August 2011 Archives

Well folks, this is it, the last of my summer internship blog posts. I will be officially finished with work this Thursday, August 25, which just happens to be my 21st birthday :) This last weekend was an eventful one; the Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival which I've been working hard on all summer finally happened! It was a ton of fun and I was really pleased with how it turned out. However, it was about 12 hours on my feet, so I'm a bit exhausted. I suppose my last bit of advice would be to tie up loose ends and make sure to take examples of your work with you for future jobs.

Next week, I will be loading the photos I took, the videos I made and the press releases I wrote onto a zip drive. I will be packing up the festival components and re-organizing the computer files that I used to pull it all together. I'll say good-bye to my co-workers, give my boss a little gift, watch one last Sparky Show and be on my way. It is definitely a sad thing for me, but on the bright side, the fact that I'm sad means I had a blast this summer at my job! They didn't even pay me and I want to keep working there. Now I know that I love non-profits and small organizations and that they are a great fit for my future.

I was extremely dedicated to my work and I know it has shown. My boss actually had me go into the channel 5 studio to do an interview about the festival we put on! In the future I can definitely ask him for a recommendation, and I know it will be glowing. Before you leave your internship, make sure to get contact information for people you will want to be in touch with, for personal or professional reasons. You never know when you might need to ask something of them or have something to offer in return. Make sure to take as much of your work as possible with you. I'll be gathering up the programs flyers and map that I helped put together for the festival. Last but not least, make your mother proud and say thank you to each person who worked with you and helped you learn.

Alright, I'm getting nostalgic and rambling. So now I will say good-bye. Best of luck to you all in your internship endeavors, whether you love it or hate it, I know you'll all learn a lot! Thanks for reading, and feel free to contact,

<3 Emily Smythe

Alas, summer is coming to an end. For me, and many others, this means internships are also coming to an end. Though there are many things you can learn and take away from your work in any internship, perhaps the most important is contacts. Of course your work is the best way to make an impact on your employer and co-workers, but to help them remember you (and remember you positively) the way in which you leave is also important.

You don't have to do anything fancy or expensive, a sincere note of thanks is perfectly adequate. In my case, since I work closely with my two bosses, I have the ability to do something a little more personalized. For my Como Zoo boss, I will be buying a box of energy bars since I know he thinks meals take too long :) For my Dodge Nature Center boss, I will be baking something sweet, since making things from scratch says you care enough to sacrifice your time.

I will do this not only to show my appreciation for the things these people have taught me, but also so that when I call to ask a question, get a recommendation or even apply for a job at either organization, they will remember me and remember me well. The more personal you can make your final interactions, the more memorable you will be. All of this leaving business is a facet of networking. Networking is one of those buzz words that can seem ambiguous and intimidating, but really, it's nothing more than learning about people, learning from people and making sure you're remembered.

One of my favorite things about my internship at the zoo is that there is always so much work! It might sound crazy, and it sort of is, but I love feeling like the work I do is important. Meaning, if I didn't do the work, it just wouldn't get done. People wouldn't know about all of the awesome opportunities and events that happen at the zoo, or at least fewer people would know. However, with so much going on, I sometimes find it hard to balance my needs as an intern with my duties as an employee.

What I mean by this is that as an intern I should be learning and asking questions to further my understanding. As an employee, I feel compelled to help in any way I can, regardless of what I'm getting out of the tasks I'm asked to do. That's not to say that I don't learn from my tasks, but there are certainly things I want to explore that aren't covered. For example, as the new co-PR chair for the university chapter of Habitat for Humanity, I needed to know some specific info about getting media attention. I know now how to write a press release and I feel comfortable with that, but I still wasn't sure when to send out the release or who exactly to send it to within different media outlets.

I put off asking my boss about this for a while, partially because there were more urgent things to take care of and partially because I just didn't want to impose generally. Finally, I realized I needed to go ahead and ask because there was actually a press release I had to send out for Habitat, it was no longer a hypothetical situation. I wrote my boss a quick email, kept it short and simple, and got the response I needed. In fact, I got a slew of wonderful media contacts that my boss has been compiling for years, "gold" he called it. I've only been given permission to use them for my first press release, but they are priceless.

I also asked to sit down and just chat with my boss about his career path and his current position. He honestly does not often eat lunch because he finds it to be a nuisance. That is how busy the zoo is. But we went and grabbed some sandwiches and he was perfectly willing to answer my questions.

Though your supervisor at your internship may seem intimidating, odds are he or she wants to help you learn. That is why you are an intern! In my case, I know that I am doing immense amounts of work and that I'm unpaid. Sometimes I still feel that I owe something in exchange for the amazing opportunity I've been given to work and learn at the zoo. It really is a fantastic job. But when I sit down and think about it, my boss should definitely be inclined to throw me a bone for all my free, hard work! Anyway, I suppose the moral of the story is don't be afraid to ask questions. Your boss, at some point perhaps not so long ago was an intern or in an entry level position, and if he or she is even mildly considerate, your questions will be rewarded.