Internships are fertile soil for career growth
By Heather Snyman, Program/Grants Coordinator, United Way of Hancock County, (The University of Findlay, Fall 2010)
[Ed's note: Support Heather by dropping by the Spring Starter Seedling Sale from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, April 21 at the Community Garden, 1800 N. Blanchard St. Click on the "Community Gardens" link below to read more about the event.]
When I returned to school a few years ago, I didn’t have a map for my career. I did believe that one day I would like to work for a nonprofit.
In my senior year, good relationships and good work paved the way for an internship with the United Way of Hancock County. A few months after the internship ended, they called me for a job interview.
That’s how I became the Program and Grants Coordinator for the United Way of Hancock County’s Halt Hunger Initiative and a Coordinator for the Community Gardens of Hancock County.
This was not something I had ever considered, but I was flexible and resilient enough to accept this as a fit and willing to get the training I needed. Did it matter that in the past my only claim to gardening or being a green thumb was killing a cactus? Not a bit!
Being open-minded, flexible and resilient and continuing to educate myself in new areas will all be part of what goes into the healthy buds I hope to grow on my career tree.
My new role has inspired some food for thought…
If you want to make the most of your internship, think like a gardener.
When observing a beautiful rose or a beautiful budding tree, we don’t often think about what is happening beneath the surface. What we are appreciating above ground is in truth the evidence of a well-formed root system underground. The healthier the roots, the better the fruit. That’s how I perceive internships, as part of a healthy root system for a fruitful career. They are necessary and vital to positive growth.
- Choose good soil. Make sure your internship will maximize or complement your course of study and your career goals (Hint: be sure to work your soil not soil your work).
- Plant at the right time. Be sure to line up your internships as early as you can. The more internships you can experience, the better the root system for career growth.
- Water appropriately. Make sure you are on time and be prepared. (Hint: Showing up helps too, whether it’s showing up to class or to an internship.)
- Expect the need to weed, prune and fertilize. Be approachable and teachable. That’s why you’re in school, in an internship, or in an entry-level position.
- Position yourself to get plenty of sun. Perhaps most importantly, be kind and courteous. While the focus in school is so often on academic performance and achievement, don’t forget what you should have learned at home. At the end of the day we are working with real people with real feelings and in real-life situations. This is something school can’t teach you, it’s a choice you make every day when you walk in the door. (Hint: Remember individuals are as different as plants. You’ll be more successful if you learn about and can work well with all varietals from impatiens and petunias to pansies and primroses.)
- Be flexible. A lot of things change when a wind rolls through. If you aren’t able to accept that the internship that you saw on paper is not what you thought it would be, you will snap and potentially lose the opportunity for future employment. Should an internship take a different course than you expected, remember your goals and strive to shape it to complement your path. Just like a root that shoots off in another direction seeking nutrients, unexpected changes in the internship course can actually benefit you in the long run.
- Be resilient. One has to be ready for floods, drought, failure and the unknown. New situations are not comfortable, but often the only way out is through. Accept constructive criticism, learn from your mistakes and recognize that you are growing in the process.
- Grow. Keep on stretching. Learn whatever you can about the company you are interning for and look for a way to give something back before you leave that internship. Make your mark.
- Return nutrients to the soil. Remember to appreciate the gardeners in your life. Pay it back and pay it forward.
Happy gardening!












