Think About It - one more time

Please respond to this question when you have wrapped up your internship.

For the past four weeks, you have been deeply involved in the world of work. You have been immersed in a corporate culture, shadowed professionals, chatted with co-workers, and tried out many new "hats." What did it all mean?

In the proverbial "25 words or less"  (okay, maybe 50 words), distill the essence of your internship experience.  What meant the most to you?  Maybe your mentor made a comment that really resonated. Perhaps it was something you observed in your co-workers that provided you with a "eureka moment." A task that seemed mundane when assigned may have proved to be profound in a way you never expected.

Whatever it is, tell us what you will take away from PRIME 2016.

Think About It - week 3

To respond to this week's post, try to pay conscious attention to the corporate culture at your internship for a day or two. Corporate culture refers to the "personality" of an organization. It defines "how things are done around here." Corporate culture guides the way employees think, act, and feel at work. A good fit between an employee and the culture of his or her workplace almost guarantees success and happiness, and - one could argue - may make the difference between a job and a career. 

Please read the short  article entitled "Uncovering a Company's Corporate Culture" at http://www.quintcareers.com/employer_corporate_culture.html

The author argues that companies can deliberately build a culture that will attract the type of employees they want and help their organizations survive and grow.  At the end of the article, he gives links to some companies that brag about their employee-friendly cultures.  He and other authors I've read maintain that when interviewing for a job, the culture of the workplace is one of the most important things to notice. 

Choose two or three of the components of culture mentioned by Mr. Hansen and describe your internship's culture in these areas.  Then talk about how this culture fits with what you would look for in a work environment.  All else being equal (in other words, if the work were the kind of work you wanted to do), is this the place for you?

Group Day Reflections - July 19

Take a few minutes, please, to reflect on the time we spent at at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday. I hope that as we walked between the Women's Museum, the Kennedy Grave Site and the Tomb of the Unknowns, you were not just hiking; but were also observing your surroundings and making note of the many small, intimate memorials we passed. Which part of the morning was most meaningful to you? Think about that for a few minutes and then discuss your thoughts in a few sentences. (You do not need to respond to anyone else's comment, unless you feel compelled to do so.)

Calendar Post - logistics for July 19

Tuesday, July 19 will be a PRIME group day.  All PRIME summer interns will report to the Career Center instead of their internship sites.  Your mentor should be aware of this, but please remind him or her on Monday just to be certain. 

We will gather in the Commons at 8:30 am in order to be at Arlington National Cemetery by 9:00 am. The bus will leave at 8:40 - no exceptions.  Please dress appropriately and respectfully for this setting.  At the same time, we will be doing quite a bit of walking throughout the day, so be sure your shoes are comfortable.  Remember that it is likely to be hot, so consider bringing suncreen and water.

The agenda for the day includes stops at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the Kennedy gravesite, and the Women Military in Military Service for America Museum, where we will begin and end our walk, have a detailed tour and eat lunch before the bus picks us up. Don't forget your bag lunch!!

Check out the cemetery website http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore
and also this link to more information about the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns. 
https://tombguard.org/society/faq/

Group Day Reflections - July 13

Take a few minutes, please, to reflect on the time we spent at ESRI. Think about the work environment, the large and small group sessions, the people you met, and the information you gleaned. Choose one important, interesting, and/or new idea, fact, or bit of information you learned during the morning. Spend a few sentences explaining why you chose to write about that item.  (You do not need to respond to anyone else's comment, unless you feel moved to do so.)

Think About It - week 2

Respond to this post after you have spent at least one full week at your internship. If you like, start your post with a few sentences summarizing your tasks so far. Devote the remainder of your response to this "thinking assignment":

Choose an adult who works with you at your internship. This might be your mentor, but it may be someone else at your work site. Discover the official title of the job he or she holds. Write a short paragraph about the day-to-day tasks you observe this person doing. Include your opinion about the level of satisfaction he or she seems to derive from the job. You may base your opinion on your own observations and/or on conversations with the person you are observing. Is this satisfaction intrinsic to the job itself or related more to job environment, co-workers, etc.?  Is it, perhaps, most related to the person's outlook on life? 

In your last paragraph, consider briefly whether this job is something you could imagine yourself doing as a career.  As you justify your answer, are you at all surprised by what you "hear yourself saying"?  Do you think your answer to the question would be the same if this job were located somewhere else (i.e., in a different type of business or in a different city)?

Calendar Post - logistics for July 13

Wednesday, July 13 is a PRIME group/SDV day.  All PRIME summer interns will report to the Career Center instead of their internship sites.  Your mentor should be aware of this, but please remind him or her on Monday just to be certain. 

We will gather in the Commons at 8:30 am in order to be at ESRI by 9:00 am. The bus will leave at 8:40 - no exceptions. Dress for this field trip is business casual: Khakis or similar pants with collared shirts  for the gentlemen and skirts/ dress pants or summer dresses for the ladies.  No shorts or jeans for anyone, please.  

At ESRI, which is a web applications center in Rosslyn, we will break into smaller groups for a tour and some hands-on work with GIS. It would be a good idea to check out ESRI's web site - http://dc.esri.com/ - before Wednesday so you have an idea of what you might see and perhaps have some general questions in mind.  There will be plenty of time for Q&A after the tour.  Our tour leader told me their conference room is temporarily unfurnished, so the first, short session will involve sitting on the floor or standing against the wall;  I assured her you could handle it.

We'll plan to have lunch in the Rosslyn area before we return to the Career Center. Bring money for this or your lunch in a cooler-type bag to eat at one of the outdoor benches scattered around.  Also please be sure you have a reliable time-keeping device, so that we all meet up at the bus in time to get back to the Career Center with no anxiety on my part.

SDV 100 will start promptly at 1:00 pm and run until 4:00 pm.  If you have questions, you have my email and my phone number.

This is an informational post only.  No need to post a response. 

Think About It - week 1

By now, you all should have spent two or three full days at your internships.  Please respond to this post no later than July 10.

Write a short summary of your first impressions of your internship. React to the work  environment, your mentor, your co-workers, and the tasks assigned to you so far, as well as any plans you and your mentor have made for the rest of your time together. Discuss ways in which the internship has and has not met your expectations during this first week.

Don't forget to come back and read your fellow interns' posts throughout the coming weeks and comment on at least two of them. Remember to keep your comments positive and supportive.  (Concerns or difficulties should be discussed with me via phone - 571/233-0713 -  or email.) Be sure to check back later in the week to answer questions other interns may have asked of you.  PRIME Reflections is meant to be an interactive exercise!

Calendar Post - June 9

What part of Dr. Egenreider's talk on "doing the work that needs doing" resonated most with you? How will you use that take-away in your work as a PRIME intern this summer?