Essay 1 – Being the boss (2-3 pages)
Look into the future in a few years. You are now working moving up the ranks in your prospective careers. Your supervisors / partners, aware of your previous experience as an intern, have asked you to develop an internship program at your company/organization. Think about your time as an intern and, in a short essay to your supervisors, address the following questions:
- What is the most important skill or lesson that a person should learn during an internship? Why?
- What should be the goal of students after leaving an internship? What should/can your organizations do to help students achieve this goal?
- As a supervisor, how would the internship experience at your organization be different from your own?
- What is the value of an internship program to your organization/company? Why is a good internship program important?
Essay 2 – Internships in Society (2-3 pages)
Read the articles on the issue of paid versus unpaid internships and write an essay (2-3 pages) in response to following questions:
- Based on the readings and your own experience, do you believe employers make a distinction between unpaid interns and paid employees? Is this fair to interns?
- Comment on the premise of the Williams article (NYT) that internships do not provide a payoff? Do you agree or disagree with this and is the situation different for public service/government internships than it is for business internships.
- Lastly, do you think our system for students transitioning into the workforce is effective? What changes do you think are needed?
USEFUL Articles to use for paper:
- Good list of things you should do before you leave your internship:
- Kahwash, Sarah, “10 things you must do before the end of your internship,” Her Campus, July 1, 2013. http://www.hercampus.com/career/jobs-internships/10-things-you-must-do-end-your-internship
- Two good short articles on reflecting on your internship experience (whether you loved it or hated it):
- Falen, Geoff, “I hate my internship! Now what?” Huffington Post College, May 8, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoff-falen/i-hate-my-internship-now-_b_3232478.html
- Falen, Geoff, “I love my internship! Now what?” Huffington Post College, August 16, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoff-falen/summer-internships_b_3763434.html
- Several short articles dealing with the issue of whether interns should be paid or unpaid:
- “Most Michigan state agencies hire unpaid interns. How does that affect struggling students?” Lansing State Journal, July 11, 2019.https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2019/07/11/summer-internships-2019-michigan-government-jobs-unpaid-internships-legal/3697514002/
- Sanburn, Josh, “The beginning of the end of unpaid internships?” May 2, 2012. http://business.time.com/2012/05/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-unpaid-internship-as-we-know-it/
- Parcells, Nathan, “Nonprofits: It’s time to “Lean Into” paid internships,” NPQ, October 22, 2013. http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/management/23108-nonprofits-it-s-time-to-lean-into-paid-internships.html
- Cook, Dan, “The interns are fighting back,” benefitspro, October 29, 2013. http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/10/29/the-interns-are-fighting-back
- Parcells, Nathan, “The benefits of paying interns,” BLR.com, October 28, 2013. http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Staffing-Training/Employee-Manager-Training/The-benefits-of-paying-interns
- Hinkes-Jones, Llewellyn, “The end of interns,” The Awl, October 24, 2013. http://www.theawl.com/2013/10/the-end-of-interns
- Williams, Alex, “For Interns, All Work and No Payoff,” The New York Times, February 14, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/fashion/millennials-internships.html
