Internship Blog: Crystal Christophe Post #5

My Internship: 2+ Weeks In

Sorry it’s taken so long to write about my experience.  I’ve been super busy!  In addition to my internship, I am also working as a research assistant and an English teacher.  I’ll try to be a little bit more consistent!  Okay, let’s get to it.  I’ll talk about my first two weeks.

Week 1:  The first week was interesting because neither of my supervisors were in the office.  One of my supervisors trained me on some program management software via Google Hangout.  She shared her screen with me and went through how to perform basic functions.  She was very thorough and helpful.  The training lasted much of the day and I tried my hand at some tasks.
Everyone at the office was very friendly and helpful.  It was very quiet though throughout the week because several staff members were away.
Week 2:  The second week, one of my supervisors returned and more people were in the office.  I had to find a new spot to work.  At the beginning of the week, I attended my first staff meeting, which was my chance to be formally introduced everyone.   My supervisor who trained me the previous week was still abroad and was ill.  My other supervisor was going to be in for only part of the week so she used her time in the office to train me on several new tasks.  She then laid out a schedule for me to follow since she would be gone over the next week.   I was confident in knowing exactly what was expected of me and my other supervisor was available via WhatsApp to answer any questions about logistics.  I had several!
Impression So Far: I LOVE the fact that even though supervisors are out of the office, business goes on and questions can be addressed via text or video chat.  This is incredibly convenient!  I also appreciate that they have entrusted me, someone completely new to EVERYTHING, to perform important tasks related to programming and to communicate with vendors and program leaders directly, all while several key players are not physically present in the office.  I ask a billion questions, but they welcome that.  I still use my own judgement where appropriate and I am very careful.
A lot of the tasks seem “mundane”, but it’s all new to me and I’m enjoying the learning process.  Things are starting to pile up, so I’m going to have to learn how to stay efficient and accurate while getting more done.  I am still figuring out what works for me.  I’m really loving  it so far!

Internship Blog: Crystal Christophe Post #4

I GOT AN INTERNSHIP!: How I Got It

I just finished my second week at my internship!  I wanted to wait until I got settled before writing about it.

The Process:  In the fall, I attended the Student Activities Fair at GSPIA and I met a young man from Amizade Global Service Learning.  Amizade is a nonprofit organization (based in Pittsburgh) that facilitates volunteer programs all over the world.  After speaking with him about the organization, he suggested that I apply to an internship.  Later, an intern who was leaving posted in the GSPIA Facebook group that Amizade was in need of someone for the spring.  I messaged her and she had nothing but great things to say about her experience.  Fast forward to the spring and I saw that Amizade still needed interns.  I applied to a position for the summer and was invited to an interview….
The Interview:  I had just come off of a different interview at a place that I knew was not for me.  I had a bad feeling about that organization from the time I arrived to the time I left.  I was looking forward to my internship with Amizade later that same day.  Before I even entered the building, the same man that I had met months earlier at the GSPIA event recognized me and called my time to make sure I didn’t walk past the building!  As soon as I walked into the building, I felt comfortable.  The interview went well and I knew that I would accept an offer if they extended one to me.
The Referral:  I was contacted and told that the position I had interviewed for had been filled internally by someone who decided to stay, but I was referred to another person within the organization who was looking for an intern.  She was out of the country and we arranged a phone interview.  The interview went very well and I was offered the position!  I was so grateful for the referral that I was sure to contact the original person who interviewed me and thank her for recommending me to her colleague.
So….I am the new Program Management Intern at Amizade.  It has been 2 weeks so far and I love it!  I am so glad I trusted my gut.  I am enjoying my experience and I am learning a lot.  It has been a very interesting couple of weeks, but I will talk about that in another post!  I will talk about my adventures (and misadventures) as the new intern on the block!

Internship Blog: Crystal Christophe Post #3

Economic Survival and What Happens After Finding the Perfect Internship

Once you find an internship you like and you are offered a position, be sure to check with your career counselor to make sure that the internship is appropriate and will satisfy the requirement.  Then, you can accept the offer and prepare to start. Login to Connections and submit your internship information.  Make sure you have the contact information for you supervisor and approximate dates of the internship.  Sometimes, people will continue their internship beyond the required 300 hours and that’s totally fine.  In the evaluation that your supervisor submits, they will indicate whether you have completed at least 300 hours.

Some of you will be lucky enough to find a paid internship, but most internships will be unpaid.  Your internship hours will vary and can be anywhere from 10 to 40 hours per week.  If money is a concern for you, I would recommend working a part-time job in the summer.  Check PittSource for campus positions and pay attention to the email blasts from GSPIA.  Also, ask around GSPIA and see if any professors/centers are seeking paid research assistants for the summer.  Whatever you choose, you want to make sure that your schedule is flexible enough to accommodate your internship.  It will probably be easier to find a part-time job once you have secured an internship and you know your hours, otherwise any potential part-time employer will be hesitant because they don’t know your availability.  At least, that was my experience.

GSPIA also has a Professional Development Fund (PDF) that can cover some expenses, but usually not local internships.  You will have to login to Connections to apply.  The competition for PDF happens a couple of times a year so watch your email for those notifications.  There are certain things that are not covered and those items are explained in the application.  Email your career counselor if you have questions about it.

I live alone and I had to consider my expenses.  I couldn’t afford to go out of state despite having a couple of (unpaid) internship offers at some really cool organizations.  I had to worry about my rent and other bills so I figured I should stay local.  For others who are willing, if you still want to go out of state, you can consider subletting your apartment.  I didn’t want to do that, but that is certainly something to consider.

I hope this helps!  If I think of anything else, I’ll add it here.
Crys

Internship Blog: Crystal Christophe Post #2

Tips on Finding an Internship

 Greetings all!
I’m going to give you some tips for finding an internship.  I recommend that you attend the Student Activities Fair in the fall and attend the various information sessions about different organizations that are held throughout the year.  I also suggest talking to your colleagues about any leads.  I would also keep an eye on your graduating class’ Facebook page because internships are always being shared there.  As far as looking outside of GSPIA, I would suggest websites like Nonprofit Talent for those interested in nonprofits and the City of Pittsburgh site if you are interested in local government.  Also check out internships on USA Jobs.  GSPIA Connections is also great and has a variety of local, national, and international internships listed.  I also recommend going directly to the websites of the organizations you are interested in working with and seeing if they are looking for interns.  If you do not see any listings, do not be afraid to contact someone directly and ask.  Sometimes they will not advertise for interns.

Cast your net widely and begin your search EARLY.  I did not think about it too much until January/February and found that I had already missed a lot of deadlines.  Start looking in the fall.  Send out lots of applications!  Do not get discouraged.  Remember you are competing with a LOT of other applicants.  Make sure that your resume/CV is up to date and is formatted well.  I recommend consulting with Career Services (make an appointment through Connections) to get feedback on it.
Develop a basic template for your cover letter because you will be submitting a LOT of them.  You will have to modify them slightly depending on the position.  Make sure that you have a good writing sample because some internships will ask for one.  PROOF PROOF PROOF!  Proofread everything!  That small typo could get your application tossed in the reject pile.

If you are invited to an interview, I think you already know that you should dress up.  Just as important as your opinion is to be yourself.  They already know that you are qualified, but now they are judging you based on your personality and overall demeanor.  Go with your gut.  If you don’t get a good feeling about the place in your interview, trust the feeling and don’t feel obliged to take it if they offer the position to you.

I recommend that you do your internship during the summer because you will have more time.  Grad school is very demanding and you would do yourself a favor by completing those 300 hours at a time when you are not also taking a full course load.

I hope this helps.  I will add more tips if I think of any!

Internship Blog: Crystal Christophe Post #1

Crystal: An Introduction

Greetings everyone!  My name is Crystal, but my friends call me Crys for short. I am a second year graduate student at Pitt (GSPIA).  I’m working on a Master of Public Administration with a concentration on Public and Nonprofit Management.  Since I consider myself a citizen of the World, I am also pursuing a Global Studies Certificate and learning Portuguese.  As part of my academic program, I am required to complete an internship of at least 300 hours.  The purpose of this blog is to periodically document my experience.  More updates to come–including, but not limited to:  the internship I chose, tips on finding an internship, what to do at GSPIA once you secure one, and how to support yourself during it.  Tchau!
Crys