25 October 2008

College Intern Evaluation

Evaluation at the internship site may include a formal evaluation by the site supervisor. This process may be very different from grading in class.

Issues you can control: your performance, your attendance, your attitude.


Issue you cannot control: the supervisor's philosophy about evaluations.


Some site supervisors routinely give high marks to student interns. A common reason:
"I want to help the student get a good grade."

Other supervisors work hard to make an objective but supportive evaluation. A common rationale:
"I hope to communicate to interns the standards of professionalism in the workplace without punishing them for being inexperienced."

And some supervisors apply the rigor of a professional evaluation. A statement might be:
"I never give the highest rating to an intern because there's no way a pre-professional can perform at that level yet."

Campus instructors who assign the grade at semester's end understand the variability of scoring from one practicum site to another. The best way to understand how the site evaluation will align to your course grade is to ask your instructor!


The content on this blog is not offered as legal advice or guidance. Consult your college, advisor, or internship supervisor for help with issues surrounding internships. © 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Dr. Bold is a co-author of the book Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. More about Dr. Bold can be learned at www.marybold.com

18 October 2008

Don't Pilfer at the Internship


Pilfering is stealing...
in small amounts.


The classic example is "pilfering paper clips" from the workplace because that makes the point that the item being stolen is of small value, of and in itself.

But it's still stealing.

Ethics on the job, which includes ethics on the internship even if the work is unpaid, demands that you consciously avoid misuse and misappropriation of any part of the workplace.

Parts of the workplace:

Paper clips and other office supplies
Equipment of any kind (even overnight borrowing)
Phone lines
Internet access
And everything else!


The content on this blog is not offered as legal advice or guidance. Consult your college, advisor, or internship supervisor for help with issues surrounding internships. © 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Dr. Bold is a co-author of the book Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. More about Dr. Bold can be learned at www.marybold.com

11 October 2008

College Intern's Email Handle


Email handle AKA
  • email name
  • email username
  • email account
Comfortable with yours?
  • very
  • guess so
  • don't think about it
Maybe you are very comfortable with your email name because you think it reflects your great personality. The problem is: PrettyPerky@chickmail.com may not be the image your internship has in mind.

Maybe you guess it is OK because you've assumed that everyone who needs to know who you are can figure it out. The problem is: most internship supervisors don't know that MikeOn16@campus.edu refers to the Mike who lived on the 16th floor of his first-year dormitory.

Maybe you don't think about it because your email handle is invisible to you. You haven't noticed it since you matured beyond the humor that made pukinggoodtime@myschool.com a good idea (at the time). And you literally may not see it anymore if your email program hides details. (Out of sight, out of mind.)

Here's the better question for the college intern: is your internship supervisor comfortable with your email handle?

Tips:
  • Before you even apply to an internship, create a professional email handle, either as an alias or by opening a new email account. (If you create a new account, remember to check it often or forward it.)
  • If your internship site creates an email handle for you in their system, use it. Besides establishing your intern persona in the site's environment, maintaining that account will help you keep your internship boundaries!
  • Start thinking of all aspects of email as professional communication.

The content on this blog is not offered as legal advice or guidance. Consult your college, advisor, or internship supervisor for help with issues surrounding internships. © 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Dr. Bold is a co-author of the book Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. More about Dr. Bold can be learned at www.marybold.com

04 October 2008

Holidays at the Internship Site

Interns are sometimes surprised at how holidays are handled at their practicum sites. Whether celebrated or ignored, a holiday reflects a conscious choice by the site and it may not match your opinion or choice.

If you have strong convictions about how holidays are acknowledged, consult your campus instructor about how comfortable you can be in certain settings. Your own self-knowledge is the most important input for deciding about your participation in those settings.

Sometimes interns are reluctant to raise questions about holiday matters with their site supervisors, which is why the campus instructor is the best place to begin the discussion. Some phrases to get the conversation going:
  • My personal convictions about Halloween conflict with my site's plans for a party. How can I handle this situation?
  • I don't understand my mentor's reluctance for Halloween decorations. Should I ask about it?
  • I don't celebrate Christmas but I'm surrounded at the site by people who expect participation in their holiday. What should I say?
  • My faith includes observances that are not on the typical workplace calendar. How do I approach my site supervisor about my need to be away from the internship?
  • Some of my site's clients talk about church, and some of them talk about temple, and some of them don't talk about their faith at all. Should I tell them about mine?
Your campus instructor can help sort out options with you especially if you plan ahead. If your semester of internship will include typical holidays on the calendar, address sensitive issues at the start—even before you apply to a site. If you are already in an internship and now recognize a conflict of values as the fall holidays approach, act quickly to begin a conversation that honors everyone involved.

The content on this blog is not offered as legal advice or guidance. Consult your college, advisor, or internship supervisor for help with issues surrounding internships. © 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Dr. Bold is a co-author of the book Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. More about Dr. Bold can be learned at www.marybold.com