Career Prep 2009 Summer Blog

Adrienne Rodriguez (California State University) highlights that one should build a solid understanding of what each division/department does so you can have conversations with multiple individuals within your organization. This will build your brand, as the individual will see that you are well prepared and have conducted research, allow you to network with more individuals and, ultimately, lead to more projects that you can work on.

You may not be enjoying your internship, especially after you know what other departments do. You may find another part of the organization is more in line with your long term goals. However, Kaydene Grinnell at Harvard and Teresa Mbagaya at Yale make a very good suggestion- first it is important to assess your reasons for wanting a switch- and make a pros and cons list to structure your thought process around it. Then run it by your coach- to talk through your rationale and the possible implications of asking for a switch. Kaydene also adds it might be a good idea to talk to your "Board of Directors" to get their insight on the situation. These conversations are going to help you assess if you are moving in the right direction and if you have thought about all the nuances of the issue. And that you are not doing anything that will jeopardize your position in the company.