Assignment 7: Growing Leaders

valeryprada
Sep 23, 2017
3 min read

How to be a successful intern:

In Tim Elmore article, Advice to a Would-Be Intern, Elmore speaks about how students are not prepared adequately to go into the real world. They graduate college and get their degrees, but once it comes to actually working in their field they at times lack the mentality to be successful. He had a friend that had told him the interns he had over the summer were quiet awful. In response to this Elmore advised that to get next years interns to work differently, he should present to them the internship in a different light. He told him to tell the them "an internship is like a twelve week interview. Its a stimulation of the job you'll have one day" (Elmore).

This would gear the mentality of the interns to the correct directions. A lot of times in today's world students believe that just because they landed an exciting internship that is all they have to do, but quiet frankly there is a lot more than just getting your foot in the door. By showing them a different perspective of what an internship really is, the students will open their eyes and do the same thing. They will treat the internship differently. They will realize that everyday counts, everyday is a day to learn and grow. As Elmore said, "They realize every day is a time to observe and be observed. A time to both labor and learn." This is the mentality to a "healthy internship".

Elmore also speaks about what he personally searches for in interns. Top qualities to have are teach-ability, initiative, responsibility, and energy. Teachability as in students who desire to learn and be taught. They are open to being shown new things. initiative as in students who do and know what needs to be done without being told. Responsibility as in students who "own the task they are given." Energy as in students who are well motivated and driven to work towards the same goal as the company.

Applying the four secret ingredients to being an excellent intern at my own mentorship:

I believe that something that comes hand in hand with teachability is not expecting to be taught. It is a personal responsibility to get engaged and ask questions to get knowledge in return. Mentors are open to showing you what it is all about, answering your questions, having you there, and guiding you, but they will not do all the work. Do not expect for them to be like okay this is lesson one and we will be learning so and so . Instead you are in charge of what you will be learning. They already have the knowledge. They have already asked the questions before. Therefore, it is your turn to explore, ask, and grow. The more you ask the more answers you receive and the more new questions pop in your head. Its like popcorn once it starts poping it won't stop.

Therefore my goal at my internship is to ask meaningful question constantly. To be engaged and proactive, I want to build a positive reputation throughout my internship. I want to be know for being passionate about learning. When an opportunity to see procedure appears, I want to be the first intern that pops in their head to allow to come observe. My plan is to do some research on my own about the field, so that I have a base to develop more meaningful questions to ask my mentors. Questions that not only intrigue me, but also my mentor.