This was a major topic of discussion at a recent meeting I attended at Cal State East Bay so some of it is still fresh in my mind. One of the important factors I use to determine whether or not to accept an intern is their expectations.
(a) expectations of how much 'work' they have (or are willing) to do
(b) expectations of what they want to learn/practice/accomplish
(c) expectations of what they believe they can contribute

Greetings,

I am an intern supervisor for the "otherside", the College side.
Have you considered or have been appraised of what the College program requires of its students?

In my opinion for the intern process to be successful there needs to be regular conversation between the many wonderful professionals who give of their time, and the program asking them to put the final shine on students. The internship is the very last time I as an educator can influence the skills, competencies, and professionalism of our students. We ask a great deal of practitioners in this respect.

I am glad to see this discussion, keep it going!!!

Arthur Graham...
Dept of Recreation & Leisure Studies
The College at Brockport
State University of New York

Enthusiasm usually fizzles after a week or so. If you want to convert an internship into a job... keep up the enthusiasm. Let your employer know you are interested in the mission and goals of the department and not just what comes every other Friday. Invest yourself in the internship/job and the department may "invest" in you.

The number one biggest mistake an intern can make is to not be reliable. If you are asked to perform a task, do it so you would be proud to put your name on it. If your supervisor asks you to cut 5 billion flyers/season passes/whatevers, you make sure that all 5 billion are straight, square and perfect. Not one person that receives the flyer/pass/whatever may notice... but the person that may hire you at the end of your internship sure will.

Make sure you dress for success. We often see students coming in for internship interviews wearing hats backwards, "slacking", short shorts, ratty shoes etc. You should always dress for the job you want.

First impresssions are very important, especially if your goal is long term employment.

I agree with Gary, enthusisam, passion, and being willing to accept tasks that may seem challenging are very important.

I just returned from visiting and intern in the metro Wash. area. While I was there the organization shared with me that they intend to offer her a position this week, starting in May when she graduates.

On the other hand I also agree with Al-Pres09. Two weeks ago a student came into my office to ask a question. I noticed that he was dressed up so I asked if he was going make a class presentation today. He replied no, that he was going to an internship interview.

I asked if he had a belt, as he was not wearing one, again his reply was no, neither was he wearing a tie. I gave him a tie I keep in my office and suggested that he find a belt.

If I were the interviewer, I would have had a hard time considering him.

Being professional is so important. It is first a statement of one's self and second a way of projecting creditibility to the public.

Arthur Graham...

I was wondering if you thought that it is always important to go into an interview dressed in a shirt, tie, belt, shoes, and the whole get-up? I have always struggled with this in some of my interviews. I always wonder if I should be wearing all of that for what I know is a casual interview at a laid back summer camp. Any thoughts?

You only have ONE chance to make a 1st impression, so always dress professionally for an interview no matter what type of interview it is.
As someone who conducts interviews, I would MUCH rather see an applicant over dressed in comparison to under dressed. It makes me think that you are serious about the position by taking time to dress up.

You always dress up for an interview. For a daycamp counselor position I suggest dress pants and long sleeve shirt and tie. Dress shoes and freshly ironed is a must. This will make you stand out from all the others that show up slackin' and shows that you take the job seriously and will truly care about your performance. I have hired hundreds of counselors and well dressed almost always are hired. Ladies, same goes for you. Be conservative in the dress, higher collar lines and skirts no shorter than just above the knee or better yet slacks. ACT PROFESSIONAL and you will be treated as a PROFESSIONAL!

I agree with the previous posters that it is important to show up nicely dressed for the job even if its "just a summer camp" job. It's a job, hopefully it's important to you, and dressing up shows this. Plus in the end, many of my candidates all have similar experience/backgrounds, so it's always best to do a little more to separate yourself from the pack.

Thank you to everyone who has responded. All information is very helpful. Mr. Graham, I would like to let you know that the university I attended has an entire pre-internship class to cover what our program requires of us and is a wonderful help to me as I am currently looking for my internship and setting my goals.

I would like everyone to know that Central Michigan University has a unique internship program, where most of our undergraduate students go on a 30 week internship. The internship can be broken down into two 15 week internships at different sites or at one site. It is an amazing opportunity for us to take an entire year to learn, grow, and improve our professional skills.

If anyone has any other suggestions for a soon to be intern please do not hesitate to contact me at stone1ar@cmich.edu. Once again thank you all so much for the advice!

Ashley Stone

Ashley,
30 Weeks of internship WOW! Since you are TR are you also going for Child Life Specialist?

We also have a 1 credit pre-internship class. One weakness we have found is that students need a resume from the beginning of classes.

So as part of our foundations class we reirre our students to begin an eportfolio and place in it a resume that is part of the class assignments.

I wish you the best!!!

Mr. Graham...

I want to thank Ashley for asking the question and all of you for answering. I am going to be going for an internship soon and appreciate the feed back. I am hoping that this site will help introduce students and professionals in the field.

I am also a student in TR attending Arizona State University. We are only required one internship. As professionals do you think the internship site is important to your future career? For example, I am unable financially to travel out of state, but do not want this to count against me later. My professor/advisor has expressed that she would like us to have a clinical based internship for the experience, although recreation settings help to build program planning skills. Any thoughts on this?

Mikala

Mikala,
As you may surmise from my "subject" choosing the right site for yourself is very important. I am sure you are thinking about the population you want to start working with. This is key, you will want to continue the enthusiasm you bring with starting your new career.

Also, in the many years I have supervised interns, many if they apply themselves will be offered a position by their intern sites. So, deciding where you want to live (far away or close to family)is another factor.

Further, the type of organization is yet another factor (public-VA Centers, tax-exempt-hospitals or treatment centers, the commercial). Do your values match the organization?

I am sure there are many fine intern opportunities in AZ. I wish you the best.

Arthur Graham...

Arthur,

Thank you for your input. I have narrowed down the population, now I have to look into the organizations. Matching my values to the organization really was not something I focused too much on before. You brought up some great points to think about.

I will have to share this knowledge with fellow students.

Thank you.

Mikala

Mr. Graham,
I know 30 weeks is a lot, and as of right now I am not getting my CLS, but I am hoping to go back and get my masters in something along the lines of RPL Administration with concentrating in community and non-profit organizations, and maybe getting my CLS then.

Mikala,
I know you are worried about not being able to afford going out of state, as am I, but if you get involved with your local ATRA chapter or NRPA chapter, there may be scholarships available which can help you pay for it! I am applying for every scholarship possible so I can afford to go to my dream site when I find it! Best of luck!

Ashley

Mikala,
There are many pots of $$$ out there as Ashley mentioned. And, regional park and rec. assoc have scholarship opportunities for both undergrad and grad students. I just returned from my state conference (New York State) and three scholarships $750. were awarded to undergrads at two colleges.

So, keep networking, it is all a matter of desire.

Arthur Graham, CPRP
Dept of Recreation & Leisure Studies
The College at Brockport
State University of New York

What should interns know about tattoos and piercings--eyebrow, tongue, lip, etc. for both interviewing and internship?

I recently had a discussion with 4 students about texting. The two girls said they spent about 2 hours per day texting. They felt there was nothing wrong with texting at work as long as the employer had not told them they weren't to do it or there was not an express policy about it. I would like to get a wider variety of opinions on the subject.

Dan,
You and I are from a different generation then these kids. I personally would find it completely unacceptable to text while at work, and wouldn't even consider doing it.

I would consider it part of work ethic/etiquitte (sp?). Just because it's not written or said that you can't do it, doesn't mean you should.
I'm sure it's not written anywhere that you aren't allowed to set the facility on fire, but none of us would do it. Of course that is breaking a law, and texting isn't so I'm not sure that's the best analogy.

What I try to explain to my employees as that while they are on the clock they are on our time, not theirs. A custome could walk in and see an employee sitting at the desk texting and may think "my tax dollars/membership fees pay for this?" has this employee nothing better to do?

Always look for ways to make yourself/your agency better all the time. If there is some down time, hop on line and visit pages such as RecWave to see what's going on the field.

If all else fails, they can always be replaced by someone who gets it. In today's job market, you'd think that would be easy.