Customer Reviews

The Intern Files: How to Get, Keep, and Make the Most of Your Internship

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I work at a Career Center in the Mid-Atlantic and we have an active internship program that is run through our office. Jamie Fedorko's book would be a great resource for any of our students who were willing to take the time to read it--I managed to breeze through most of it in just under two hours, even though (fossil that I am) I had to ask a younger colleague to "translate" some of the slang used.

I thoroughly enjoyed the irreverent tone & hip writing, though possibly some would be offended by the occasional profanity used. The advice offered was solid and right on target, though it would have been better had more of the examples of "real interns" been drawn from varied fields (many of them, probably Fedorko's college friends, were based in media/music/arts). Perhaps this will be changed with a future edition!

I also enjoyed Fedorko's final "real intern" story--his own--and am quite impressed to see a recent grad ('04) realizing his dream--to be a writer. Good going, Jamie, and keep up the good work!

From my perspective as an employer, any individual who follows the wise and entertaining guidance in this book will be an irresistable choice for any internship or paid position. I only wish I had this book when I was starting my own career. Brilliant, funny, and vital if you want a career...any career.

--Michael Levin

It is rare you get to meet the man behind the mask. I was so fortunate, however, that I did get to meet Jamie Fedorko. Jamie has done a fantastic job with this book by doing one simple thing, he shares with you the wisdom he gained from being an typical everday Joe Average intern. Jamie genuinely wants students to learn the simple principles in his book so they don't have to hit the pot-holes he got stuck in.

Overall the book covers the basics on how to get, keep and excel in your internships. It is a guidebook and has what you would expect--dress codes, where to look for internships, how to handle office politics, leaving a lasting impression, etc. Because it is well written and has great stories it is able to hold a 20-year-olds attention for over 100 pages--not an easy task by any means. The best points are reflected on what he says about attitude and how to maintain a positive attitude in the midst of sometimes non-exciting internships and the second point is about relationships. If there is one takeaway from this book it would be that you need to build excellent relationships with those in your office (boss included) whether you hate the job, want a full time position or are like most students and have no clue.

We talk about how you have to do at least a few internships to make the most of your college investment in my book The Power of Focus for College Students. If you are smart enough to see the value in doing an internship, then you are likely smart enough to invest a few dollars and learn from Jamie how to do it right.

Happy interning!

This was an enjoyable read, well written - but really lacking substance. If I wanted a good read I'd pickup some fiction or a memoir, I bought this book looking for solid advice on how to gain an internship and sadlly found the book lacking in this department.

About a quater of the book is dedicated to getting an internship, arguarblly the most vital part and the advice given is to me seemed very ho-hum, like it just came out of my teachers mouth.

Where the book is at its best is preparing nervous interns, common sense answers mixed in with some entertaining disaster stories of what not to do.

Overal it was high on style, low on substance. The book cites the dummies guide as a refernce, I cant help but feel it would be more informative.

As a college student who will be in my first internship at this time next year, I really enjoyed this book. Jamie Fedoroko uses humor and his knowledge of internships to really tell you what to expect. Sure he used some advice that you could find in other job search/life on the job books, but some of his material, such as the stories from real life interns and how to find work to do when you have too much downtime, is fresh advice I have not seen anywhere else.

If you are currently an intern or are planning to intern in the near future, don't waste anymore time! Buy this book!

SO entertaining while also informative. Jamie Fedorko does a terrific job giving us all the dirt on the ins and outs of an internship. Also, LOVED the interview chapter with Alexis Feldman. Helpful, witty and cleaver. Highly recommend it to all!

Student-friendly books are not easily found, but the Intern Files by Jamie Fedorko really fits the bill. Fedorko writes in such a way that you can picture yourself sitting down with him, having a beer, and learning about internships from him and his friends, who share their often tragic yet comical tales of the lessons learned the hard way.

While I differ on how you should spend your time when bored at work, wish he could have beefed up his networking section, and covered a few other topics, I still find the Intern Files an excellent resource for students new to the workforce.

I wholeheartedly agree with at least a dozen points...

1. Optimism, enthusiasm, and hard work payoff.
2. The philosophy that work can be good and even fun.
3. Confidence is important.
4. Don't limit job search options to only what you find in school.
5. Internships are an opportunity for career clarification and are never time wasted.
6. Interns have the power to make the most of an experience.
7. Networking is important.
8. Fitting in with what you're wearing is important.
9. Work comes first, and balancing socializing can be a tricky matter.
10. Companies may be a little clueless about what to do with you and often fail to tell you the back-story of an assignment.
11. Chances are you will feel bored at sometime, but you can find things to do.
12. Never burn bridges and always leave on a positive note.

Having experienced some not-so-good experiences, I especially appreciated this quote: "Consider the fact that things aren't always what they seem, and your bosses are all human too. And remember, you're an intern. Be patient--if nothing else, you'll learn how to handle your interns when you're the boss." It's a great reminder for when things are not going as well as hoped!

Review by Jengyee Liang, author of HELLO REAL WORLD! A Student's Approach to Great Internships, Co-ops, and Entry Level Positions

This book gives great advice, does not bore and will guide you through important steps and details that other guides may leave out. It's great and makes a great gift as well!

Clocking in at fewer than 200 pages, The Intern Files seems like a cheap ($15) helpful guide to those who have yet to enter the work force as interns. However, this couldn't be farther from the truth. After reading The Intern Files I had a sudden feeling of dread wash over me, much like how health specialists define a heart attack. I wasn't having a heart attack, I was in shock--shock that I spent a grand total of fifteen dollars and two days reading from cover to cover and I hadn't learned a single thing. The book is definitely a crash course book, and belongs somewhere between "for dummies" and "for padding your bird cage."

The book's chapters progress with a typical intern's process of selecting a job, going to the job, and moving on from the job. Unfortunately, author Jamie Fedorko leaves these first couple chapters with nothing but rambling, because a book can't really tell you how to apply for internships. Next, Jamie switches his role as a helpful narrator to a sinister villain whose only goal is to instill fear in your young teenaged heart. He begins padding his chapters of long tirades with stories that students have sent in to him. It feels less like an actual book and more like a segment of The Onion. These stories range from the pitiful to the comedic. Almost all of them end poorly for someone, but the lesson is always the same--be afraid, be very afraid. Regardless of what kind of story it is, it usually involves a girl who tried to sleep her way to the top, or an intern who manipulated other interns, or how a lack of communication can (obviously) ruin a business deal.

Many of these stories point out facts that teens should be able to distinguish--talk to your boss, be professional, don't tramp around your office, and don't be lazy. The only good section of the book is the part where Jamie points out that it's easy as an intern to want to take on too much. It's also easy as a boss to abuse your intern's willingness to help. It's a great section that isn't talked about enough. Intern abuse (in the form of workload, not sexual harassment) is an issue that's often overlooked regarding internships. Depending on where you get your internship, this could be a legitimate issue if you don't take note of the warning signs.

Jamie Fedorko should feel bad about this book. Its quality is flimsy--the kind of writing that anyone could churn out in under a month. Even less when you consider that half of his material was taken from other people's life experiences (notably awful experiences, for that matter). The subject matter is so poorly conceived that Fedorko actually has the room to prattle on about sex in the work place, yet he still doesn't make the topic interesting to a teenaged boy. The book has neither substance nor any clear understanding of what the author is trying to connect. He gives the reader common-sense knowledge that should already be logical to someone applying for a college level internship, yet gathered all of his data from the socio-economic Darwin reject pool. I think the book could have been made much more interesting had it featured some more hard statistics (with citation, since most of this book is all just personal experiences anyway) and gratuitous use of a reality check. It feels rushed and Jamie Fedorko should feel ashamed.

This book was a wealth of information for a couple of dollars. It helps anyone new to a field & starting an internship for the 1st time know everything they need to know but no one's gonna tell them. It helps stop a lot of "learning the hard way". I wish I would have read this before my first internship. I would have started with knowledge it took me 7 months to figure out on my own.