Welcome to the blog! / Question for Week 2
Hello internship students! As noted in the syllabus, each week you will be asked to respond to a question (200-400 words please) related to your internship experience or our class discussions. For week two, please answer the following (as "Comments" rather than "New Posts"):
After
reading “From Intern to Full-Fledged Team Member,” how has your understanding
of your internship changed? Does this piece
reflect your experience?
The first tip, “Be All In”, is something I think we all can keep in mind not just in our internships but throughout the rest of our time at UWEC. As the HR council member suggested, it’s easy to get lost in the day to day and forget about the opportunities surrounding us. This summer I had an internship in which I mostly kept to myself and did the tasks I was assigned along with projects I thought might be worth pursuing. However, I didn’t spend much time talking to my supervisors about things unrelated to work.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the summer, I was working with my supervisors more on a larger project that would be completed after I left. As I talked more with the owner and manager, I realized that if I had reached out and gotten to know them better, I would have gained so much more from the experience. I would have gotten more honest feedback on my work, seen where their careers paths led them, and been given advice by people who have been in the workforce longer than I have.
With what I read in the Forbes article and my experience with my past internship, I don’t want to let opportunities slip by anymore. I really liked the message from the tip, “Grow In 360 Degrees” and I feel it aligns well with the first tip. We’re here to learn much more than what was on the job description.
I haven't "officially" started my internship with Volume One yet (though I did write one article back in December), but I did a very similar internship over the summer that I found I could relate to this article. It was an editorial internship with a magazine at home in Appleton, but the key difference was that it was performed entirely remotely. I only ever exchanged emails with the editor in chief, and more often than not, it was just a transfer of different attachments. While I did enjoy the experience I got with that magazine, I missed out on really being able to learn more wholly because I never had any face-to-face interaction. Because of this, Points 2 and 6, Consider Every Task An Opportunity To Learn and Experience All Aspects really capture the mindset I want to have going into this semester's internship.
ReplyDeleteIf I wanted to, I'm sure I could complete this internship in the exact same manner I did my summer one; little real communication, lots of emailing, minimal interaction. But, because I have a brick-and-mortar location to go to this time, I want to utilize that to really take in as much as I can. Every opportunity really is a good chance to learn, and I'm excited to see what kinds of skills I can pick up just by working with/next to other people. I'm also hoping to be able to get an understanding of the entire process of publishing a magazine, since that was another thing I never really got to know. One of my goals for this internship was to pick up as much as possible, and by keeping this article in mind, I think I can use it to shape this experience into the most inclusive opportunity I can make of it.
Like Olivia, I haven't officially started my internship. In fact, today will be my first day. While I'm looking forward to it, I'm nervous too. I, like many interns before me, am afraid of messing up, or going wrong somehow and giving my mentor a bad idea of me by messing up horribly the first day. However, after reading the article, I have to say I'm a bit more excited. Several of the points talked about were things I had heard before, but the one that struck me the most was the reverse mentoring.
ReplyDeleteWhile my goal is to learn as much about the newscast industry as I possibly can, I hope to help them as well. I don't want to be, as the article states, the 'ride along' intern, who's just there to get credit and say they did it. I want to learn, and I want to help WEAU 13 understand some of the things college kids are interested in hearing about. I want to connect with my mentor, and others across the departments, so that by the time I leave, if I do, I'll have helped make a good impression on all of them and maybe help the company grow. I understand now that I have as much responsibility for teaching my employer as they do for teaching me.
I found this article very interesting because it really encourages going deeper than the stereotypical role of an intern we sometimes see portrayed in media. It was a good reminder of what I hope to receive (and give) through my internship: I want to be like a sponge, soaking up all that I can. I also hope to establish connections and serve the organization well through meaningful work.
ReplyDeleteIn her response, Tabby pointed out the first tip, “Be All In,” and that was one that most resonated with me as well. I think it can be tempting sometimes to stick to what needs to get done, but I want to remember that this internship is a dream come true for me and an incredibly valuable learning experience! More than just completing the “tasks” that are assigned to me, I want to take advantage of the plethora of experiences that this internship will present.
Another tip from the article that stood out to me was “Ask Purposeful Questions,” as it pointed out not just being along for the ride. While this semester will be pretty packed, I want to ensure I’m not just coasting, especially when it comes to this internship! I want to maximize this time, put in work independently, and ask many questions.
I feel fortunate to be working with the Guild because it’s a source of really rich literary community. While I could just stick to what I need to do, I want to be intentional about attending extra events and engaging with the literary community. At our first team meeting, we took time to discuss our goals for the semester, so I’m looking forward to keeping those in mind as we move forward.
I enjoyed reading this article because it gave me a different perspective on what an interns "power" is. I went into this class and role with the concept of an intern doing the jobs no one else wants to do, and waiting for their big break. Of course this image is a stereotype perpetuated by modern media.
ReplyDeleteGoing into my internship on the first day I learned the real world version was going to be very beneficial and related to my field, however I realized that I didn't know what to do. My boss was very open ended in her thoughts on what I could work on, and I felt like I had no qualifications to be deciding my own path. This article helped me realize that I am able to be in control of my learning by pointing out that I do have insight that may be helpful to the place I am working (as suggested in "engaging in reverse mentoring"). I love the concept of setting expectations for myself and a concrete schedule.
I am luck to be working with Anna at the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra because she is allowing me to demonstrate my ability to work both independently and collaboratively on new projects and concepts I have never attempted before.
Point three ask purposeful questions is such an important point that I often forget. It’s such an important point, especially for interviews. I have been guilty of when “Do you have any questions?” inevitably gets asked, I’ve blanked. Like Bitters said, having questions prepared allows for meaningful conversation. It shows you’ve done your research and that you care. For me this means prepping questions before any interviews or debriefings I have with my supervisor.
ReplyDeleteFollowing, point four plan and schedule was also something I took note of. As a more spontaneous thinker, I sometimes struggle to plan ahead. It’s important for me to read this point and, understanding my weakness, make sure to put for effort into planning meetings with my fellow intern as well the supervisor.
Point 11 to grow in 360 degrees is not something I hadn’t heard of before. Pamela Goldswer explains it as “connecting to culture, emotional intelligence guidance or feedback, as well as finding work-life balance, should all be part of the process.” It’s important to remember that the internship is not just something of buff up a resume. There are so many amazing experiences that can come out of an internship, and I will do my best to remember and utilize that.
What really stood out to me from this article was the idea of creating a meaningful relationship with your mentor as this is mentioned in multiple of the points made. This is something that I knew was important, but I didn’t realize all the ways in which it can be beneficial. It talks about asking purposeful questions in order to engage in meaningful conversations with your mentor which indicates to the mentor that you are there to learn. Mentors not only want you to benefit their company, but they also really want you to gain valuable skills and experience from the internship. They are knowledgeable individuals and have a lot that they can teach you. Also having a good reference is very important as you enter the job market.
ReplyDeleteThis article also made me realize that what you put into an internship is what you are ultimately going to get out. It talks about a lot about being interactive and always looking for different things you can do from talking to other people in the company to creating your own opportunities for projects. It also talks about the importance of knowing what you want to accomplish during the internship and not being afraid to attend different meetings/events of the company. The whole internship experience is mostly about what you can get from the opportunity that will ultimately benefit you the most in the future and this has to do a lot with the effort that you put into the whole experience.
One of the most important things I took away from this article is that an internship is only about adding to your resume—it’s about investing yourself as you take on new responsibilities and set goals to achieve in order to develop your professional abilities. The most important part of this, I think, is the investment. Similar to what has been said in other posts, you have to immerse yourself in the opportunities you’ve been given in order to make full use of them.
ReplyDeleteI would point to number two, “Consider Every Task an Opportunity to Learn” and number eight, “Set Clear Expectations” to stand out the most to me among these points.
In the case of number two, any small tasks that may seem “menial” are often important professional skills. For example, I started my internship with the English Department this week and the work we’ve done so far has mostly consisted of communicating with our site manager and reaching out to other faculty to get started. Even these small interactions have been helping me get used to the routine of e-mailing and communicating often. As for number eight, I found it relevant to my own position and it made me consider what I want out of my internship experience.
The idea that stood out to me from the article is that, by nature, an internship is the sort of thing where the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. It impressed upon me the importance of being proactive with my internship, and that the more initiative taken by us as interns, the more we will grow in terms of experience, connections, and knowledge. This is something I had already sort of known about intellectually (it makes sense that the more effort you put into your internship, the more valuable the experience will be) but something about this article made it really click. Points such as "Consider Every Task an Opportunity to Learn" and "Ask Purposeful Questions" are applicable ways that I can put this concept into practice.
ReplyDeleteThis definitely jives with my internship experience thus far. Even though it's still very early in the internship, there are already many opportunities to push myself and make the most of my position, for the benefit of the CVWG and my own personal growth. For example, the recent Guild retreat was a great place to help out, learn more about what being a career writer looks like, make connections with writers at the retreat, and be taught some cool techniques for my own writing.
The most relevant point of advice in the article for me was to grow in 360 degrees. My internship at the Heyde Center for the Arts has already pushed me into a lot of experiences. I have been meeting with my internship director a few times, as well as already conducted one interview with a performer at their center. I think that from a previous experience in the professional world, it is slightly difficult to push myself out of my comfort zone and do the things necessary to build a relationship with those involved in the internship. I find that I usually do the work and tasks assign, brainstorm with my internship director and mentors, but reading this point of advice made me realize how much more an internship is than simply doing the tasks assigned.
ReplyDeletePutting myself into the professional realm of writing as a student very near graduation, I think that it's important to remind myself that I need to continue to have developed conversations with my director and ask questions about their careers and experience in the field. There is evidently much more to learn than simply doing what you are assigned.
I participated in my current internship last spring semester, and the tasks I’m doing for my internship this semester are mostly the same as the ones I did previously. Looking at this internship as an expansion on what I’ve already done for them, the two tips that I feel are most relevant to me are “Consider Every Task An Opportunity To Learn” and “Engage In Reverse Mentoring.” For example, I’m interning with the McNair Program, and one of my tasks is to organize their publication for student research papers. As I do this again this semester, I want to look for ways I can improve the publication and perhaps write some guidelines on the best way to organize it for future interns. Even though I’m repeating a task I’ve already done, I want to still learn as much as I can from it, and that includes finding ways to improve it. I also think this falls under the reverse mentoring point the article talked about, because my boss has sometimes asked me to research technology tricks. As another example, last semester I learned how to make an automatic table on contents in Microsoft Word, which makes organizing the research journal publication more efficient. I’m excited to be back at my internship to strengthen the professional connections I’ve made with my bosses, the other interns, and the students I work with, and I’m also excited for the new tasks they’ve given me to explore, such as website design and media releases.
ReplyDeleteI won't start my internship until Wednesday, February 12th, but of course I've already been preparing and communicating with my site coordinator. After reading the article, "Experiences All Aspects" really stuck out to me. In my interview, Lisa highlighted the value of this internship as a whole, and also the importance of enjoyment. She told me an internship is about figuring out what you like and don't like. She will be giving me guidelines and will follow up about what seems to interest me the most. In addition, she noticed my minor is marketing, so she asked if I would be interesting in following around a salesperson for the day. I have zero intention of pursuing a career in sales, but hey, I might as well take advantage of this opportunity. Maybe this unexpected path will open up something great for me.
ReplyDeleteThe Forbes article greatly aligns with my internship experience thus far. Though, I might add, the advice in the article can and should pertain to any job in life as they all are indicative characteristics of a strong work ethic. A willingness to work and having a constant drive of inquiry rarely goes unnoticed.
ReplyDeletePoints 2 and 3 are fantastic (Every task is an opportunity to learn//Ask purposeful questions) I was fortunately able to start working as an intern at RealityWorks full time through January. I am currently a Technical Writer intern (I prefer very black and white language so this job is very much a realistic prospect to me), but I have been doing a lot of proofing of curriculum alongside my Product Control Documents (aka, guidelines for factories to follow). I've never been more happy to have so much to do! My supervisor was elated at the fact that I wanted to proof a mile thick stack of paperwork! But, I got handed this task only after I went into her office and said:
"I NEED MORE TO DO."
No, really, be that guy/gal. Be the person who WANTS to work and wants to learn and wants to do things that do not directly fall under the preconceived umbrella of responsibility. Consider your internship as a long-term job interview! If you demonstrate a desire to learn more and do your job well, you A: have a reference for life, probably and B: you might get a job offer at the end of your internship.
So, yeah. Ask questions, take every opportunity to learn, and make sure you are always doing.