24 April 2010

Internships for High School Students

Internships can start before college! The College Board (the folks who publish the SAT) provides a good overview of internships for high school students. The examples ring true, too.

Even though high school interns may not have the same type of school credit that college students earn, it's a good idea to visit with a school counselor about how the internship fits your school career.


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 http://www.marybold.com/

17 April 2010

When You Must Take a Call

Regardless of how well you plan, there's bound to be one day at the internship (or on the job) that you must be able to answer a personal phone call. Amid all the warnings to not use your cell phone on the job, what's the best way to take that call?

1 - Try to arrange the time of the call. Chances are, you can take a lunch or coffee break at the appointed hour and remove yourself from the business setting.

2 - If you must be available all day for the call, make the interruption as unobtrusive as possible. Put your phone on vibrate and take a seat near the door if you must attend meetings that day. Excuse yourself quickly to take the call, exiting the room before you start speaking into your phone.

3 - If you must have more of an alert than a vibrating phone, then select a short and muted ring for the day. A low-volume chime may suffice. This is definitely not the day for musical rings, nor barking dogs and quacking ducks. Those rings may have amused you when you selected them and they may be so customary now that you don't even imagine their impact on other people. For most settings, they are too distracting.


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. © 2010 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

10 April 2010

Figuring a Salary: Fast Math

A paid internship (or a summer job) may be described in the pay per hour. A quick multiplication task will tell you how that pay would translate to an annual salary.

Pay per hour X 2000 = approximate annual salary

$8/hour pay is roughly equivalent to $16,000 per year.
$10/hour pay is roughly equivalent to $20,000 per year.
$20/hour pay is roughly equivalent to $40,000 per year.


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. © 2010 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

03 April 2010

Dress Code: Hair Styles

Is there a hair style in this line-up that doesn't belong on the job/intern site? Could be that they are all OK!

Hair style as part of dress code: context is everything.

If you are interning in food service, you already know the rules and they may include hair nets. If you are interning in an office setting, the rules may be unwritten (and have more to do with distraction than health). And in another setting a purple spike may be admired and honored!

If you land in a conservative setting but yearn for a dramatic new hairstyle, you will probably have to wait until the end of the internship to enjoy it. In the meantime, remind yourself that the internship is a learning opportunity and self-expression is not a feature of it!


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. © 2010 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 http://www.marybold.com/