{New York is my campus}

Fordham University's "catch phrase" is "New York is my campus, Fordham is my school," a statement which, although cheesy, I find to ring more and more true as I continue to take advantage of being minutes away from Manhattan. Being able to take advantage of one of the greatest cities in the world has been remarkable. I saw President Barack Obama speak in Washington Square Park in the September of my freshmen year (over two years ago now), have visited numerous museums, interned at wonderful places, saw a little band by the name of U2 perform on the same field of grass that I snuck beers on during warm spring days, and have been introduced to all kinds of people, just to name some of the things I have experienced.

While that little walk down memory lane was fun, I am only continually adding to the list of things I have experienced while here at Fordham University. Most recently, this past Tuesday and the Friday before that, I attended two fashion job events sponsored by the Career Services Center. On Friday I was part of a group that visited the Saks Fifth Avenue corporate center, and met with their head of HR to learn about what kind of internship programs Saks offers. Not only did this experience educate me on Saks's fascinating history, it also supplied me with suggestions applicable when applying to any internship or job. The same goes for the event I attended on Tuesday, called "Careers in Fashion." We were introduced to representatives from Ross Stores, Abercrombie & Fitch, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Target. Again, the panelists provided us with such important information on topics such as resumes, how to present yourself, and how to act while interning.

These two events really showed me how imperative it is that you reach out to your respective school's career services center to see what kind of learning opportunities and services they can provide you with.

I found these tips so important and useful that I have decided to post them here! I hope you enjoy, and find them as useful as I did! {While these were offered by people in the fashion world and some may only apply to that industry, many other tips are applicable in any situation!}

1. Be someone that a company will want to hire! Have a high level of integrity, be goal-oriented, self-motivated, entreprenureal, and have good teamwork skills. Always try to authentically exceed your employers expectations. Enthusiasm and unique answers are always appreciated. Make your prospective employer see that hiring you is worth their investing!

2. Have good communication and social skills. The gregarious applicants stand out more strongly than the wallflowers.

3. Be passionate about your internship. Even if it isn't exactly what you want to do as a career, try to focus on one aspect of it that you can connect to and learn a lot from.

4. HAVE AN OPINION! What are you interested in? What books are you reading or what music are you listening to? Be able to answer what changes you would make to a company. It is good to show that you are interested in progression for the future.

5. Be knowledgable of the business you want to be in. Constantly be observing those around you, what are you seeing?

6. Have both sides of your brain working; be analytical and interested in popular culture. Be on top of what is going on and what is up-and-coming.

7. Think of anything you may have done that could apply to the job you are interested in. Working in retail for three years during high school is really helpful when applying to a job in the corporate side of fashion!

8. Above all else, be honest. Don't lie on your resume, don't exaggerate your skills and experiences to be greater than they were. Prospective employers will see right through it.