We seem to use the term "intern" for a lot of different categories. I think in Canada, according to the CAFCE guidelines, there's a pretty clear definition. But, when I look at all the different situations that interns wind up in, I wonder if we're doing a favour for students and employers, let alone ourselves the practitioners, in letting loose the many different interpretations.
My most prominent (negative) image and the one which I like to have you imagine least, is the intern in the U.S. television/motion picture industry. Time was that the interns in these roles were compensated and given challenging, productive opportunities. I think those same challenges may still be there, but they've let themselves slide down the slippery slope, greased by the demand from the students and the abundance of roles, to the point where students are not paid. When that happens it means that the engagement of and by the student is lessened. Following this to the logical conclusion, the employer does not see the need to have a student work (and learn) in their workplace if they're not engaged. There are likely many flavours to this story, but I'm describing the most bitter tasting one.
Interns can contribute to their employer post-graduation, pre-graduation, and any number of different ways. Internships often mean that a student is working more than the usual four- or eight-month terms. It's often 12- or 16-months. I think these are very good for the employer and moderately so for the student. It has to be managed well. Ideally the student is progressing through a cycle of roles in that time span. The point being to engage them in all different ways so as to enable them to contribute best and learn optimally. Obviously this is more the case for a series of four-month work-terms...where different employers/supervisors are involved.
This is not meant to be an extensive categorization of what it means to be an intern.
When you hear "intern", be open to the different interpretations.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Career Trajectories
We often speak to Co-op students about their career trajectory. Keeping in mind that the possibility for one work-term that doesn't suit a student can happen, students generally are developing their career sense, if not a definable progression, during the three or so years they're in Co-op. So, when they're finished and graduated how does this continue?
Take a research scientist...as a Co-op student you would hope they get a few good stints in the lab. Perhaps they even get to explore some notions and ideas under a good mentor. Will they ever have the rapid rise in capabilities and exposure to personal development that happens in the crucible of the work-term? If they commence work in a research lab, post-graduation, will they be drinking the same amount from a fire hose or just a water fountain?
Consider a marketing student. They see four different studios and four different organizational structures, perhaps. This in the span of three years. Is that going to happen to them again...even with the shuddering thought that they will have to bounce from job to job due to economics?
Co-op is a steep learning curve for many reasons. First, you have to learn to know yourself and sell this notion on paper. Then, you have to adjust and perform in a new working and learning world for four months and return to apply that new knowledge in class. That point isn't really expected in the conventional working world...but maybe it should be...in the sense of sharing knowledge with your team.
Have any of us thought about the rapid adjustment and the need to internalize the change that goes on in the person of a Co-op student...likely not from the vantage point of our rather more shallow, later in the career, learning curves.
Take a research scientist...as a Co-op student you would hope they get a few good stints in the lab. Perhaps they even get to explore some notions and ideas under a good mentor. Will they ever have the rapid rise in capabilities and exposure to personal development that happens in the crucible of the work-term? If they commence work in a research lab, post-graduation, will they be drinking the same amount from a fire hose or just a water fountain?
Consider a marketing student. They see four different studios and four different organizational structures, perhaps. This in the span of three years. Is that going to happen to them again...even with the shuddering thought that they will have to bounce from job to job due to economics?
Co-op is a steep learning curve for many reasons. First, you have to learn to know yourself and sell this notion on paper. Then, you have to adjust and perform in a new working and learning world for four months and return to apply that new knowledge in class. That point isn't really expected in the conventional working world...but maybe it should be...in the sense of sharing knowledge with your team.
Have any of us thought about the rapid adjustment and the need to internalize the change that goes on in the person of a Co-op student...likely not from the vantage point of our rather more shallow, later in the career, learning curves.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Latest Installment
As in, I haven't written anything in a while...it's now pent up. And a certain double-meaning derives from the fact that I have just met with the most recent class of Co-op students getting ready to enter the job search cycle.
No apologies for not having written. It's the first two months of a new job and that over-ruled several other priorities.
What I want to remark upon is the tremendous quality of the preparation that students have put forth. We have been reviewing their resumes for grading purposes and I can say that I have been very pleasantly surprised. I see order and attention to the requirements which may not always have been evident before. Congratulations to this class.
Having just returned from a CAFCE event in Winnipeg, we were able to learn from some experts int he field about the nature and nurture of the upcoming Generation Y. What I remember specifically about the characterization of these people is their reliance upon their parents for guidance and nurturing and the social and workplace habits that result in them having a dependance in instantaneous social connections (read: Facebook and Twitter). What and how should we respond?
We (the older generations, be it Gen X or Boomers) need to acknowledge that IT IS NOW DIFFERENT. Our models and our expectations are not transferred to these people. They need to be responded to differently, but we should not yield on our business-performance expectations. It's just that we need to tailor our strategies and styles to suit. That's what leaders do. For example, if I want to lead a horse to water, I don't pull and I don't push. I need to motivate the horse on her terms. Is the horse thirsty? It will be. If it isn't, how much am I willing to accommodate until the act of drinking the water is done? That's not meant to be trite. My point is that you need to understand the natural balance between comprehending the other and where you need them to be.
In other terms, if you've been to another culture, you'll understand that your way is not THE way. In the Globe and Mail the other day, in a discussion about work/life balance we learned of a young father who sells flowers for 17 hours a day. He does this for 2 months in a row and takes a month off. Why? So that his cousin can work and have an income. Wouldn't we naturally assume that he needed a vacation? No. He was balancing against a greater need that the extended family would be successful.
It's really challenging to look at things from the others' perspective. Give it a try...everday.
No apologies for not having written. It's the first two months of a new job and that over-ruled several other priorities.
What I want to remark upon is the tremendous quality of the preparation that students have put forth. We have been reviewing their resumes for grading purposes and I can say that I have been very pleasantly surprised. I see order and attention to the requirements which may not always have been evident before. Congratulations to this class.
Having just returned from a CAFCE event in Winnipeg, we were able to learn from some experts int he field about the nature and nurture of the upcoming Generation Y. What I remember specifically about the characterization of these people is their reliance upon their parents for guidance and nurturing and the social and workplace habits that result in them having a dependance in instantaneous social connections (read: Facebook and Twitter). What and how should we respond?
We (the older generations, be it Gen X or Boomers) need to acknowledge that IT IS NOW DIFFERENT. Our models and our expectations are not transferred to these people. They need to be responded to differently, but we should not yield on our business-performance expectations. It's just that we need to tailor our strategies and styles to suit. That's what leaders do. For example, if I want to lead a horse to water, I don't pull and I don't push. I need to motivate the horse on her terms. Is the horse thirsty? It will be. If it isn't, how much am I willing to accommodate until the act of drinking the water is done? That's not meant to be trite. My point is that you need to understand the natural balance between comprehending the other and where you need them to be.
In other terms, if you've been to another culture, you'll understand that your way is not THE way. In the Globe and Mail the other day, in a discussion about work/life balance we learned of a young father who sells flowers for 17 hours a day. He does this for 2 months in a row and takes a month off. Why? So that his cousin can work and have an income. Wouldn't we naturally assume that he needed a vacation? No. He was balancing against a greater need that the extended family would be successful.
It's really challenging to look at things from the others' perspective. Give it a try...everday.
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