iStudyatHES.com

The best way to get an internship! part 1

2009-07-13T12:28:49Z

The best way to get an internship!
Would you like to know the best way to get a good internship? Yeah me too but it is not that simple. Took me a few months of searching to get one. Well as I already said, I cannot tell you the best way to search for an internship but I can tell you how I did it and perhaps give you some helpful tips and perhaps some other students can comment some additional tips below….. In this first part I will give you some basic tips and one of my personal experiences during my search for an internship.

Before you apply
For a start I would say you should think of all the companies which catch your interest. So just think of all the cool brands or industries you like. You should also think of the type of jobs you are looking for, what you want do learn and in which country or region you want to do it. Big companies might sound good on your CV but the smaller ones could perhaps give you a better insight into the firm and make your tasks more important. Furthermore, I would say try to see this as a real job instead of just a school assignment because you never know if they will be asking you to work for them after you finished your HES studies.

My first steps
Personally, my priorities was to find an Asian company so one of the first things I did was was making a list of interesting companies in Asia. I also started working on updating my CV and Cover letter. This was more work than I expected, so get that stuff sorted out on time! When I finished my CV and basic set up for my Cover letter I thought it was pretty good. But after some time it turned out that it could be improved on quite a few points. So my advice is to ask as many people with some more experience for their opinion but still try to put your own style in it. (yeah I know I am not a professional in this area this was my first real CV, normally I get asked for jobs or create them myself hehe).

Mailing Mailing Mailing
Than it all started I was sending my CV and Cover letter to lots of companies but most of them are pretty fucked up and never replied to my emails. This brings me to my first advise, do not wait for a reply but just keep on sending your applications to more and more and more firms. The ones who are interested will most of the time reply within one or two days. Other than that, there are more ways to contact companies other than by email or online forms. For example, I couldn’t find the right email address for some companies and decided to sent them a letter by old fashion post. Here as well from all the 15 companies I mailed only one mailed back that they where impressed by my CV and would look for opportunities in their Hong Kong office. A month later they still did not find an opportunity… Yeah at some points finding an internship really SUCKS!

Good experience
I was already in Asia so after a while I thought instead of mailing them that I could visit their office tomorrow why not just visit them today. So I did I went to a marketing firm in Shanghai and explained that I was looking for an internship. At first the woman I talked to was saying they already had some interns from Singapore and there would probably not be enough work to hire another intern. However, we did a kind of interview and said she would directly discuss it with the other directors. She returned with the same news she had given me at the start and thanked me for coming. OK THAT SUCKS, but at least I got a direct and clear answer and they took me serious. Well, apparently she did like me because an hour later I received an email with contact info of three other Chinese marketing companies (not just the HR department but real people). I emailed them they all responded in a few hours which alone was awesome already! However, after a few emails it turned out they couldn’t hire me either. But again they did have a close look to my files so I would definitely recommend you just to go to the company of your interest and ask them for the job! Make sure you are prepared, proper clothing, knowledge about the company and have your CV and cover letter ready.

This was just the beginning of my experience and advice on finding an internship. Part 2 will follow. I finally got an internship so there is a happy ending to this story and the best is yet to come! So keep on checking out iStudyatHES.com

R.I.P. Michael Jackson – King of Pop but unsuccessful at business

2009-06-30T22:55:15Z

Check this article which is pretty interesting about how Michael Jackson was so popular but still he couldn’t put the bills together and finally ended up with a huge debt.

AP Business Writers, LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson the singer was also Michael Jackson the billion-dollar business. Yet after selling more than 61 million albums in the U.S. and having a decade-long attraction open at Disney theme parks, the “King of Pop” died Thursday at age 50 reportedly awash in about $400 million in debt, on the cusp of a final comeback after well over a decade of scandal.

The moonwalking pop star drove the growth of music videos, vaulting cable channel MTV into the popular mainstream after its launch in 1981. His 1982 hit “Thriller,” still the second best-selling U.S. album of all time, spawned a John Landis-directed music video that MTV played every hour on the hour.

“The ratings were three or four times what they were normally every time the video came on,” said Judy McGrath, the chairman and CEO of Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks. “He was inextricably tied to the so-called MTV generation.” Five years later, “Bad” sold 22 million copies. In 1991, he signed a $65 million recording deal with Sony. Jackson was so popular that The Walt Disney Co. hitched its wagon to his star in 1986, opening a 3-D movie at its parks called “Captain EO,” executive produced by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The last attraction in Paris closed 12 years later.

One of Jackson’s shrewdest deals at the height of his fame in 1985 was the $47.5 million acquisition of ATV Music, which owned the copyright to songs written by the Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The catalog provided Jackson a steady stream of income and the ability to afford a lavish lifestyle. He bought the sprawling Neverland ranch in 1988 for $14.6 million, a fantasy-like 2,500-acre property nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara County’s wine country.

But the bombshell hit in 1993 when he was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy. “That kind of represents the beginning of the walk down a tragic path, financially, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, legally,” said Michael Levine, his publicist at the time. He settled with the boy’s family, but other accounts of his alleged pedophilia began to emerge.

When he ran into further financial problems, he agreed to a deal with Sony in 1995 to merge ATV with Sony’s library of songs and sold Sony music publishing rights for $95 million. Then in 2001, he used his half of the ATV assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America. As his financial problems continued, Jackson began to borrow large sums of money, according to a 2002 lawsuit by Union Finance & Investment Corp. that sought $12 million in unpaid fees and expenses.

In 2003, Jackson was arrested on charges that he molested another 13-year-old boy. The 2005 trial, which ultimately ended in an acquittal, brought to light more details of Jackson’s strained finances. One forensic accountant testified that the singer had an “ongoing cash crisis” and was spending $20 million to $30 million more per year than he earned.

In March of last year, the singer faced foreclosure on Neverland. He also repeatedly failed to make mortgage payments on a house in Los Angeles that had been used for years by his family. In addition, Jackson was forced to defend himself against a slew of lawsuits in recent years, including a $7 million claim from Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the second son of the king of Bahrain. Memorabilia auctions were frequently announced but became the subject of legal wrangling and were often canceled. Time and again, however, Jackson found a way to wring cash out of high-value assets, borrowing tens of millions at a time or leaning on wealthy friends for advice, if not for money.

Al Khalifa, 33, took Jackson under his wing after his acquittal, moving him to the small Gulf estate and showering him with money. In his lawsuit, Al Khalifa claimed he gave Jackson millions of dollars to help shore up his finances, cut an album, write an autobiography and subsidize his lifestyle — including more than $300,000 for a “motivational guru.” The lawsuit was settled last year for an undisclosed amount. Neither the album nor book was ever produced.

Another wealthy benefactor came to Jackson’s aid last year as he faced the prospect of losing Neverland in a public auction. Billionaire Thomas Barrack, chairman and CEO of Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm Colony Capital LLC, agreed to bail out the singer and set up a joint venture with Jackson that took ownership of the vast estate. Barrack was unavailable for comment Thursday, but referred to the singer in a statement as a “gentle, talented and compassionate man.”

A final piece of the financial jigsaw puzzle fell into place in March, when billionaire Philip Anschutz’ concert promotion company AEG Live announced it would promote 50 shows in London’s O2 arena. Tickets sold out, and the first show of the “This is It” tour was set for July 8. Jackson, who has won 13 Grammys, hadn’t toured since 1997. His last studio album, “Invincible,” was released in 2001.

But the opening date was later postponed to July 13 and some shows moved back to March 2010, fueling speculation that Jackson was suffering from health ailments that could curtail his comeback bid. His death, caused by cardiac arrest according to his brother Jermaine, raised the question whether an insurer would refund money to ticketholders. AEG Live did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Jackson was practicing for the concert in Los Angeles at the Staples Center with Kenny Ortega, a choreographer and director of the “High School Musical” movies, who has worked on previous Jackson videos like “Dangerous” in 1993. “We had a 25-year friendship. This is all too much to comprehend,” Ortega said in a statement. “This was the world’s greatest performer and the world will miss him.”

adidas MTV party in Brighton

2009-06-30T22:07:08Z

We gotta wake up earlier next semester!

2009-06-30T22:24:21Z

If you didn’t check your HES email lately, there is a little surprise: time table change!! yes, from next semester the first lesson starts at 8:30 AM. Unfortunately we are gonna have to wake up earlier, skip breakfast as usual, find out what time is the bus/metro coming and make it to HES on time. The bright side is that earlier the metro is not that packed as at 9am.

Well, this is the new schedule which was sent to the all international programmes and of course as usual, it is in Dutch. I don’t know what is the problem with HES, they don’t really decide whether it is an international school or just a bunch of international ppl hanging out in rooms. Anyways, we “international students” are challenge with this kind of dutch emails all the time so we have learnt some dutch… so in a way thanks HES for making us smarter ppl… but that actually make HES a bit… stupid?

This is it, go to bed early:

Yo! What’s up? Back in business

2009-06-30T23:20:06Z

Hello peeps!

This is Nico and I’m finished with my exchange period at Brighton University, I had the best time of my life! I’ll tell you more about it in another post, but seriously, I totally recommend everybody to go on exchange, lots of things happens, you learn in many many different ways!

As you know (if you are HES student) right after exchange you gotta do an internship. So what I am doing now which I should’ve done waaaay before, is starting to apply to lots of companies and see if someone takes me! So far I realised about a couple of things that you should take under consideration when looking for an internship but that as well will come in another post, so keep checking the site now and then. Anyways, if you know of an internship in finance or marketing, let me know!

Alright, keep in touch!

laterz

Nico

If you have Twitter, follow me at> http://twitter.com/chenico

Also follow iStudyatHES at> http://twitter.com/istudyathes

Questionnaires

2009-06-30T22:25:24Z

Hey you guys!

Last week I received lots of emails from the HES/HvA with questionnaires asking for my opinion about all sorts of HES related stuff. Of course the HES would not be the HES if half of them was not applicable to me but I did fill most of the questionnaires because i study at hes.

Sure it will cost you a little of your precious time but I know all you guys are complaining about everything but never to the right person. SO TAKE YOUR CHANCE, FILL IN THESE QUESTIONNAIRES and help to improve the quality of the HES.

By the way, there is one about Sorbon so you can actually tell Sorbon all about your good and bad experience. Do you remember one of the early days iStudyatHES.com discussions about Sorbon?

Click here for the ”Getting ripped off at sorbon” story

adidas MTV House Party in Brighton

2009-06-30T21:59:30Z

Hello there! In an earlier post I mentioned that I won an adidas MTV party by entering in a Facebook contest. The party was held the 14th of May at the Hanbury Club in Brighton, UK (where I’m doing my Erasmus exchange). adidas Originals is celebrating 60 years of soles and stripes and it is organizing house parties all around the world with the same theme as the commercial which features famous ppl like Missy Elliot, Katy Perry, Mark Gonzales, The Ting Tings, Estelle, Method Man and even Ilie Nastase.

The party I won was awesome too (eventhough nobody from the commercial came). The whole club was redecorated as a house, including a kitchen, 2 beds, toilet, there was a bathtube filled with ice and bottles of Heineken, arcade machines, pinball, karaoke, playstation 3, etc. I had the chance to invite 70 of my friends which all of them got free adidas clothes. The adidas Originals and MTV management also came to the party as well as a couple of adidas models and journalists from local newspapers and radio.

The party started with my housemate rock band playing a couple of songs, one specially dedicated to me “el matador”. Then came Dynamo, which is the best street magician of the world, and performed a couple of insane tricks. Meanwhile a MTV official DJ was playing in the background. Later, London based electro-band Filthy Dukes played a couple of songs from their last album “nonsense in the dark”. Seriously these guys rock. Since it was my birthday as well, I got a special cake with the shape of a house and the MTV and adidas logo on it. At that time, the DJ was Norman Jay which is a big name DJ from London and known as the father of house music.

A couple of days later, I appeared in the local newspaper “The Argus” and in a couple of magazines! pretty cool huh? In the adidas Originals page in Facebook there is a section where you can see all the pics and videos and also a couple of posts with me telling how the party was. One of my teachers at Brighton University recognized me in the newspaper and in one of my feedback reports from an assignment he called me “party animal” hehehe, can teachers do that?

Now everything is over, got lots of adidas clothes and I got a couple of really good business contacts from MTV and adidas Originals, who knows I might get to work for one of these multinationals…

Check out the pics and links!

The Argus - Competition winner get birthday bash to remember

You got papped – Brighton student wins the ultimate house party

Latest 7 – Lucky Boy

Radio Juice 107.2 – adidas MTV clip – mtvnicojuice1072

adidas Originals – Host with the most contest winner (video)

adidas Originals Facebook – Host with the most contest winner note

Exams are over time to party!

2009-06-08T02:16:59Z

Finally all the study hours are over! I hope we all passed the exams and don’t have to bother about any resits. Yeah that means we have got a long holiday ahead. I counted 85 days before normal HES study weeks start again! But yeah it sucks if you got some resits but just party first and than check out our exams section! Other than that, remember the following:

”What you know is less important than who you know”

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So go out into the world, celebrate life and meet lots of people this summer!

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Good luck with the resits and see you next semester

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AFTERPARTY

2009-06-03T03:14:31Z

This Saturday Babylonix and iStudyatHES present the HOTTEST BBQ of the year and YOU are invited! (click here for more info)

After the BBQ Beach party our bus will take you HOME! That’s right, we will bring everybody home, to CLUB HOME! yeahh time for an AFTERPARTY with KitCatKlub! Just like last years iStudyatHES party this will be a night to remember! Think of good DJ’s, different dance/chill area’s and beats to make your body move!!!

And of course we give HES students a nice discount!!!!

Get your ticket in the party bus which takes you to the beach party and back HOME to the AFTERPARTY.

In case you’re not able to come to the beach party you can still join the fun at the KitCatKlub Afterparty! (near rembrandplein)

Just a few more exams at HES

2009-02-20T06:18:28Z