1. Don’t self-destruct: While many of you will be nervous when interviewing, try your best not to show it and definitely don’t SAY it. I actually said “I’m a little nervous,” out loud as we (the 2 interviewers and I) we were walking into the conference room. I guess I felt like I was trying to break the ice or lighten the mood and that it would make me feel more comfortable. It didn’t. All it really did was show that I lacked confidence. This is one of the largest firms out there and they need a confident person representing them and their clients. A person easily flustered by two young interviewers isn’t likely to get the job.

2. DO tie-in experiences: All interviewers are not created equal. You may not get asked many questions or specific questions regarding that wonderful internship you had last summer so it will be up to you to tie-in that experience. For example the question may be asked “I see you have a lot of journalism experience but what pr writing experience do you have?” This is NOT the time for you to say “well I’ve written several press releases and fact sheets,” but rather talk about the statewide pr campaign you were a part of and how many of your press releases and fact sheets you wrote were instrumental in coverage you received across the state. The key point here is to ELABORATE.

3. Resume. Resume. Resume. : Your resume should be the best writing sample you have. Be sure to have it proofed many times by your peers. This may seem like an obvious tip but having not truly looked over my resume since about a year ago (when I began my job search) I found mine to have numerous errors. There were typos, some bulleted points didn’t have periods and some descriptions were not written in the present-tense or past-tense relative to when I worked with each company.

Keep in mind I’ve sent our THIS resume for every job application for an ENTIRE YEAR…….let that marinate. Disgusting.

Layout is also important. My personal resume included the logos of each company that I had worked for. Now this isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker BUT remember the audience. Logos on a resume may have been fine for a boutique agency but not for this agency. This company was as corporate as it gets and perhaps a more “cookie cutter” type resume may have been more suitable.

If you have any additional tips or would like to share your boneheaded mistakes with me then please add them in the comment section

Johnathon Justice lives in Atlanta and is currently interning with the National Wildlife Federation Southeast Regional Center. Feel free to connect and follow him on Twitter.

I’m talking about owning your own team in the National Premier Soccer League.

Before you dismiss the idea just because it’s an amateur league, listen up. While assisting with communications for the NPSL Final 4, I learned a lot about the league and how it is owned and operated.

Basically, any individual may create a team if they wish. With the appropriate business plan that you submit to the league and the league fee of $5k, your team is ready to play. Sort of.

Like any business you need capital, or money, to make your business grow until it begins to turn a profit. While talking to some of the team owners in the league, they believe it costs about $20k to run a team each year.

This is a considerably low risk when you look at leagues like the PDL that cost $75k to get into the league and the USL which costs $250K to enter the league. Thats just to ENTER, you haven’t even began to operate.

With the appropriate staff in place such as a good owner, a good PR and marketing guy and many volunteers, your dream of owning a soccer team is possible. Also, a stadium or venue that sells alcohol is a real plus.

The league is made up entirely of amateur players and because of that, they aren’t paid. Many of your players for your team can be former professionals, college players, club players or even high school if you wish.

The draw of the NPSL for these players is that if they’re in college, they can play to keep their fitness and stay sharp while maintaining ALL of their eligibility. The college players also have the chance to be seen by many talent scouts at events such as the league’s championships.

For club players and high school players, although there isn’t many in the league, the draw is that they can be seen by many college coaches, who wouldn’t otherwise have known about them.

To see how successful and what your team could possibly grow into, we can look at a team only in its 2nd year in the league, Chattanooga FC.

Chattanooga FC has done a brilliant job of branding the team and getting support from its city. Earlier this season, CFC had over 5,000 people at their last home game. Many NASL and USL teams would love to have 5k fans at their matches.

Chattanooga FC runs their club just like any professional team would, by selling merchandise, season tickets, and beer.

If your team is operated well and with the correct planning and hard work, than owning your own soccer team is a very real dream you can achieve.

Currently the NPSL has 36 teams and is divided into several regions across the U.S. Teams play during the summer months, with a total of around 12 matches a season. The league finals are held in different locations each season.

Over 5,000 fans watch Chattanooga FC vs FC Atlas U23's

For more information about the NPSL, click HERE

Some of you may find your “dream” ternship and love what you do and find it to be a great learning experience.

Then there’s the other group of students/grads who find internships that are not fulfilling or valuable. For those few, I have compiled several reasons to leave an internship.

Reason 1: If you’re not learning, leave. Your internship should be a learning experience. Remember that you are trying to get experience so that you can be successful in the future. If you’re not getting the information you need to help you than you may need to make a change. Your most likely working for free, so don’t feel “stuck” and continue to endure a situation that is not mutually beneficial. It’s about you and your future and as always be kind on your way out the door.

Reason 2: Are you performing career related tasks? Are you updating social media and creating media lists  or writing new content for the Web site or are you making copies and labels? Be sure your performing tasks that are going to help you. You may be asked occasionally to do these types of things, which is fine but hopefully your being used for other projects as well. Remember, it’s about you, don’t be afraid to ask for change. At your next interview you want to be able to share your great experience and what you accomplished with that company. Making copies and labels is not going to get you the career you want……unless its at Kinko’s.

Reason 3: Are you being validated? You don’t need someone to kiss you on the forehead and tell you that you’re doing a good job every 10 minutes. What we do need is someone to evaluate our performance and tell us if were performing well or need improvement. Every person in the world wants to be validated. It’s my view that a simple “thank you,” or “you did a great job today,” goes a long way. It’s likely you’re not getting paid so occasional validation may be the only thing that keeps you motivated (There’s that AND getting a job of course).

This is my first blog and would love any feedback that you have. Have you had the same experiences or did you stick it out? either way let me know your thoughts.

FOLLOW ME: @johnjustic