At the conclusion of my time at Baptistcare, it seems
fitting to reflect on my personal performance – my strengths, weaknesses, what
I have learned and what I could have done better. So here goes.
I completed my internship over the course of Semester One, 2012, rather than 20 consecutive days. Not being in the office every day meant that I
often missed out on critical team events or important meetings and was left
with no work to complete. I was neglected during busy periods where the team
was otherwise occupied, and I felt guilty constantly asking my supervisor what
I could do to contribute during times of neglect. As the internship spanned a longer period of time, I also felt a loss of motivation and lack of personal value to the team at times.
However, there were times where I was very involved and felt
like a true member of the team. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a team and collaborating
with everyone on projects such as the quarterly newsletter. My friendly manner
and mature, responsible nature meant that the team was able to trust me with
important activities such as articles, press releases and letters. And
I found communication to be very important - the key to success. I would constantly update my supervisor via e-mail on my progress during the day so that she knew what I was doing or where I was at without having to ask. It also meant that she knew I was working hard. I also learned to get on the phone or see somebody in person if I needed the assistance of somebody in the organisation. Having to contact people right across the organisation spanning different locations throughout the state, e-mail was not always the best option, and work was often held up waiting for people to respond to questions or requests.
Besides from the experience, I believe that the most valuable element which I gained from my internship was comfort and familiarity in a working environment. I feel much more comfortable about transitioning into a professional position in the future with experience and a portfolio of work behind me. If you haven't done it, give work experience a go!
1 comment:
Hello! Thanks for relating the total experience of your internship with both the positive and negative. In relation to the part about you feeling that you were part of your team, I think that that was basically one of the key factors in making your experience a good one! Many a times, it is only when we feel bonded to a team or people in that team when we get that inner motivation to move on though things get tough. Communication like you said is also important as it builds a bridge and destroys barriers within the team.
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