Career Prep 2009 Summer Blog

Jonathan Sanchez of Columbia University writes that you should find the professional in your group that you have interacted with most throughout the first week or two, and an individual that you have had to fulfill a project or some other responsibility, and ask if you can sit down with them when they are free to go over your progress in the past week or two (or whatever time span since last given feedback). Be genuine and honest, and be sure to cover the thing you may have done wrong, could do better, and those things that you did well and perhaps very well. Then ask for tips and advice on how to improve performance in the coming weeks and set goals accordingly. Thank the person and be sure to show improvement immediately to give him/her an even better impression of you. Cela Sutton of the University of Chicago goes on to say that in asking for feedback, it would probably be good for you as an intern to put yourself on your boss’s calendar consistently (upon approval). This will allow you to talk to him or her one on one in regards to your progress up to that point. You should also try to check in with other people in the department who you may interact with more often. It is important to get feedback from as many people as possible, especially since there are most likely many other full-time employees who are between you as an intern and the head of the department. Furthermore, he or she will probably ask about you from them, so it is important to see what their perspective is in terms of your performance. No matter who you're asking I think it is best to be direct, so that you get a direct answer. Depending on how comfortable you are with any particular person, you may want to schedule an appointment or meeting, rather than just asking somewhat randomly or spontaneously. This will give them an opportunity to be as specific and hopefully as thoughtful as possible. It may be particularly helpful to meet, and hopefully work, with other people in different areas because the more people that meet you, the more people you can receive feedback from. Also, if you are on the fence in terms of what you want to do, receiving feedback from different departments may help you decide what area to enter after college. Idris Akinpelu of Cornell University writes that it is necessary to be open and up front about wanting feedback. He suggests that the best approach is to ask people directly how you are doing. People are usually happy to let you know how you can improve, but they are sometimes hesitant to approach you with unsolicited feedback.