Welcome to our tenth article in our Job Boards You Can Love series! We are excited to be sharing YouTern, a community sharing Careerleaf’s passion for enabling job seekers to be proactive about their career development.

AN ENTREPRENEURIAL APPROACH TO INTERNSHIPS

In this economy, new grads now need more than a shiny new degree to land a job, and clicking ‘Apply Now’ 200 times is no longer an effective way to approach a job search. Launched in the wake of a global problem affecting Gen Y job seekers, YouTern puts the human back into human resources by helping job seekers actually land a job.

Having previously worked with two other start-ups in the online recruiting space, Mark Babbitt (founder and CEO) is the driving force behind this job board offering high-impact internships with an entrepreneurial approach. “We don’t do go-fer internships,” explains Mark – “instead, we focus on a one-on-one mentorship, self-learning, contributory environment.”

A TRIBE OF FEARLESS HIGH ACHIEVERS

YouTern’s community consists of college students, recent grads and young careerists and, according to Mark – are a tribe of young professionals with great work ethic, perseverance, who aren’t afraid to fail and learn from their mistakes. “We gear towards high achievers on both the company and the intern side,” he describes of YouTern’s community: “our candidates are the ones that know they have to work hard to get ahead in this economy – and they’re not afraid to do it.”

Unlike typical large boards that may work more for the employer – YouTern gives the power back to job seekers and looks to actively mentor its community via social media. “We engage in an authentic and sincere way, and people know that they can ask us a question on Twitter or on Facebook – and we’ll help them,” shares Mark, “it’s just a part of being in this community.”

FOCUSED ON MENTORSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT

Firm believers in engagement, YouTern reaches out weekly with InternPro via Twitter chat and via a Blog Talk Radio show which, since its inception in December 2011, has won over members of their community. “We have about 100 people participating every week,” reveals Mark of InternPro Chat’s influence – “with [up to] 1500 tweets every hour and a reach of about 3 million people – it’s gotten bigger than we’ve ever hoped.”

YouTern also mentors young careerists via their blog, covering topics on every facet of career development including social media, networking, personal branding and resume writing. The Savvy Intern, which has become the face of the company, features posts from the best career bloggers in the space – helping members gain an edge in their search.

BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT

To be successful in today’s economy, Mark urges job seekers to employ a pre-emptive mindset when it comes to their search. “Career and personal development isn’t a 40-hour-per-week pursuit only to be crammed in when you find yourself unemployed. It is a mindset; similar to maintaining a healthy lifestyle or mutually-beneficial relationships.”

Whether networking, self-learning, developing soft skills, monitoring your online presence or keeping your resumes and web profiles up-to-date; be consistent. Mark advises “The efforts that go into a successful career are all important all the time, waiting until you need a job to do all this could mean that you’re just too late.”

YouTern.com  This website uses a series of questions to match businesses and nonprofits with college students in search of internships, both summertime and year-round.

ExpertBids.com  Check this out if you need to get personalized bids from lawyers, accountants, and other consultants.

Solvate.com  This website gives entrepreneurs access to a database of about 2,000 US-based freelance consultants, whose talents range from bookkeeping to website development.

After an Interview – Send a thank you email to the HR rep who put your interview together. I’m currently in a role where it’s my job to schedule interviews and a candidate did this for me recently and I have to say I like him already.
While you’re at it send them a thank you CARD a week after the interview. When you are in the running for a position at a very competitive company, or even competitive city, it’s so important to stand out.

Do not call to say thank you. Think about it, the conversation is pretty limited “Hi XX, I just wanted to call and say thank you for allowing me to interview with (Company X).” “Blah Blah.” “Ok have a great day!” They may remember to tell the rest of the hiring committee or they may just forget as they try to refocus on whatever work they are doing. A card and email stick around a whole lot longer then a one sentence phone call.

Make sure to like, follow and fan the company. Join groups that they are part of on Linkedin, then PARTICIPATE. Once you’re on a persons radar you have to keep your place there or you will easily be forgotten for a newer shinier entry level pro. (Sorry for the reality check.)

Remember the common courtesy you see in old movies, how your grandparents wax romantic about the good ole days when suiters would bring a gift for the family AND flowers for the girl he was suiting? Be that person. I’m not saying bring a box of chocolate or wine to an interview but old fashioned respect and kindness go a long way in today’s society, especially when all of the Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers hiring expect us to be glued to our smart phones and saying “Like it was really nice to meet you.”

You’ll continue to see all the relevant, fascinating articles you’ve come to expect from The Savvy Intern from our very own server space…

Check out the new look and content at http://youtern.com/thesavvyintern.

We welcome you to our new home and ask that you to adjust your linkage (especially if you are the proprietor or webmaster of a blog or website that links back to us!)

So, follow the link, and join us at the new location!

Internships used to be a “nice to have” aspect of career development. However, in an ultra-competitive job market, they’ve become nearly mandatory. In fact, 90% of direct-from-college hires now go to those with internship experience. The more internships you…

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Recently a blog appeared in Tech Crunch where the author wrote about why she is relieved that she’s not a Millennial. Detailing how our generation thinks it’s ok to job hop and that we feel entitled to everything in life. I’m not going to make a gross generalization here on behalf of Gen Y because we all know gross generalizations are just that and you can’t pigeon hole an entire generation. I am talking firmly from my experience with friends, colleagues and  myself.

Yes, we are being picky at times about our job options. You want to know why? We were raised to figure out what we want in life and what we believe to be true and to stick by that.  I have experienced my parents – born just young enough to not take full advantage of Woodstock – who sold out. Then one day my Mom came home from her very cushy job and said she quit. She felt that she had sold out and didn’t believe that her personal morals stacked up with what her company was creating. Then my Dad started his own Architecture firm after being sick of working in a huge firm that basically just churned out houses and office buildings. My brother and I were raised to stay true to what we believe and not sell out. I know many other Millennial’s my age who believe the same thing. We are young and yes we’re in a bad economy right now so we are job hopping. Remember that old saying “Last hired first fired?” – hello!

Not to say that I don’t have peers who are quitting because it’s not stacking up to what they wanted it to be. I can’t vouch for those people on the whole but maybe they realized it honestly wasn’t a good fit or maybe they were being spoiled. Also we have been told that in this economy we need to be a Jack of All Trades and taking multiple temp jobs while looking for our ideal full time work is a way to do that. I don’t think it’s all on one side or another, its a mix.

We also know that on the whole we are living longer, so why would we want to rush into a full time job when we know with the way things are going we’ll be working until we are 70?

I would also like to remind you of what people were saying about the Boomers when they were are age, avoiding jobs and going to school to get Liberal Arts degrees (GASP!) They were told that their music was the devil and that they were idealists and would one day grow up and realize that’s not how the world worked. Well  some of them sold out and some of them woke up one day and taught their kids not to do the same thing and some of them chose

One other thing people are over looking right now is the fact that the entry-level work force now is so different then it was 10 years ago. We have tools at our disposal that our parents never dreamed would exist, Twitter, Skype, Facebook and on and on. We are at the forefront of a shift in how our entire country and world is communicating. Why wouldn’t we have a different take on the job search? Also, young people have always been idealists and naive right out the gate. We have next to no real world experience and it’s a steep learning curve out there.

I agree with the post on Savvy Intern earlier this week. Take your “parent” and “adult” hat off and just try to put yourself in our shoes. Literally our entire lives we have grown up in an experimental environment, Montessori schools, no idea what segregation ment, growing up during a huge boom in our economy and now having to deal with the biggest recession since the great depression. We are living in a world where all we know is we don’t know anything except the life we want to be leading one day down the road. Don’t bash us just because we are following our dreams to the best of our ability at this point in time.

Please be open and take a moment to speak with a Millennial before you homogenize and stereotype us into oblivion. I promise we’ll put our smartphone down for 20 minutes and have a genuine face-to-face conversation with you.

Let me ask you: Do you want a job when you graduate? Do you…

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Our Community Manager, bless her heart, has been more than patient. I don’t think she held out much hope that I’d “get it” when it came to Twitter. In fact, her first comment was:

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If you’re a Gen Y’er you more than likely remember that line. For today I just wanted to let all of my fellow Gen Y’ers know about some amazing tools that are out there to help us in our Career Search. It’s no secret that times are tough and our generation is facing the most difficult job market since World War II. We need all the help we can get, good luck out there in “Career Search Land.”

Youtern – This is a wonderful website where you can post your resume and search for internships. It’s an aggregator focused specifically for college students and recent graduates to find internships in their field.

Student Branding – A great site that offers contacts, blogs, resources and videos that will help you start creating your personal brand today. Remember everything you do creates your brand, and it doesn’t start after you graduate, it started yesterday.

Ms. Career Girl – A wonderful blog with posts regarding young women starting their careers. If you’re looking for a place to guest blog this would be it.

Idealist.org –  For those of you who want to work in the non-profit or government sectors this is the job search site for you. Thousands of job opportunities listed for large and small non-profits world wide.

JibberJobber – I am so excited about this one! I actually found it while putting this post together. It’s a job application management system. That allows you to track all of the contacts you’ve made while applying for jobs or at conferences, as well as track all of the jobs you’ve applied for and make notes and alerts for yourself when you need to follow up. AMAZING!

PRSA Job Center – If you’re a member of PRSSA and in your last semester of college you can join PRSA, I highly suggest it.

Another tip – Use Twitter, you’ll notice for the last link is a twitter link. More and more people are finding jobs via twitter. Follow the right people and be proactive and you could be one of them.

We recently posted “Job Interview or First Date.” In that blog post we discussed how similar dating is to a job interview: nerves, awkward silence, knowing what to say (and when to…

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This article was originally posted by our friends at

It is now a little more than two years since I graduated from high school. But I can still hear my AP Macroeconomics teacher’s favorite remark: “Denial is a river in Egypt.”

Get the pun? If so, welcome to the geek squad. If not, no worries. Being called a geek is considered pejorative by…

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I am a former engineer trained in the Air Force. I’m a consistent workaholic. I am a passionate entrepreneur. And, I’m an OJT CEO.

For the past year, our team has developed YouTern – an…

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Please don’t misunderstand: Almost all impressed me as strong advocates for their students – exactly as I expected. However, some seemed stuck in “lifer” mode – you know, job stability that induces a stagnant level of exuded effort.

Specifically, it seemed as though some were still mentally in 2008, unaware of the need to adapt to a new economy. In my mind, this meant they…

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I’m Dave Ellis, the Director of User Experience for YouTern, and I have something to say from the staff at YouTern…

Take advantage of us!

Normally you wouldn’t expect to hear that from a company. But we mean it. Take advantage of us…please!

Internships are the ticket to a head start in your career. You want to gain experience that matches your career goals. You want to use your talents to create and participate as an important part of a dynamic company. You don’t want to be stuck on the bottom rung of a the proverbial corporate ladder. My guess is all this is true, or maybe you wouldn’t have visited YouTern – where we connect emerging talent with innovative leaders of start-ups and innovative small businesses.

How can you take advantage of YouTern?

To help you find the perfect internship, YouTern integrates several features that you may not know about, yet… features that help you take advantage of us.

• Growing List of On-site and Virtual Internships – YouTern’s list of internships at start-ups and entrepreneurial companies is growing daily. Some offer the ability to work virtually around your schedule. You’ll gain the same great experience online with companies around the US – or even an entirely different country!

• Candidate Profile – In an ultra competitive job market, standing out makes you more likely to get noticed, and hired. Your YouTern profile takes just a couple of minutes to create, and tells employers why you’re the best candidate, and it only takes a minute to create. You can keep your contact details anonymous if you wish. (And YouTern never, ever gives your information to third parties.)

• Matching Technologies – YouTern is unique in its ability to match your resume and profile details with internships and employers that most interest you, and then ranks them for you by how well they match your career goals.

• Support from Real People – At many sites, you register… and well, you’re on your own. At YouTern, we’re here to help. If you have questions, that’s what we’re here for. You can reach me at Support@YouTern.com. I’ll answer your emails directly!

Whether you have your career path planned, or even if you’re not sure what direction to go, YouTern is already a great resource. We may be the newest kids on the block, but we’re already the best!

YouTern is here for you. Take advantage of us!

Thanks, Dave, for the awesome advice and the great support! Have a question for Dave? You can catch him via Twitter at @DaveYouTern or at Support@YouTern.com.

The most common question we receive from companies posting internships…

“How do you define a start-up”?

Over the past few days, I’ve seen this question asked in several other places…including an interesting series of Tweets today that referred to Steve Blank’s (http://steveblank.com) definition: “A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model”.

If it’s good enough for Steve Blank… it’s good enough for me. Right?  The trouble is… it just isn’t that simple.

Early in YouTern’s development we took a shot at this conundrum by saying “YouTern connects emerging talent with start-ups and entrepreneur-driven companies.” We chose that language because at the heart of every start-up is an entrepreneur; or several. We recognized there are many dynamic small businesses that may not qualify under a strict definition of a start-up – but would benefit greatly from an infusion of enthusiastic, youthful talent. The choice of words just made sense, and it still does.

So we can revise Mr. Blank’s definition slightly to place the entrepreneur at the center of the model: “A startup is an entrepreneur-driven organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model”.

Yet, some would argue that a certain amount of risk is central to the development of most start-ups, as is innovation. We agree, especially since a start-up faces far more adversity getting to market than say a McDonald’s franchise or a hair salon. We can further refine the definition to make it sound even more like a start-up: “A startup is an entrepreneur-driven, innovative organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model while mitigating risk.”

But wait, there’s more…

I’ve recently read articles in high-profile publications like the New York Times where Virgin America (a “start-up” airline?), Apple (a $50 Billion company) and even Ford Motor Company were all referred to as “start-ups”. So does the size of the company indicate whether you’re a start-up – or eliminate you from consideration? Sorry, but no matter how impressed I am at Ford’s remarkable turn-around – and that it didn’t spend our tax dollars to recover – I wouldn’t instinctively consider it a start-up.

Using our evolving definition, however, it just might qualify. For now, we’ll resist the temptation to add a “size” oriented adjective. As Steve Jobs says: “Apple is an over $50 Billion company. I like to forget that because that’s not how we think about Apple.”

Which brings us full circle to YouTern’s definition of a start-up…

I was recently talking with an executive from a phone systems company. They didn’t necessarily innovate, but they did improve aspects of the technology. They bundled interesting components to save their customers – mostly start-ups – money and time. They were clearly hungry to fill a niche with excellent customer service. When I was asked if internship candidates would consider them a start-up, my answer came quickly:

“Being a start-up is a mentality; an attitude. Your company is a start-up.”

At that moment, there was no doubt that the passionate executive was leading a start-up company. Maybe not on the same level as the next Google, Facebook or Apple.  But a “start-up” nonetheless – by any definition.

At YouTern, we believe there are many small companies that meet these criteria. They overcome obstacles on a daily basis through perseverance, passion and attitude. Like a more traditional view of what a start-up company looks like, they consistently contribute to our innovative business climate – and certainly serve as enthusiastic mentors to our future business leaders.

Now, how do we add “perseverance”, “attitude” and “passion” to our ever-changing attempt to define a start-up?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Tweet your definition of a start-up to @YouTernMark. We’ll get this important question answered – and publish the collaborative “final” version in YouTern’s FAQ.

Want to make a big impact on your next internship at a small company? Here’s how to do it:

Learn the ropes at first…Give yourself time to learn the company and the people behind it. Know what the goals are, what the company philosophy is, who the company’s target audience is. Then be pro-active with projects and helping. An intern often brings fresh ideas and energy because they don’t have a work history of “this is how we did it at my last company” and they often don’t have any reservations of losing status by thinking outside the box.

Observe and learn as much as you can on your own…As an intern at a small company, keep in mind that it’s a SMALL company and there isn’t a lot of time for handholding and constant feedback like a new person might like depending  on the company. A big impact an intern can make is simply being creative and smart with their own skills. Seeing the gaps that may be overlooked by the company that you can fill is a good demonstration of making an impact at a small company. An example could be noticing the company you’re interning for doesn’t have a social media presence. From there you can create a social media campaign strategy and present it to your boss.

Ask for feedback…Don’t be afraid to ask questions. An internship is a training ground for future employees. Make the most of your time there by asking the right questions and showing your curiosity. Feedback can also help you define your strengths and weaknesses in the workplace. It can help you develop and fine tune your skill set. Make sure you are conscious of your boss’s time by not asking them about every little project every day. Set up a weekly or bi-weekly half-hour meeting to discuss the company’s goals and your own and where they fit in together. And don’t say, “Am I doing good?”- have tangible goals to work on together so you and your boss can see progress. Feedback meetings are a good  time to find out what challenges are facing the company and your boss. Ask yourself as an intern “what can I work on to alleviate pressure on the boss’s time / budget / workload ?” This kind of feedback can turn into more of an example of positive feedback when it is focused on what the company or boss needs.

Make your boss’s job easier for him/her…This is the golden rule in any company, but it’s most appreciated in a small company where resources are limited. At a small company, just figuring out how to save your boss an hour a week by improving the formatting of his financial spreadsheet is huge. A CEO of a small company is spread thin and any help you can give them and their team will set you up as a valuable asset.

Show up…At a small company of five people or less if you don’t show up one day that is literally 20% of the effort of the company is not happening that day. You presence should be important. If it isn’t- make it!

Interns can make a big impact on the small company they work for simply by asking “what can I do to help?” Small companies have limited resources, small budgets, and a lot to do in a little amount of time. From the company’s perspective, with a small team and the effort expended to hire an intern, you are already considered a valued member of the team from day one. Make it happen!

It’s an exciting weekend coming up for the YouTern team—we are officially launching YouTern at TiECON Silicon Valley 2010, the world’s largest conference for entrepreneurs, this weekend!

The entire team has worked very hard to introduce YouTern as the first online resource for entrepreneurial driven students to obtain intership positions outside the Fortune 1000 arena. Over 100,000 start-ups created each year in the United States will now have an effective tool for engaging emerging talent for intern positions. For students, YouTern helps prepare them for their professional careers by connecting them to small business executives willing to serve as mentors in exchange for quality contributions from eager talent.

We decided to launch our pilot program in beautiful California because the Golden State has the highest concentration of start-ups and start-up related investments. California is also familiar territory for the creators of YouTern, as executive team members have been instrumental in the rapid growth of online recruiting startups, including Silicon Valley’s WorkMetro, now a part of Jobing.com.  During the next 12 months, we’ll be working to bring YouTern to a national level, setting up interns with start-ups all over the country.

What’s so cool about us? One of YouTern’s unique features is our matching technology. This intuitive process collects parallel input from intern candidates and companies seeking interns, including degree/major, business category, geography, hours available and additional criteria. YouTern then ranks the compatibility using a specially designed algorithm and delivers potential opportunities to interns and employers who opt to receive notification of potential matches via text, or email. End users can set their matching tolerance level; for example, choosing to see matches that are at least 50 percent compatible – and only qualifying matches will be delivered.

Check us out – subscriptions and postings are free, right now! Let us know what you think – and thank you for all your support!

- The YouTern Team

In addition to my company role, I am the proud parent of five children. From the oldest to now the youngest, I’ve told them the same thing my parents told me, and maybe what your parents told you: study hard, play hard, get good grades and excel at whatever you choose to be – and a job would be waiting for you.

Our new economy has broken this promise – presenting a challenge to young talent not seen in decades.

The rules have changed.

Jobs are not just waiting for you. You now have to earn your opportunities. You must carefully plan each step in your career path.

And you will, by recognizing how some of these rule changes benefit you:

• Those entering the workforce no longer have to start at the “bottom” – corporate ladders aren’t mandatory
• More than ever, your input and passion will be highly regarded by an employer – you are “Gen Y”
• In this new economy, you set your career path – you have a choice

My colleagues and I developed YouTern with these new rules in mind.

YouTern provides  students, graduates, employers and career centers a choice when setting career paths. Rather than that summer-long coffee and copies dash prevalent under the “old” rules, you can choose the YouTern opportunity: making a difference while working directly with entrepreneurial leaders in today’s inspired start-ups.

More than any other, a YouTern internship leads to a sense of contribution, confidence, and employment.

Can an internship help you?

· 90% of direct-from-college hires will go to those with internship experience on their resume

· Employers extend job offers to approximately 70% of their interns

· Just 14 percent of 2009 college seniors who hadn’t been interns had jobs waiting for them upon graduation

The rules have changed.

YouTern helps you understand the new rules, adapt to the new economy, and gain a much-needed edge. Combined with our matching technologies, the in-depth profiles, and the easy-to-use Web 2.0 interface – leading edge features I haven’t seen in my ten years in the online recruiting industry – YouTern serves as the foundation of your imminent success.

I want to personally welcome you to YouTern. Take a look around. When you have the chance, take a moment to send an email to me to tell me what most interests you; what you like. And most certainly, let me know what you don’t like. We’ll use your input to constantly improve YouTern and make our site more valuable, to you.