Naperville District 203 Career Internship Program

Want to stand out in your internship interviews? Use confident language. What does that mean? It means not undermining your own experiences and stories with words that lack confidence. Here are some of the usual suspects I hear in mock interviews with students: (And what you should say instead) "I think / feel like..." ↳ "I'm confident that..." "I was just a volunteer, but I..." ↳ "I had a great volunteer experience, where I..." "Not sure if that makes sense" ↳ "Let me know if I can clarify anything!" "It wasn't really a real job, but I..." ↳ "I gained valuable experience in my role as..." "I'm sorry if I was rambling" ↳ "I hope that provided a good picture of the..." "This might be a dumb question, but..." ↳ "I'd love to learn more about..." — Bonus: Be mindful of "We" statements v. "I" statements. Your goal is not to just highlight what your team did or achieved, but what YOUR individual actions and responsibilities were that contributed to that success. Compare the two examples below: "We organized an event that had over 100 attendees..." "I led the marketing efforts for an event that had over..." One highlights your team's efforts, the other highlights your individual contributions. Bottom line — your language matters. Confident language gives you confidence Unconfident language steals your confidence And that can make all the difference in an interview.

First impressions matter. But unfortunately, many students miss the mark on LI. Their profiles are a lot like John's (image below): Vague, non-descriptive, and unmemorable This dulls the first impression they give. Imagine you've just applied to your target internship and listed your LI URL on your resume. The recruiter hops over to your profile and sees: • A non-descriptive banner • A blurry, poorly cropped headshot • A headline that is vague and overly common Not the best first impression (on LI). Will this disqualify you from the internship? Of course not. But it won't make you memorable either. Compare it to Ron's profile (image below). The recruiter sees: • A banner that tells a story • A sharp, well cropped headshot • A headline that highlights key qualifications These details matter. Both to human viewers and the LI Recruiter algorithm. They make the viewer want to scroll and learn more. There's a lot more to an impactful LI profile (and presence) than just these three areas, but they are the first thing your profile viewer sees. Be mindful of the first impression they give. — Banner → Canva is free and easy to use Headshot → Career Services offer free headshots Headline → A detailed framework coming tomorrow (10/10) — PS. Want a deeper dive into how students can use LinkedIn to build their brand and gain an edge in their internship and job search? I’ve led my "Leveraging LI as a College Student" workshop at 25+ institutions nationwide (UCLA, Cornell, UT Dallas, and more) — and right now, it’s 25% off. Send me a DM and I’ll share more details!

Tuesday truth!! Have a great day!

This is for all our network with kids in school, who want to find some meaningful career development activity for their kids this fall, which will contribute to their career success. ➡️ We are accepting applicants now! Are you currently enrolled in school, with an interest in learning by tackling real-word work projects? Then come apply to join our #early #talent #teams at the Lean-Education Agile Foundry Laboratory (The L-EAF Lab). We'll provide you the opportunity to: 🔹 Work on actual corporate work, sourced from our clients 🔹 Build out your resume with actual work experiences 🔹 Earn certified skill credentials like Agile workFLOW and Nested workFLOW All we require is that you are currently enrolled in school, and you come with overflowing curiosity, ambition to succeed and roughly 2-4 hours per week you can dedicate to the work. Some of the areas currently in high demand with our clients include: ☑️ Graphic Design & Video Production ☑️ Business Content Creation & Social Media Marketing ☑️ AI Solutions & Software development ☑️ Education and Data Analytics and MORE! So if these are in your interest areas, or you would just like to explore, we can provide you great opportunities to get involved with real work challenges, yet still in a safe learning environment. And we never charge students for this opportunity! Just think how your resume will stand out to future employers and how prepared you'll be on the first day of a new job. To #apply, simply follow this link: https://lnkd.in/e9dZdRvd

Preparing for a career isn’t just about landing the first job—it’s about building the skills, confidence, and network that set you up for long-term success. Take time to invest in yourself today so you’re ready for the opportunities of tomorrow.

Mock Interviews at Naperville Central High School! On Tuesday, September 9, our Career Internship students at Naperville Central had the chance to take part in mock interviews with an outstanding group of professionals from across our community. These opportunities help students gain confidence, sharpen their interviewing skills, and prepare for real-world internship experiences. A huge THANK YOU to the following community members for donating your time and expertise: Uzair Hussain Kimberly White Dana Straple Greg Hawes Andrea Szczepanski Tiara Morris, MBA Anthony Miser Sue J. Striedl Merigan Neben Ann Zediker Amanda Kunzer Rachel Plepel Nina Menis Your feedback and encouragement made a lasting impact on our students. We are grateful for your partnership in preparing the next generation of leaders and professionals. #Naperville203 #CareerInternships #DurableSkills #CommunityMatters #FutureReady Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce

Calling all current and future physician-scientists! 👩🏽🔬🧑🏻⚕️ Apply to be a mentor or mentee in the APSA Pre-Medical Mentorship Program! This fantastic program provides one-on-one mentorship in a year-long program for pre-medical students interested in physician-scientist careers.

🌟 Mock Interviews at Naperville North High School 🌟 A huge THANK YOU to all the incredible community members who joined us this week to support our Career Internship students at Naperville North High School! Because of you, our students had the chance to practice and sharpen their interview skills in an authentic, supportive environment. 💼✨ Special thanks to: Dana Klein, SHRM-SCP Amy Menconi Maya Foss, SHRM-CP Pat Buschette Julie Byrne Ashley Kratschmer Janet Yang Rohr, CFA Donna Wandke Kira Mocon Your mentorship and feedback helped prepare our students for their upcoming internship opportunities—and reminded them that they have a whole community rooting for their success. 🙌 We are grateful for your continued partnership in building strong talent pipelines and preparing the next generation of leaders. #Naperville203 #CareerInternships #DurableSkills #CommunityMatters #FutureReady Brett Thompson Andrea Szczepanski Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce

We can’t keep preparing students for yesterday’s world. Education reform starts locally. At Naperville Community Unit School District 203, we’re connecting academics to authentic work experiences — and it’s changing how students see their futures. Our Naperville District 203 Career Internship Program has grown year over year because businesses, educators, and students believe in something bigger: real-world learning for every student. Want to see how we’re building this movement? DM me or check out what we’re doing. #DisruptEducation #CommunityLearning #DurableSkills #FutureReady

🚨 Community Leaders & Professionals – We Need You! 🚨 What’s one of the most impactful ways you can shape the future workforce? By helping students sharpen the skill that unlocks every opportunity: interviewing. Naperville District 203 Career Internship Program is inviting YOU to join us: 📍 Naperville North High School – September 4, 2025 📍 Naperville Central High School – September 9, 2025 Your expertise can give our students the confidence and readiness to step into real-world opportunities. Even one hour of your time could change the trajectory of a student’s future. 👉 Ready to make an impact? Fill out this form - https://lnkd.in/gX8wPHYz Reach out to: Brett Thompson – bthompson@naperville203.org Peter Hostrawser – phostrawser@naperville203.org Andrea Szczepanski – aszczepanski@naperville203.org 💡 Let’s show our students what community partnership truly looks like. Will you step up? Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Naperville Development Partnership