?’” Whitfield says. “I appreciate eligible interns as one of the greatest measomeone being honest and saying, ‘This sures of success for the PGA Tour’s inis what I need help with here’s what I ternship program, and generally 20 to 25 want to do in a specific place.’ I will open percent of eligible interns from each gradup my rolodex to those who I know are uating class are hired. Interns are given really hungry, and not only hungry, but enough responsibility to make a differhungry about a specific task or topic they ence within their respective groups, and want to do.” they can further separate themselves by Whitfield also believes that interntaking on additional volunteer- and pership candidates should seek quality over formance-based projects, including prequantity when reaching out to potential senting to title sponsors, participating in contacts. As an intern, seeking out the top executive reviews and creating strategies two or three people who could help you to increase the number of minority appliachieve your goal, rather than handing cants. The PGA Tour also keeps track of out a business card or résumé to everyits most successful interns who take fullone at a mixer, shows you have done your time jobs elsewhere, and recently hired a homework. And makes it more likely 2001 intern from its program for its busiyou’ll catch someone’s eye. ness affairs group. Maintaining the same level of goal-oriented enthusiasm once accepted into an internship program is just as important. Some interns, once they are in a program, don’t work as hard as they worked to get there. For instance, they may slack off in the office or ruin their professional image at social functions related to work. “Some students get complacent,” Whitfield notes. “[The work] is still about how passionate you are and doing the things that got you in the program. Some students, once they get in, forget that same hunger and drive.” While students obsess over SAT scores, GPAs, references, essay questions and cover letters, they often neglect the importance of basic networking and etiquette skills while interacting with those who decide whether or not they will be hired. BlackMBA • Summer 2008 49

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Black MBA - Summer 2008

Black MBA- Summer 2008 Contents Mailbag Up Front From the President & CEO Politics of Change Catalyst for Change: Results of our 2008 Political Poll Know Whose Shoulders You Stand On: The Legacy of H. Naylor Fitzhugh Howard University: Changing With the Times Straight Talk: CEO to CEO Creating Your Own Sandbox Dual Threats Avoiding the Faux Pa Invest in Your MBA Everything You Need to Know About...Estate Planning On Campus Plan Ahead The Big Show What's in a Name? On the Move Market Forecast Jeff Friday Keith Wyche Life Lessons On the Ground Real Biz A Golden Opportunity Entrepreneurial Institute Tech Tools Read for Success Stacey Tisdale Advertiser Index

Black MBA - Summer 2008

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