A Learner’s Way

Our September students returned to campus this week to report on how things are going at their Field Placement internships. During their five-minute presentations, some themes emerged among the 30 or so reports.

This got me thinking: we do lots to prepare students for how to manage their internships, but how about a primer for Field Placement supervisors?

Based on what I heard from this crop of students (some of whom, admittedly, have grandiose ideas about what they should and shouldn’t be doing as interns) here’s what I’d advise supervisors:

1. Take the time to orient the intern to your organization. Don’t just stick your intern in a cubicle and say, “read these annual reports; they’ll give you all the information you need.” Give him or her the big picture. Introduce them to key people. Tell them why these people are important. Provide a history of your projects and what role they’ll play. In other words, give them a context.

2. Clue interns in about “the way we do things around here.” For example, student interns are often surprised at how long it takes to get approvals for the simplest of editing requests. Or, they’re unaware of an organization’s preference for how people are addressed. Why not share as much as you can about your corporate culture, instead of expecting interns to pick it up by osmosis?

3. Don’t assume the intern possesses common sense. Some interns turn their noses up at updating media lists, running out for a tray of lattes, or FedExing parcels. Let the intern know how important these activities are to the smooth running of your department. Help them understand that if they do a good job of getting the right tray of various coffees back to their boss at the right temperature, they might just get the chance to tackle something more complex.

4. Avoid misleading advertising and promotion. If your internship description promises a Cadillac-of-an-internship-opportunity, don’t deliver a Kia. Interns—full of youth, energy and ideas—want to contribute. They generally hate filling their days surfing the ‘net. When their supervisor hasn’t planned activities for them, or their requests to help are are met with: “just relax; enjoy the down time, ” they feel they aren’t contributing.

5. Model ethical, professional behaviour. Two of our students were asked to flog during their internships. At school, professors advise that flogging is considered by many in the blogosphere, and in PR circles, as sketchy at best. So it creates a bit of a conflict when their supervisor makes this kind of request. They’re eager to succeed and make a good impression and don’t want to refuse for fear it will block a potential job offer.

6. Create a sense of community. These 20-somethings value community and connection above all else. Make them a part of your department. Ensure you don’t situate their work station away from the main action and fellow communicators. Invite them to your brain storming sessions and encourage them to speak up.

7. Communicate your expectations clearly. Along with asking you your intern what he or she expects to gain from the experience, clearly spell out your expectations. How you expect them to perform, what skill sets you expect them to demonstrate, and how they’ll get along best with you and your team.

These are my seven steps for supervising interns. Students, educators and employers, what are yours?