MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR

INTERNSHIP
Leslie Svacina
Career & Internship Services
OBJECTIVE
Objective for class today:
Reconnecting with fellow interns
Reflecting on the internship
Whats next in your career and education
Sharing your experience with employers
Course assessment and feedback

RECONNECTING
Name
Intern title, organization,
location
Most interesting or
surprising part of your
internship
REFLECTING ON YOUR INTERNSHIP
Experiential learning
cycle

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE
Concrete
Experience
(Doing/having an
experience)
Reflective
Observation
(Reviewing/Reflecting on
the experience)
Abstract
Conceptualization
(Concluding/learning from
the experience)
Active
Experimentation
(Planning/trying out what
you have learned)
David Kolb, 1984
TIMELINE OF YOUR INTERNSHIP
EXPERIENCE
Instructions
Create a timeline
Use words or pictures to
mark events:
Achievements
Challenges
Events
People youve met
Skills accomplished
And, so on
Place each event as a high or
low by putting it
above/below/neutral on the
timeline
Keep in mind the
experiential learning cycle
INTERNSHIP TIMELINE
Group Discussion
Share your timelines
What common themes do you see?
What is surprising?

Report back to class
Everyone will share one high and one low
WHATS NEXT IN YOUR CAREER &
EDUCATION?
CFAN 3096: Making the Most of Your Internship
WHATS NEXT?
Reflection & Planning
1. Education
2. Career
Take time to go
through the first half of
the worksheet
Share 2 of your goals
or reflections
COMMUNICATING YOUR
EXPERIENCE WITH EMPLOYERS
CFAN 3096: Making the Most of Your Internship
PERSONAL COMMERCIAL
What is it?
A short intro to a
potential employer or
important professional
contact
When to use it?
Introducing yourself at professional events or
informational interviews
Answering Tell me about yourself in job interviews
Career fairs when approaching employers
PERSONAL COMMERCIAL
What to include?
Name
Major
Year in School
College/University
Career Goals
Relative Experience/Skills
(your internship!)
PREPARING FOR INTERVIEWS
Behavioral Interview Questions
Questions that force you to describe specific situations
where you have utilized skills needed for the job
Effective answers follow the STAR technique:
Situation: What was the setting or situation
of this example?
Task: What specific task or problem had to
be addressed?
Action: What specific skills/tools did you use
to address the task?
Result: What was the result of your
behavior?
ACTION STEPS
What you can do now:
Use internship examples in future interviews
Enhance skill statements from internship on your resume &
LinkedIn
Maximize LinkedIn: Add work samples to portfolio section,
connect with internship work colleagues
Keep work samples and materials from this class
Mock interviews
Meet with course instructor, Leslie Svacina, for an individual
appointment to further discuss how to leverage your internship
experience
Pick out at least 2-3 of these steps
WRAP UP
CFAN 3096: Making the Most of Your Internship
COURSE EVALUATION