Success Story - How Jennell Landed an Externship

We recently had a conversation with Jennell, a job seeker who used EarnBetter to help in her job search. Below is a transcript of that conversation - learn more about Jennell's journey, from challenges to big wins, and get her top tips for landing an externship. Whether you're new to job hunting or chasing your next gig, you won’t want to miss her advice!

In addition to the transcript below, you can also view a video of this conversation here.

0:01
Molly: Hi, everyone. I'm Molly, a co-founder here at EarnBetter. And today, I'm excited to be chatting with one of our users, Jennell Greer.

0:10
Molly: Today, we'll touch on Jennell's job search, what helped her during this process, and hopefully uncover some tips and tricks that might help other job seekers.

0:22
Molly: Jennell, thank you so much for being with us here today. We really appreciate you sharing your story and figured we would start with a couple of fun facts.

0:33
Molly: Right, what about favorite food?

0:35
Jennell: So I would have to say my favorite food might be like a buffalo chicken wrap.

0:42
Jennell: I don't know. I love spicy and just incorporating a little bit of greens. I just love it.

0:50
Molly: Awesome. I'm a big fan of that, so I would agree with that being a good choice. And then what about a hobby?

1:00
Jennell: So I love everything sci-fi, so I'm a big Harry Potter fan. I would love to go to Comic-Con one day. I love everything sci-fi, so reading comics and everything—that's all me.

1:14
Molly: Awesome. The password to my Wi-Fi is Dumbledore, so also a big Harry Potter fan. All right, let's move on to some of the meatier questions.

1:27
Molly: Can you share a bit about yourself and your job search?

1:30
Jennell: Yes, sure. So I'm currently a business analytics major, tech enthusiast, I like to say, and current internship-seeker and career navigator.

1:47
Molly: Nice. And I think you just wrapped up an externship. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

1:52
Jennell: Yeah. So I was recently an extern for HP Tech Ventures via the Paragon One platform.

2:13
Jennell: I also performed regression analysis to determine compatibility for those externships.

2:22
Molly: Nice, very interesting. How long did it take you to find that, and what was sort of the process of finding that opportunity?

2:34
Jennell: Yeah, it took me almost, I would say, a month. I had previously done an externship for a company called HappySneez via Paragon One, so I was familiar with the platform and just reached out again and found out about the HP Tech Ventures externship.

2:53
Molly: Nice, good stuff. And then can you share what tools or resources you used during your search?

3:01
Jennell: Yeah, so initially, when I was seeking internships in general, I looked via Indeed because that's where I found previous roles. But I eventually ventured out into other platforms like LinkedIn, WayUp, and BuiltIn because I know they were known for having startups and opportunities in the tech sector.

3:29
Jennell: Those were some of the platforms I used, but I often felt like a mismatch between the suggested roles and what I was looking for.

3:42
Jennell: So that's what actually led me to EarnBetter in general.

3:47
Molly: Nice, good stuff. Anything particularly helpful about EarnBetter or any of the other tools that you used that you would recommend to other job seekers?

4:01
Jennell: Yes, I would recommend LinkedIn if you're trying to build your network. If you're looking to connect with others pursuing a specific career, it's always great to connect with people who have experience in the field. They can tell you what skills are in demand and also how to acquire them and share their experiences.

4:18
Jennell: I love using EarnBetter for more of the resume editing side of things. It helped me create custom documents, which was very helpful in securing my externship.

4:32
Molly: Nice, good to hear. And plus one—I love using LinkedIn for networking and think the power of networking is crucial and important during a job search.

4:48
Molly: So totally agree on that. I know your job search only lasted about a month, but some people are on the job search for a while, and it can be pretty grueling and exhausting.

5:00
Molly: Just curious, how do you stay motivated when you're looking for a new role?

5:03
Jennell: So I would like to start off by saying that originally, I was on a political science track in school. So I wasn't always a business analytics major. When I changed my career, it took me almost a year to actually pivot.

5:26
Jennell: It was very difficult to stay motivated, to be honest. But during those times, I took time to reflect on my goals and also what I needed to acquire to reach those goals.

5:39
Jennell: It's okay to feel unmotivated sometimes, but it's important not to stay in that state for very long.

5:50
Molly: Totally. I agree with that. It's difficult when you're in a low point, but it's important not to focus 100% on your job search, especially if it's going to extend over several months.

6:03
Molly: We know lots of people are on the job search for even more than a year. I agree that it’s important to prioritize yourself outside of the job search and do things that keep you motivated and engaged.

6:14
Molly: Okay, great. Any other tips or advice that you have for people who are on the job search?

6:30
Jennell: Yeah, I have a mantra that I go by: "It starts with you and ends with success." I would just say, don't stop believing in yourself.

6:44
Molly: I love that, that's great. I think a lot of people need to believe in themselves and stay confident. A lot of the job search is out of your control, but focus on what you can control and steer yourself toward the outcomes you're looking for.

7:00
Molly: All right, great. We appreciate your time today. I think that’s a pretty good place to wrap up.

7:07
Molly: Thank you again for joining us today, and thank you to anyone who tunes in. Let us know if you have any feedback or if there’s anything you’d like to learn more about in our next one. We’ll see everybody later.

7:22
Jennell: Thank you.