Our students have to take a weld test before they are offered employment, we have to coach them through the testing process and preparing them to pass the test.
staying out of the gossip mill and staying positive. Remind the students not to get to comfortable, that they are in fact guest
ruth,
Positivity and avoiding gossip are two very good suggestions!
Elizabeth Kemler
I think student's have the biggest issue with realizing that their internship behavior can impact their future job placement. I am constantly reminding them of when they are unknowingly interviewing.
Leah,
This is so true. I think one idea to help counter this is to have people come in from the various internship sites to talk about this. Hearing directly from future supervisors/employers can really make a difference.
Elizabeth Kemler
I think preparation - having the student research and understand the environment they will be interning under - is a huge piece. Reminding them of their skills and what they have learned so far in their training (our internships happen while they are still in school) to keep them on track. One of the main obstacles our students face is a language barrier. Fear of not understanding or being understood made them doubt their abilities to perform. But remembering to be respectful, using non-judgement and having compassion and keeping an open mind works in their favor every time. They have reported back that once the pushed thru their nervousness, they were able to have very successful non-verbal communication and had a wonderful experience.
Susan,
The language barrier must really be terrifying; they need to give themselves time to learn and permission to make mistakes (both are easier said than done, I know).
Elizabeth Kemler
While most (but certainly not all) my students are younger, upon graduation they will be entering their first true professional environment. They may have little to no experience on handling themselves professionally or understanding expectations. By integrating a 'professional development' aspect to our curriculum utilizing the ideas learned in this course, my students will hopefully graduate with a much deeper understanding of what it means to be a professional.
David,
The job search can be pretty daunting when you don't have much experience but it sounds like you're well positioned to give them the preparation and confidence they need.
Elizabeth Kemler
This is a critical component in a graduates success in the "real world". In some cases, students/graduates think once the interview process is over and ther are extended an offer, they are apt to think they can "skate" the rest of the way.... Wrong!! It is essential to carry out the 5 keys and to effectively communicate throughout their career. One does not get ahead with a piece of paper from a learning institution (thats the easy part)the rest of their careers. Being dependable, punctual, helpful, admitting fault as it may apply, making value added contributions, being part of a team and being able to work independently as well, is the foundation to build a career upon. We try to drive these points and others home (as well as to encourage them to excel academically.
Ralph,
You are so right. And this really is the hard part..but of course, this is what determines how far you go in your career, and how fulfilled you ultimately are in your job.
Elizabeth Kemler
My students seem to have one constant complaint when in come to externship and thats its unpaid and external from school. the way i always try to address those 2 concens are simple i tell the students that externship is an essential part to the start of the work experience i try to sell it as a working interview that will allow them to step into the work field without having to actually having to go on interview, because their externship is their interview
nicolas,
I like your approach-especially calling it a working interview. They can also look at it as part of school because it is in fact required.
Elizabeth Kemler
The majority of my students get jobs while they're in school which will/can count toward Externship when they reach that time....and then continue as their job. Since a Culinary Degree is not required, many are able to get their first (or tenth) job on the merits that they are in school. So I have the encouraged/discouraged conversations with many of them along the way. Some of the most common challenges are how tired they are from working on their feet, personality conflicts with bosses and coworkers, differences of opinions in how "it's done there" vs. how they learned at school or in another job, etc. I have a lot of personal industry experience which I share with them and how I dealt with similar challenges. I always make sure they understand that you can learn from the negative experiences just as much as the positive ones. And if they ever tell me that they just quit or want to quit a job, I make sure they know the REAL reason they're unhappy or discouraged. I always tell them that they want to make sure they're running TO something rather than running AWAY from something.
Carla,
I love this last point-what great advice!
Elizabeth Kemler
A Challange could be a conflict with another co-worker at the site. The best way to handle this situation is by clearing the air with that person have a conversation and address the issue in a way that the other person does not feel attack or accused.
Veronica,
This is great advice! I always think its a good idea to give the students practice handling difficult situations--you can do this through role plays in the class.
Elizabeth Kemler
Some of the challenges with internships is the employees who are already employed may feel threatened by students who are fresh out of schools, eager to apply what they have learned. They impress the employers, part of our hospitality training our students spend 3 days at a location learning and working hands-on one particular time our students was at a location and the employees were threatened, they treated our students horrible. Some of our students didn't want to go back but there were some who had the attitude it is only for 3 days and I just may get the job. I tried to encourage those who were upset to ignore it and go back, sometimes as job coaches or career adviser's trying to encourage or put something in people that is just not there so you have to do the best you can, needless to say for the students who over looked the employees, 3 of them got hired.
Felicia,
I'm so sorry to hear that! I would definitely recommend talking to the employer about their employee's behavior (no specific names but the general idea). Most employers would not be happy to know that their employees are behaving in this way. I understand how hard your position is..on one hand you want your students to get a job but on the other hand you don't want to convince them to go into a potentially hostile work environment. Perhaps the employer/supervisor would be able to give you a better sense of whether or not that is typical of the culture/enviornment or just one bad bunch.
Elizabeth Kemler
I think that the most common problem is the lack of communication skills with their superiors and colleagues. As we saw on the previous chapter, the communication skills are needed not only to get the desire job but also to keep it.
Community effectively needs to be taught in every subject they learn at school. We are working with the Public Speaking & English Composition coordinators to work together and develop this skills since the beginning.
Another common challenge is knowing how to team work. Also, this is another skill they need to learn during their education.
Also, keeping regular appointments with the students and asses them, would help the students to review their performance and also receive the proper feedback.
