PricewaterhouseCoopers

Every year, PricewaterhouseCoopers hires on about 2800 interns, and they pay very handsomely as far as internships go. They may not pay the most, but they are one of the most sought after internships in the entire country, let alone New York City. Most of the popularity is due to the fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers has kept much more respectability during the housing and financial crisis than other accounting firms in New York City. PricewaterCooper has its head offices  in Manhattan.

Ernst and Young

The Ernst and Young internship is highly prized, with one of the higher hourly wages of the New York City internships on this list. They pay a total of $9000 for the duration of the internship, and a whopping 98% of their interns go on to find full time employment. They hire around 2200 interns a year and you can apply for the internship through their website.

Deloitte and Touche

The third accounting firm on this list, Deloitte and Touche is one of the lesser known accounting businesses offering internships on this list. While they may not be well known, their internship is one of the most sought after in the city, with almost 1200 interns taken on every year. You can apply for the internship via their website or contact them at their offices in the Garment District.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs is the infamous investment banking firm that just about everyone has heard of by now. Despite their history, Goldman Sachs has remained one of the most highly prized internships in the city, and offers some of the hightest pay out of all the internships here. They hire very selectively, so you should apply at their website as soon as applications are accepted. Goldman Sachs head offices can be found in the Wall Street area.

KPMG

KPMG, situated in Midtown Manhattan, is another accounting firm, and it offers quite a few benefits that make it very popular to those seeking out an internship. KPMG’s internship program pays about $8500 for the term, and comes with a notoriously high level of on-the-job training. People mostly come to KPMG for the experience it provides with its internship, and you can apply through your school or their website.

JP Morgan

As an investment bank, JP Morgan has grown into one of the most powerful businesses in the world. The interns at JP Morgan benefit from the highest pay of any other intern in New York City, raking in almost $15000 after their internship. This high pay means that they expect the best, and the application process for this internship is extremely strict. If you want to get into this internship, then you need to get your application in on time, without any errors. You can do this through their website.

Merrill Lynch

There are a lot of reasons that interns come to Merrill Lynch for their internship. One of the biggest reasons is honestly the exclusivity of the internship program. Merrill Lynch, with offices in the Theatre District, hires on some of the fewest interns of any other Investment Bank, but they pay handsomely at about $12000 for the internship.

Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers hires on a little over 500 interns for its program every year. Interns at Lehman Brothers can expect to make about $29 an hour here, which will work out to around $12000 for the duration of the internship. This is the highest hourly pay of any other internship in New York City. To apply, you can either go through your college career counselor or apply online directly through their website.

Accenture

Accenture is a consulting firm, and they have a competitive internship program that is the most popular in the city for consulting internships. They only hire on 125 interns a year in this work-oriented internship, and they pay handsomely for the internship. Their website is the best place to apply, since they are constantly changing the requirements for application.

L’Oreal USA

Famed consumer goods company L’Oreal hires on around 100 interns for its internship program. Their pay is classified as “mid-range” for the higher-end internships in New York City, with pay being around $10000 during the internship. The biggest perk of this internship is the experience it gives you working with an international consumer goods business, and the internship helps you to get accustomed to many aspects of doing business in this arena.

There are times when you may need to work remotely rather than in the office, for a variety of reasons. You may have a contract that allows you to work from home on certain days, you may have a job that involves a lot of time out of the office or you could be sent abroad on a business trip.

Some people may think that working remotely can easily be abused, that you may not start work till lunch time or could be watching television instead of writing those reports.

It is important that you work the same office hours of everyone else in your workplace. If you’re travelling you need to let your office know when and where you can be reached, taking into account time zone differences if applicable.

Our opinions and interests are what make us unique and in the office environment, or in everyday life for that matter, this can lead to conflicts.

When it comes to office politics it’s important to remain objective and focus on what is best for the business. Taking sides between two people who are at odds with each other can lead to further complications, you need to try to get them to communicate positively and constructively.

You will earn respect within your company if you are seen to be fair, listen to others and consider both sides of the story. Sucking up to people, gossiping, backstabbing or dirt slinging will always come back on you in the end. You will end up with a bad reputation within your company and could hamper your career prospects.

When you get a call back about a job interview the first thing you should feel is excitement, the company you have applied to obviously thinks your worth taking the time to talk to.

Your resume has already impressed them; however you have to remember you could be on a long list of applicants with similar work experience, skills and qualifications.

You need to stand out to the interviewers as the best candidate, so polishing up your interview technique is a good idea. A nice smile and firm handshake is not going to do the trick.

Interview questions:

Why do you want a new job? Was there a problem with your old one?

Don’t say:  I hated my boss and was expected to be nice to customers even if they we’re idiots.

Do say:      I enjoyed my job and went as far as I could, I’m looking for new challenges and to expand on what I’ve already learned.

The season of good will is upon us once again and along with it the annual office Christmas party. Even in this recession ridden time, we can still celebrate together and look back on the past years accomplishments. You could organize some drinks or a meal, depending on your company’s budget, or perhaps if you really feel like pushing the boat out, hiring a venue and entertainment. Organizing a Secret Santa with your colleagues means everyone feels part of the festivities, and adds a little fun to the office party.

With social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and YouTube becoming increasingly popular, the amount of time people spending on them is going through the roof. Understandably many businesses are looking for ways to prohibit or crack down on personal use during working hours.

While the occasional use or checking in for perhaps ten minutes a day seems harmless, some people spend up to two hours a day while at work accessing these sites. The amount of work hours lost is becoming an increasing problem.

Stress in the workplace becomes a bigger problem every year, with depression, just one type of stress related reaction, being the leading occupational disease this century resulting in more work days lost than to any other single factor. With 25% to 40% off job burnout in the US being directly blamed on work pressures and stress this cannot be taken lightly.

There are several reasons for the increased stress levels in the workplace including job insecurity, growing demands and working longer hours, higher expectation of productivity and the need for a work/family balance as more women have entered the workforce. Worldwide a global stress research study found that women who have children under the age of thirteen and work full time experience the highest levels of stress.

We have all been there, come mid afternoon you feel like snoozing at your desk (not recommended if you want to keep your job!) and your focus starts to waver. You feel drained and exhausted and you find even stringing a sentence together difficult. This drop in energy is a physiological response but the good news is there are steps we can take to prevent it.

A major factor is what you eat at lunch, you need to avoid sugars and simple carbohydrates as these get absorbed into your bloodstream immediately which causes a rise in your blood sugar.