Access Training Materials – Cengage



Chapter 2 Placement

I. Tips for Approaching Potential Internship/Practicum Sites

TIP 1: THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE THE ORGANIZATION.

• Learn its goals, mission and main functions—Find out why the organization exists, what direction it may take in the future, and how it functions within the community in order to figure out how you could contribute to enhancing its mission, goals and functions.

• Learn about its history and founding members/organizers—Find out when, why, and by whom the organization was founded in order to show interest, and consider how you could contribute to improving their future.

• Learn about its current employees/members—Find out who you may be interacting with during your practicum/ internships. Do not make the mistake of singling out “the most important members.” Always remember that each member of an organization is important to get to know and worthy of your time and efforts to connect with them. As an intern or practicum student, you will have plenty to learn from everyone willing to share their insights and knowledge. If you choose to only “schmooze” with those who are at the top of the hierarchy, you may be alienating someone at the lower end who is highly influential. It is true in every organization that the secretary or administrative assistant is the most important person because he or she is the gatekeeper to those at the very top.

Tip 2: Make connections and contacts early!

• If you know that you will be searching for an internship or practicum site before graduating, it is best to plan at least six to nine months in advance. In this scenario, the early bird gets the internship! Some internships are highly competitive, require applications, letters of reference, etc., and those students who begin the process the earliest will be the most competitive applicants.

• Making connections and contacts early also allows the potential employer the ability to assess his/her organizational needs and create an internship/practicum experience that is most beneficial to the student as well as the organization.

• Making connections early also allows students to gain more insight into whether an organization is a true fit for their needs and wants in an internship. Too often students who wait until the last minute end up with internships or practicum sites that are adequate but not ideal, because they are in a time crunch and did not allow themselves the time to search for the best internship for their needs and wants.

Tip 3: Initial contact should be made through a phone call (unless only written communication is specifically requested by the potential employer).

The phone call allows you to do the following:

• Show off your interpersonal skills—Employers overwhelmingly report interpersonal skills as the most desirable and important quality in a potential employee.

• Make an initial connection with at least one person in the organization—The person with whom you make a positive initial connection has the potential to put in a good word for you or keep you from getting in the door.

• Be more than just a name in an e-mail or a name on a piece of paper—Sending a letter or e-mail is more impersonal and keeps you from being unique to the potential employer. Making that personal phone call has a more lasting impression than a piece of paper that can be easily filed away or an e-mail that can be easily deleted.

• Have questions answered in a more immediate fashion—Learning more about the organization and its needs is easier with this initial phone call. Letters and e-mails are too easily ignored and put on the back burner. It is much more difficult to delay a person waiting on the other end of the phone.

A few etiquette suggestions for making this initial phone call include the following:

• Introduce yourself and politely ask for the name of the person with whom you are speaking—again, getting to know that initial contact person can make or break your ability to get an internship or practicum.

• Explain your purpose for calling—if you just launch into a bunch of probing questions, it may be unsettling to the person on the other end of the line. Human service organizations that work with families in distress may find a caller with a lot of questions particularly suspicious, and you may be categorized as “sketchy.” Always be sure to identify yourself and explain your purpose in calling.

• Ask if the organization has anyone who generally supervises internships or practicum students—some organizations have very structured internship programs, and other organizations have a more relaxed, unstructured approach to training internships. Be prepared to handle either situation!

• Try to use a landline if at all possible—cell phones are great but may not always be reliable with regard to clarity or signal strength.

• Do not make these phone calls while driving, listening to your CD player, in a room with a loud television, etc. Make sure that you have the ability to focus your attention on the call and not be distracted (or have the listener distracted) by outside noises.

• Have a written set of potential questions sitting in front of you—make sure that you are properly prepared. You may only have this one chance to find out as much information as possible.

• Have a pen and paper handy when making any phone calls to the organization. The person on the other end may have many different things to tell you, and even those with the best memories may not be able to retain every important detail.

• Make sure that you give the person with whom you are speaking your contact information.

Tip 4: Follow-up contact.

• Be sure to follow up your initial phone call with a sincerely written thank-you note (via e-mail or written note) to whomever you spent the most time speaking with—again, do not underestimate the importance of someone who is “just the secretary.”

• In the follow-up contact make sure to reintroduce yourself, explain the purpose of your call, and briefly recap what was discussed in the initial phone call.

• Include your contact information at the end of the note so the person searching for an intern or practicum student has your information at his/her fingertips.

Tip 5: Always remember that the internship/practicum is an important component to your education.

• Any task that you are asked to accomplish during your internship or practicum experience is in some way important.

• Filing, answering phone calls, fielding e-mails, and taking out the trash may not be the most glamorous aspects to working in an organization, but they are necessary and important to the overall functioning of the organization. No task is beneath an intern or practicum student—ideally your experience will be more tied to your major or field of study, but keeping your eyes and ears open while you are filing or fielding e-mails and phone calls can provide valuable insight into the organization’s functioning.

• Paying attention to those around you and the ways that they organize their time, handle situations, and interact with one another (and you!) can help you learn so much more about the culture and functioning of an organization in your chosen field. It may not seem or feel important, but when you look back on your experience, you will have learned more than you thought.

II. Understanding Your Own Needs/Wants in Order to Choose the Most Appropriate Site

TOO OFTEN WE GET CAUGHT UP IN ACHIEVING CERTAIN GOALS IN LIFE WITHOUT REALLY CONSIDERING IF ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS WILL ACTUALLY FULFILL OUR NEEDS.

Needs are feeling states or emotions that are associated with the experiences we encounter in our lives. For example, when someone goes on a first date, he or she may feel nervous, anxious, excited, giddy, thrilled, frightened. All of these feelings or emotions are associated with going on that first date.

Each experience that we encounter in our lives has feelings attached—positive, negative, or both. As human beings, we crave feeling emotions, and we crave the experiences that we believe will provide those feelings or emotions. These experiences are often manifested as goals. For example, graduating from college, getting a good job, getting married, having children are all goals that lots of people share. Generally, we assume that graduating from college, getting a good job, getting married, and having children will make us happy. Unfortunately, it does not always work out that way. Achieving some or all of those goals does not guarantee happiness or even positive feelings or emotions.

The problem is that we, too often, forget that it’s the feelings or emotions that truly matter rather than goal achievement itself. Goal achievement is important, but not on its own.

The focus should be on getting one’s needs met in the process of achieving one’s goals!

Finding the perfect internship or practicum site should be based upon getting one’s needs met during the internship or practicum experience. Choosing a site because everyone says, “it’s the coolest place to be an intern” is not necessarily going to be right for you. In addition, just saying that you want to be a child life specialist because it is sounds fun or because everyone you know is becoming a child life specialist may not be best for you or the organization in which you will be interning.

If you choose an internship or practicum site that has the best potential to meet your needs, you will be a more valuable asset to that organization. You will be more likely to enjoy your time spent at the site, you will be more likely to be productive, and you will be more likely to actually learn while working at that site.

Practical Needs Assessment Checklist for Choosing an Appropriate Internship or Practicum Site

|1. |Would I feel comfortable with what this organization is accomplishing? | Y or  N |

|2. |Would I feel proud to be helping this organization with their goals? | Y or  N |

|3. |Would I feel comfortable working with the people in this organization? | Y or  N |

|4. |Would I feel intelligent accomplishing tasks in this organization? | Y or  N |

|5. |Would I feel confident that my contributions will make a difference to this organization? | Y or  N |

|6. |Would I feel proud to tell others that I am working for this organization? | Y or  N |

|7. |Would I feel accomplished as a person in my field once I have completed this experience within | Y or  N |

| |this organization? | |

|8. |Would I feel confident in my skills in my field once I have completed this experience within this| Y or  N |

| |organization? | |

|9. |Would I feel prepared to be a contributing member to my field once I have completed this | Y or  N |

| |experience within this organization? | |

|10. |Would I feel honored that I was chosen for this internship? | Y or  N |

|11. |Would I feel disappointed at having to leave this organization once my experience is complete? | Y or  N |

|12. |Would I feel stimulated by the tasks I would accomplish while working for this organization? | Y or  N |

|13. |Would I feel intrigued by my experiences working in this organization? | Y or  N |

|14. |Would I feel challenged by the tasks I would accomplish while working for this organization? | Y or  N |

|15. |Would I feel supported by the people who I would be working with in this organization? | Y or  N |

If you answered “No” to more than five of the checklist items, you should probably search for an organization that will provide you with more positive feelings about your internship/practicum experience.

In addition to the feelings stated above, consider additional feelings that you may wish to experience while you are participating in an internship. If you see a potential site that may fulfill those additional needs, go for it!

III. “What if…” Section for Discussion

SCENARIO 1

What if you are searching for an internship or practicum site, and you come across a site that looks perfect for you? However, when you contact the person who would be supervising your internship experience, that person tells you that interns “should be seen and not heard,” “are to be treated like the insignificant people they are,” and “need to know their place.”

Discuss the best way to handle this situation.

Discuss the potential consequences of each choice you might make in this situation.

Scenario 2

What if you are searching for an internship or practicum site, and you discover an organization that fits perfectly with your needs/goals? While placing the initial phone call, the person on the other end of the phone treats you with rude indifference. You feel frustrated, angry, and slightly disappointed by this treatment.

Discuss the best way to handle this situation.

Discuss the potential consequences of each choice you might make in this situation.

Scenario 3

What if you are searching for the perfect internship or practicum site, and you just can’t seem to find one that really sounds good to you? Your friend, Brandi, calls you one day and tells you that she has found the most fabulous internship site. As Brandi is describing this site, you begin to realize that it is exactly what you have been searching for in an internship site. Your friend tells you that because it is such a small organization, they can only handle one intern per semester and that she would feel disappointed and upset if she is unable to get the position. You both really need to find an internship soon in order to stay on track for graduation, and you truly feel as though this internship is the best choice for you.

Discuss the best way to handle this situation.

Discuss the potential consequences to each choice you might make in this situation.

Scenario 4

What if you are searching for an internship or practicum site, and you are invited to visit the site? While visiting the site, you are shown all of the offices and introduced to many of the employees in the organization. Everyone seems very friendly, and you begin to think that this is the perfect site for you. While being introduced to some of the employees, you overhear them discussing a matter that, based upon your training in your field, is a breach of ethics and professional conduct. In fact, as their conversation progresses, you realize that their discussion violates state laws.

Discuss the best way to handle this situation.

Discuss the potential consequences to each choice you might make in this situation.

IV. Personal Experience Stories: Case Studies

CASE STUDY 1

JERRY LYNN PETTY, B.S. IN FAMILY STUDIES, TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY.

As a degree requirement, Lynn completed two semesters of professional practicum.

“The first piece of advice that I would give is to start early. I started searching for my first practicum site close to a year prior to my graduation. The sooner, the better is the best way to approach this. I met with my future practicum site supervisor and secured an agreement well in advance of my starting date. In addition, I regularly checked in with them and made sure they know that I was looking forward to working with them.

“Again, planning ahead really makes it all easier. After finding my first site, I quickly began searching for my second site so I didn’t waste any time. I know that TWU is a competitive environment, so getting to a site first allows you the opportunity to get a chance at better placements. There is a real advantage to meeting people at potential sites well in advance.

“Internship experiences are a great opportunity. I think people really need to be flexible about their experiences. Regardless of the tasks they ask you to do, always put 100% effort into it. Sometimes you may be sorting diapers, washing coffee pots, or taking out the trash. Those may seem like menial tasks, but you are contributing as part of the team, and you’re making a positive contribution to the organization.

“Going into your experience with a positive attitude is really important. Communicating to your supervisor that you are part of the team and willing to do whatever it takes to make a contribution can be very beneficial. Supervisors who know you’re willing to work hard may provide you with opportunities that others may not get.

“I strongly encourage everyone to take ownership of their practicum. Going in with a positive attitude and with positive expectations can get you positive results. Even when there are challenges and unexpected situations, you’ll still learn a lot and walk away with a positive experience.”

Case Study 2

DR. KATHERINE KENSINGER ROSE, PH.D. IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES, PURDUE UNIVERSITY; M.S. IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS; B.S. IN HOME ECONOMICS (MAJOR: CHILD AND FAMILY STUDIES), BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Dr. Rose completed her Child Life Practicum in Child Life at Santa Rosa Children's Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

“As part of my undergraduate course work I took a seminar class in Child Life. We had required readings and papers and in the process researched hospitals offering practica. Field placements in child life were (and continue to be) highly competitive, and we were advised to begin our application process early.

“I contacted different hospitals that I had identified as offering practica by phone (this was pre-Internet) and had them mail me the application materials. Since I went to college in Waco, a city that had no child life programs within its limits, I had to look in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. I had heard a lot about the program at Santa Rosa Children's Hospital in San Antonio as well as the director (and developer) of that program. The application process required a written application, an essay, transcripts, and recommendation letters. If the application was accepted, an interview followed.

Since I lived out of town, a phone interview was arranged. This all occurred the semester prior to the actual field placement. After completing this process, I was accepted into the practicum program—a six-week, 240-hour experience. Four of us from a variety of universities out of the multitude that applied were accepted. I think that at the time only one person from a university would be accepted (but it was a long time ago—I could be remembering wrong).

“This program required a committment of 40 hours of volunteer work per week (8 a.m. to 5 .pm.) for six weeks in town far from where I lived. With the help of my parents, I made arrangements to live in a hotel for the six-week period that I would be in San Antonio for my practicum.

“Three other practicum students completed the program with m,e and we all had a slightly different arrangement. One of us lived at Warren House (a facility designed for short-term living for a variety of purposes and usually available in a multitude of cities), I lived in a hotel, another lived with her parents in a town nearby, and the fourth stayed with relatives. We bonded quickly (four fish out of water) and enjoyed our practicum experience immensely! It truly gave me a feeling for the real world of a 40-hour week and allowed me to see the job at its most exciting, most boring, and most rewarding. I truly felt that I left understanding what child life was all about and what the job entailed on a day-in, day-out basis.”

Case Study 3

EMILY LANDES, FORMER INTERN FOR SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE

“I got my internship at Seventeen through the American Society of Magazine Editors’ internship program. ASME selects the winners of the very prestigious National Magazine Awards, so its interns are able to work at any nationwide consumer publication that might want a shot at winning one of those awards (which is all of them).

“The summer that I scored my internship, the magazines involved in the internship program ranged from Glamour to Time to Travel and Leisure. As part of the application, you were asked to pick your top five choices, and then the ASME staff would try to match you up with a magazine that best fit your experience and skills.

“As I had just finished a stint writing for a daily teen online soap opera and wrote about pop culture and entertainment for my college paper, I wasn’t too surprised when I was matched with Seventeen. Considering that Field and Stream was another one of the options, I was pretty happy.

“I was also delighted to discover that my three roommates in the NYU dorms, where almost all the ASME interns were staying, were very bright, funny, career-directed girls who were interning at Fortune, People, and Ladies Home Journal.”

V. Webliography for Placement in Internship/Practicum Sites



Search (bottom left): ie3global

Click: International Education, Oregon University System—Advisors (top)—Advising Students—Choosing the Right Internship

Some students may believe that all internship opportunities will provide compensation. This is not always the case, and a student should not lose interest in a potential site only because no payment is involved. Oregon State University’s Web site outlines criteria for choosing the right internship and includes a link to a worksheet for financial considerations.



Search: Preparing for your internship

Click: Preparing for Your Internship

During the search for an internship, an international experience may be the best fit for matching both the intern’s goals and needs. This Web site details the steps for preparing for a work-abroad internship experience.



Click: Academics (top menu)—College of Business Administration (under Colleges and Schools)—Academic Internships (under Resources)—Internships/Employer Perspectives

Students searching for an internship often only take into consideration their own perspective of the potential position. However, the employer’s perspective could be just as important in understanding the success of an internship. The University of Missouri’s Web site discusses both the student and employer perspective. This information can lead students to critically think about their expectations versus their employer’s expectations.



Search: Student Affairs

Click: The Division of Student Affairs—Career Connections (left menu)—Center for Career Services—Undergraduate Students—Diversity Resources (right column)

Oftentimes, the right choice of an internship depends on how the placement parallels with personal experiences and moral perspectives. Therefore, it is important to keep diversity sensitive issues in mind. Syracuse University’s Web site provides a link to Diversity Resources, including those related to LGBT, African American, Hispanic, and Women.

VI. Quiz Questions

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. After selecting or being assigned to an internship site, your purpose will be related to:

a. goals and objectives that your site supervisor will dictate.

b. goals and objectives that you will tailor to your experience.

c. goals and objectives that you will tailor to the site’s mission.

d. goals and objectives that you will tailor to the experience of other interns.

2. Career credentials are:

a. resumes and letters of recommendation that enhance employability.

b. documents that prove a person has been employed for a previous amount of time.

c. documents that show a person’s skills and techniques in a particular career field.

d. certifications or documented training that enhance employability.

3. Selecting an internship site requires:

a. little-to-no time at all.

b. preparation and self-evaluation.

c. preparation and self-diagnoses.

d. no effort on the part of the student.

4. Because internships often offer a rotation of assignments, the ability to:

a. work in multiple styles may be important.

b. diplomatically refuse certain assignments is critical.

c. assess which assignments are least important to your growth and career development.

d. accept that you can contribute very little to each assignment.

5. Self-assessments are:

a. objective descriptions of a person’s strengths and weaknesses.

b. negative descriptions of a person’s strengths and weaknesses.

c. abdicated descriptions of a person’s strengths and weaknesses.

d. subjective descriptions of a person’s strengths and weaknesses.

6. When referring to one’s abilities and level of readiness, expert status implies high proficiency and:

a. the level of readiness appropriate for an advanced, executive professional position.

b. the level of readiness appropriate for a seasoned professional position.

c. the level of readiness appropriate for a beginning professional position.

d. none of the above.

7. An issue that may arise during an internship semester is the compatibility of your personal ________________ with those of the institution or corporation’s site.

a. opinions

b. expectations

c. themes

d. values

8. Beliefs that are held as true and important and can be defined by the individual or by a group or a larger entity such as a business or government are:

a. opinions.

b. expectations.

c. themes.

d. values.

9. What is a job level called that typically restricts pay to a specific dollar range based on experience, training, and years of service? Often these levels are used by government entities to delineate job responsibilities, etc.

a. Pay special

b. Pay notation

c. Pay level

d. Pay grade

10. On-line listings can be very helpful in searching for internships or employment; however, they do have some drawbacks. One such drawback is:

a. that they become dated and you must return to update them regularly.

b. that they are submitted once and cannot be corrected or updated regularly.

c. that they attract unwanted attention from internet predators.

d. that they become corrupted files and must be updated daily.

11. When interpreting internship site characteristics, which of the following terms means that a cite meets guidelines set by an external professional organization?

a. Capstone site

b. Accredited site

c. Credentialed site

d. Experiential site

12. This experience suggests that the agency is offering an internship for students nearing graduation or at the culmination of their course work.

a. Credential

b. Experiential

c. Accredited

d. Capstone

13. Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) is a sponsored scholarship-style program located on college campuses. The purpose of the REU includes which of the following?

a. Allows students to explore a discipline

b. Allows students to prepare for a graduate school choice

c. Allows students to participate as a novice researcher

d. All of the above

14. Site ________________ helps you learn more about the role of an intern at that site, observe professionals working with clients, and practical issues that may pertain to the internship. In addition, it helps in comparing sites that look similar upon first glance.

a. spying

b. analyses

c. interviewing

d. qualifying

15. When discussing previous experiences in a site interview, students are encouraged to include information on hobbies and interests. Experiences such as camp counseling or cross-country hiking may not be considered valuable to the student applicant, but a site supervisor may see these as representing which of the following important qualities?

a. Initiative-taking

b. Adventurous

c. Energetic

d. All of the above

True/False Questions

1. It is possible for an internship to satisfy more than one purpose.

2. The intern’s previous experience and readiness for fieldwork will have no impact on how advanced or how exploratory the internship should be.

3. Acquisition of career credentials is most important for students who will delay graduation for at least two years.

4. Short trainings, such as CPR, should not be included on job applications because they have no added value.

5. A student’s own work style is an important aspect to his/her self-assessment when choosing an internship site.

6. The intern must be an expert in each working style that he/she may encounter at an internship site.

7. Because it is can be too uncomfortable to hear, you should never allow for the opportunity to scrutinize yourself as others see you.

8. With regard to your abilities and levels of readiness at this stage, you should not feel comfortable in using the rating of novice because it is not respectable.

9. Investigating an organization or corporation’s annual report to see if its environmental or personnel standards are acceptable to you is a violation of ethical boundaries.

10. When searching for internship or employment sites, systematic note taking at the start of the search is an unnecessary way to spend your time.

11. The applicant pool for any internship position may begin building many months in advance, because any given site may attract many students.

12. A program with a small number of interns selected from a large number of applicants would not be referred to as highly selective.

13. A risk in researching internship possibilities is extending the search beyond the point of being productive.

14. When academic pressures require a site selection and a faculty member selects the site for a student, that student usually has a much more positive internship experience.

15. When considering your internship position, you should only consider short-term career goals, because multiple, lifetime career changes are now very common.

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