It’s summertime and millions of students across the country are engaged in a traditional rite of passage: the summer job or internship.
These are two different things of course, but they bear similarities. Both jobs and internships teach valuable work skills while offering opportunities to network and meet new people. Both may provide income, although neither is likely to make anyone rich. And, by tradition, both have an end date, which is often Labor Day or the week before.
Which means (shockingly) that students may already be one-third or even halfway through their work schedule for the season. If this includes you or a student in your life, now is a good time to take stock of the situation. These summer gigs can be a tremendous opportunity, but only if they stay relatively on track.
Here are some things to check, to be sure this engagement goes as well as can be expected.
For summer internships
Is learning taking place? Since internships by definition are meant to be learning experiences, they should include some elements of structured training or guided hands-on experience. Standing at a copier for days on end doesn’t meet that criteria, while working on a team to copy and bind handbooks could.
Has there been feedback? It’s difficult to improve at something without receiving at least minimal feedback or coaching. In some settings, a supervisor or more experienced team member will assess the intern’s work to ensure he or she is making progress.
Is the school staying involved? If the internship is part of a larger school program, or if it will result in credit, then an internship coordinator/adviser from the school is likely part of the picture. By now that individual should have been in contact or perhaps have conducted a site visit.
Have expectations been communicated? If the internship is one-third or even one-half completed, the student should have received confirmation of what is needed for final credit. That could be as straightforward as arriving on time and staying on task all day or it could involve a more complex threshold of competencies to demonstrate by the end of the internship.
For summer jobs
Is the student getting enough shifts? Despite the ongoing labor shortage, it’s not uncommon for employers to send workers home without pay if business is slow. If that’s been happening, it’s time to either speak up or consider a different job with steadier employment.
Is there ongoing training? Some summer jobs consist of a rote task (think ditch digging or dish washing) that doesn’t call for much training. But even in those cases, there’s likely an opportunity to learn a new piece of equipment or to take leadership of a crew. The key to making this happen is for the worker to express interest in handling more responsibility.
Has there been feedback? Even though a summer job isn’t expressly designed for learning, as an internship is, feedback is still important. Without hearing from the boss or crew leader, summer employees have no way to know if they’re hitting the mark for productivity or quality in their work.
Is the pay handled appropriately? Seasonal workers can be an extra shock to the system for smaller organizations with no payroll department. That’s one reason that summer workers need to keep good records. Comparing these personal time logs with the actual paycheck (including online pay stubs) is an important way to be sure all of the time on the clock is being counted.
For both jobs and internships
As things wind down to the final few weeks of the summer commitment, it’s time for both interns and employees to implement a short to-do list:
• Check in with supervisors to ensure they are satisfied with how things have been going.
• Ask for letters of recommendation that can be used in future hiring processes.
• Inquire about future prospects for employment, including the possibility of weekends or evenings during the school year.
• Gather contact information from team members or workers, to help with future networking.
• Create a short list of people to thank more formally, including the boss and the school contact if this was an internship. Then follow up with a handwritten note in a thank-you card, expressing appreciation for the opportunity. It’s an old-fashioned touch that carries an outsized impact, especially when conducted by a younger worker.
• Congratulate yourself! And then update your résumé to include this latest experience. With fall career fairs just around the corner (!) you’ll need something to share with recruiters to help you nail down next summer’s gig.
Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at [email protected].
