August 13

Power and Influence

Monday’s Big Idea

Today's Big Idea: Summer School for the Real World

Today we say goodbye to our summer-long Summer School for the Real World series. We're ending on a high note, though, with an interview with trusted Howard Dean aide Kate O'Connor, who gives invaluable advice on distinguishing yourself in your first job. Working for the Dean campaign was O'Connor's first job, and she arrived at all the tough lessons we all do when we're just starting out, but in a crucible environment where every word was critical and every action had consequences. When your boss is the underdog, there's simply no room for mistakes. Her biggest insight: don't ever make assumptions about what you or your boss stands for or is capable of. Listen, observe, learn. 

We're also celebrating interns who've made it from the very bottom to the very top of their field with this slideshow of seven of our all-time favorites. 

Whether you're going on to graduate school, an internship, or your first paid job, good luck this September!

  1. 1 How to Be An Awesome Underling
  2. 2 Famous Former Interns
  3. 3 Unpaid: How are Internships Affec...
  4. 4 Intern Snobbery
   
  1. How to Be An Awesome Underling

    How to Be An Awesome Underling

    In 1990, Kate O'Connor was the aide for the lieutenant governor of a small, largely inconsequential New England state. Fourteen years later, when Howard Dean became a front runner for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, that job -- her first -- suddenly changed.    

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  2. Famous Former Interns

    Famous Former Interns

    Through luck or sheer force of will, these seven former interns all managed to make it from paper ...

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  3. Unpaid: How are Internships Affecting Newsroom Diversity?

    Unpaid: How are Internships Affecting Newsroom Diversity?

    A story in the New York Times reveals that the rise of unpaid internships may be illegal ...

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  4. Intern Snobbery

    Intern Snobbery

    Behind this phenomenon -- which I call internship-snobbery -- is a deep anxiety. Wary of an increasingly competitive labor market, students engage in the subconscious act of hypercritical inquiry in an attempt to “size-up” their immediate competition.   

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