Becoming a Better Leader (7)

http://growingleaders.com/.

This is an article written by Tim Elmore

Tim Elmore elaborates on the importance of attitude during an internship. Most people do not realize that their internship is a 12 week process and it allows the student to see what their job would be like if they chose this possible career to study. Elmore mentions the fact that the college students now a days are posting on social media about the cool new internship they snagged. Every day at the internship is not a great day. Some days you could be doing paper work, other days you could be the “water boy” of the office. Tim Elmore mentions you need 4 major attitudes that will allow you to gain the most from your experience as an intern. They are teachability, initiative, responsibility, and energy. Each one of these characteristics will show the students drive to learn more and make the 12 week process of the internship blow by fast. It is no longer just a cool job that you got from some guy, but an opportunity to observe everything that is happening around you and make sure the career you are studying in college is the right fit for you, “if the shoe fits”.

Using the four attitudes that Tim Elmore talks about, my goal is to make sure that I master these characteristics and use them to the best of my capability. I have started to write down everything I see. Not just important situations, but little ones as well. I have started to realize the importance of watching these children grow and making sure you know where they had begun so it makes the growth even more significant. One of the concrete things that I am going to make sure I do during my yearlong interview is expressing my interests in certain topics of Speech Therapy, and asking questions when I do not quite understand the terminology. I also find it important to apply my knowledge to conversations I have with some of the speech therapists. It will show that I have listened to them and I making sure I understand what I am observing. The one thing I found most relevant regarding the article by Tim Elmore, was the fact that college students were not prepared for the internship they were given. They are able to learn the material, but not put their knowledge to the test. I found this very relevant because everything now is based on the grade you get on a test or how well you do on the ACT or SAT. Nothing is ever about applying your knowledge to a real life scenario, like you job in your career path.