An Internship: A Twelve-Week Long Interview

The following link is a blog by Tim Elmore: http://growingleaders.com/blog/

Tim Elmore blogs about how unprepared college students are for the workforce. After a friend of his gave six college students a twelve-week interview, the friend admitted that he wanted to dismiss them after a month. Elmore then gives suggestions about how a student should handle a mentorship/internship. He advises that an internship should be treated as a twelve-week interview. An intern is constantly being observed, and because an internship can lead to great career opportunities, it should be treated like an actual job. He also writes that the qualities that make an intern stand out are a great work ethic, a great attitude, responsibility, and a hunger to learn.

As this is my second year with Mrs. Brooksher, I am looking at this mentorship year in two different ways: the second half of a two-year long interview and the first year of a new job. I am continuing to take on this interview with great passion as I did last year, but I am also taking it on knowing that I already have prior experience and treating it as if my "interview" from last year was a success. My attitude last year stood out to my mentor, I am continuing to show all the qualities that Tim Elmore wrote about in his blog. I am beginning to give brain teasers to the class again like last year. Besides the same things that I did last year, I feel like Mrs. Brooksher has confidence in me to give me more freedom in the classroom. Although I am, in a way, already past my interview, I need to continue to grow and enhance my qualities every week to continue to stand out.

First Impressions

First impressions are a key to starting off a job or internship successfully. Both the "Getting to Know Your Mentor" worksheet and the "Making Positive First Impressions" podcast stress the importance of appearance, attitude, willingness to learn, and determination. Dressing professionally tells your mentor that you are taking your opportunity seriously and that you are treating it as an actual job. However, your professional attire should not draw attention to yourself, be distracting, or be inappropriate. Having a positive and friendly attitude reflects a good character. A positive attitude should be shown by looking your mentor in the eyes and saying hello to him/her with a smile every day and by being very respectful to them and their coworkers. The most important way to make a great first impression is to show how much you want to learn from your mentor. You should prove to your mentor as early as possible that they are someone that you look up to and that you share a similar passion with them.
By this point, my mentor has already been confirmed, and this is my second year with her as my mentor. Luckily, I have known my mentor for 5 years now, and we are far past first impressions. She already knows how hard working and passionate I am about what she does. Although we are done with her impressions, it does not mean that I should stop acting like I did when we first met. I continue to show a positive attitude, and show that I am always willing to learn something new from her. Along with first impression with my mentor, I also need to have a good first impression with her class as I'll be spending the entire year with them. I have gotten to be with them a few times, and I think that they are starting to like me and get used to me. Continuing the way you act towards your mentor goes a long way and should make a greater mentoring experience.