Bad Blood...Internship went bad!

An internship is one of the most exciting units you can have as this is like giving you a real taste of the future profession you want to be. However, some organisations do this just to get free labour even they don't have a proper internship program. It is a very frustrating experience that’s what I can say.

I got this internship and started really well as I met the head volunteer and discussed what I can contribute to the organisation. She is happy about me as I have previous experiences in event managing that I can contribute to the organisation. I gave my availability and also asked is the organisation can provide an official email to communicate with prospective sponsors and donors. She said she will get back to me but did not happen. I tried to communicate with her using email and she sent me an email to just do things for her without any direction. I felt unhappy about it as I was expecting that I’ll get guidance with them about doing things but it’s just my wishful thought. I like working independently but without a clear vision where I’m heading is not a great feeling.

One day she sent an appeal letter and told to use that for getting donations or sponsors. However, I proofread the letter that was made by two interns also and said that this letter needs to be revised as information is too much in an appeal letter. I edited it and submitted to her and explain what are the problems in the first letter she sent. After this incident, I did not receive any email. I don’t know what happened but yes I did not receive any reply.

Seven days before submitting my performance appraisal form she sends me the email that she will transfer me to another organisation to do my internship. I was not happy about it and decided to contact the unit coordinator to move to another internship, which I got.

Lesson learnt that in searching internship experience, you need to make sure that the organisation should have an internship program in place and they are committed to giving you the experience that you're looking for.