Internship Rating of the Week: XM Satellite Radio

This week the company that students need to watch out for is XM Satellite Ratio! InternshipRatings.com has received 10 users ratings for XM Satellite Radio in DC making it our largest rated company so far! Not only does it have 10 ratings, but almost all of them give great detail about the benefits of their internship program. Here are what a few of the interns had to say:


Mes76:Great internship! I wanted to improve my Excel skills, and I was paired with someone who was great with helping me do that, and at the same time I felt like I was doing something useful.


Lauren: I learned more from my 12 week experience at XM Radio than in any class I have taken in college


Nickib:I loved my internship with XM last summer. The people were great, it was a very relaxed environment, and I got paid! The overall structure of the program allowed for a lot of meetings with upper level management which was great experience when preparing for a job.


Jbleiche: The best part of the internship is how much I was able to interact with people in all departments throughout XM. This really helped me pin-point specifically what type of work I want to pursue in my career. The program is incredibly structured and any problems I ever had were quickly fixed. Great internship all around!


We are so thankful for the enthusiasm of their Interns. Their participation shows us the importance of landing a great internship. All of these students were able to learn real world knowledge of their respective industry, meet great people and enjoy their time as an intern. We only hope that more companies adapt similar programs so other students can have the same experience.


Thank you XM Satellite Radio for really valuing you interns! For more information on XM Satellite Ratio and other companies check out InternshipRatings.com

InternshipRatings.com Internship of the Week: New England Cable News

Internships in broadcast journalism can be very intense. They often require odd hours in a fast paced environment that can be hard to adjust to. But, if you are aching for your television or radio debut, you must begin as an intern. I’m sure back in the day you could have found Barbra Walters fetching someone a cup of coffee.

The internship I chose to review this week is an internship at New England Cable News. It seems like an all around good internship. The user who posted felt comfortable in his/her environment. There was not a lot of grunt work involved and it met the description that he/she signed up. This user did not receive a letter of recommendation, but did receive college credit. Although this user did not get a letter of recommendation, it doesn’t mean your chance at a recommendation is over. After the internship ends, it is appropriate to contact your boss or supervisor. You can let him/her know how much you learned throughout your internship and how important his/her involvement was in your experience at the company. Then simply state that you would appreciate a letter of recommendation for your files. No matter what the answer, it never hurts to ask.

One of the most important aspects of an internship is networking. This internship seems like a great networking environment. The user specifically states that “there's an hour break and lots of time to network - if you're interested in a particular field of broadcast journalism, like sports or investigative reporting, the people are incredibly helpful in getting you into whatever you like to do in your spare time here.” Working at a new station provides people with a lot of opportunity for socializing. Talking to anyone and everyone can only help you!The bad thing about this internship is that it is located in Newton, MA, which is about 8 miles (but 25 minutes) outside of Boston. If you are a college student living in Boston it may be wise to have a car for the duration of the internship. For more information on this internship check out InternshipRatings.com or the New England Cable News job section: www.necn.com/NECN-JOBS

--Lauren

Internship Ratings of the Week: Focus on Mullen

InternshipRatings.com offers potential interns unique inside-information that will allow him or her to make a better informed decision about applying to a specific company. The free expression section of the rating is equally as important as the questions because it allows users to get a more detailed idea about the company. It is a way to learn about specific departments, horror/funny stories, specific responsibilities and other aspects of the experience. Each week, we will highlight a critique that offers meaningful insight (good and bad) about the intern world at Company X.

This week, I will feature a post about Mullen, a communications agency (specializing in Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing) renowned for its business approach termed collective entrepreneurialism. It has grown to become the 22nd largest communications firm in the United States. It is based in Wenham, Mass., a suburb of Boston. Mullen has a well established internship program that has already received more than 200 applicants for Summer 2008. 

The anonymous brand planning intern who worked at Mullen last Summer had the opportunity network, gain an understanding of the Advertising industry and meet other college students. Networking with company employees and co-interns is important for future endeavors, such as applying for jobs. The fact that Mullen encourages employees and interns to interact is a fabulous quality of its summer program. This person enjoyed weekly catered brown bag lunches (my mouth is starting to water) for her department. In addition to this, there were other events like ice cream/pizza parties and intern kickball. Events like this demonstrate a few great qualities about the company and its summer program: 1) It is invested in its employees and openly appreciates them 2) It establishes camaraderie among interns and employees 3) It wants to cultivate an internship program that differentiates itself from other similar communications firms by giving interns perks 4) Activities such as these allow Mullen to gain a greater sense of a person outside of the regular bustling office scene...think of an interactive interview process. 

Another positive aspect of Mullen's program is its focus on teamwork. At the end of the eight-week experience, interns are separated into teams and must create a new business pitch for a client. The presentations are judged by principal members of the company--in this case it was the CEO, COO and New Business Director. This opportunity enables interns to combine all of the skills they have learned throughout the experience and gain feedback from accomplished professionals. This project seems invaluable because of the skills you can perfect (ie public speaking, strategic planning and teamwork). It is more useful for a future career than any mock proposal I have had to turn in at school. I also agree with the post in that "the fact that such high profile people invested time in the internship program speaks to the culture at Mullen." 

If you are interested in reading the rest of the rating, please click on this link.

--Stephanie

It's all in the details

Now, that we have introduced the site to you, here are some of its defining features:

Homepage: The InternshipRatings.com homepage allows the user to get started by either searching for internships, viewing internships or rating internships. A user can search by industry, city or state. You can also click on the search button which leads you to an advance search. This feature allows you to be more specific and even look for companies with paid internships! The homepage also has three ways of viewing internships: Recently Rated, Top Rated and Worst Rated. Read some horror and success stories from past interns. 

Rating Questions: We tailored the questions to the needs of our users. After our own internship experiences and the experiences of others, we determined the top 12 questions concerning an internship. Out of these 12, the top 5 questions correspond with an icon that can be seen easily without viewing the full rating. We also understand the importance of a rate and rave, so there is a comment box that allows you to go into more detail.

Membership: In order to add/ rate a company, you must be a member. By becoming a member you are able to receive updates from the site, see local ratings in your area, and of course rate an internship! 

Anonymous Ratings: Many users are nervous to post an internship for fear that the company might track their review. With the anonymous setting, this is not an issue. When you sign up for the site all you have to do is go to your account settings and click on  "Keep my rating(s) anonymous". It's pretty simple! 

InternshipRatings.com is a bright, colorful site that is easy to use and geared toward the college demographic.

We are working to make InternshipRatings.com the best it can be! If you have any comments, questions or concerns just click on the contact link at the bottom of the site.

Enjoy and rate away!!

--Lauren