Professional Documents
Culture Documents
It is through reflecting about the actions at work and the concrete experiences that will lead you
to recognizing that the experience has forged a new way of thinking about the classroom theory.
An abstract concept worked through in a real situation, as an immediate need, will change the
participants.
Below is a diagram of how one contemporary experiential learning theorist, David Kolb, explains
how interns learn from experience. Kolb's experiential learning style theory is typically
represented by a four stage learning cycle in which the learner 'touches all the bases':
[Source: Simply Psychology.org]
Concrete Experience
A new experience or situation, or a reinterpretation of
existing experience,
is encountered.
Reflective Observation of the new experience. Of
particular importance are any inconsistencies between
experience and understanding.
Abstract Conceptualization
Reflection gives rise to a new idea, or to a modification of an existing abstract concept.
Active Experimentation
The learner applies new ideas to the world around them to see what results.
Your reflection process is best led by a workplace guide such as a supervisor, mentor, or a faculty
member after the experience. This post-experience reflection with a guide gives you another
voice that can ask questions and draw comparisons to abstract ideas that are now more
completely understood. Lessons learned can become internalized and put to use in future work
opportunities.
In addition, almost everyone has experienced a less than 100% positive work experience at one
time or another in their work lives. As an intern, at the beginning of your career experiences and
career path, you will almost always learn something that will inform you at any future work
setting. A guide to your reflection activities will point out both the positives of what you learned
as well as the learning that you can take from the absence of an obvious achievement. Both sides
can be extremely powerful and transformational as you approach next steps in career
development.
Below are just a few reflection questions to stimulate your thinking and learning about the
internship work experience.
most significant
Be able to talk about your experience
accomplishment while you
were working? Communication is one of the most important professional skills you
Are there any new skills that can develop. The process of seeking an internship, the work
you developed while you experience itself, and reflecting afterward, will all contribute to the
were at the worksite and growth of your communication skills. As you reflect on your
what are they? internship, practice speakiing succinctly and precisely about your
Describe what you believe experience. Use key words. Most listeners will pay attention to
the ideal supervisor will be shorter answers. You should be able to describe an internship
like at work now that you experience in two minutes. Use action-oriented and positive
have work experience in words.
your field of study?
and last name, year in will become a stepping stone to the next work assignment. In order
school, institution, and to leverage internship experience to move forward in your career, it
major. Give the name of the is important to be able to write about your experience in a
employer (organization) and professional way.
site location. Share one
You know the importance of the resume in the job search process.
point of interest about the
Resumes are also used in applying to graduate school, for
organization. For example,
scholarships, and in nominations to civic boards and other
XYZ is “a major producer of
leadership opportunities. Your ability to write about your internship
carpet and other types of
experience on your resume is incredibly important. Accuracy and
flooring in the United
representing yourself and your work in a positive manner are
States.”
critical.
60 Seconds – Give your title
and role at the organization; Practice, in writing, describing what you did during the internship,
describe your main including skills and equipment used to manage your work tasks.
responsibilities. Talk about Look back at your job offer and your job description to find
technical and keywords that describe your experience. Learning objectives that
professionalism skills you you established for your internship might also highlight skills that
learned and/or developed. you developed, and equipment and software that you used. Future
Highlight one main prospective employers also read your resume to see what
accomplishment you had accomplishments you achieved during the internship, and if your
during the internship. work had an impact on your employer’s efficiency and/or bottom
30 Seconds – Focus on your
line. The following is one way to brainstorm about your internship
main learning from the experience to develop an accomplishment statement to use on your
experience and how this resume.
might impact you
professionally and as you
make future career The PROBLEM, ACTION, RESULT formula to capture accomplishment statements
decisions.
Problem: What was a problem or task that you were assigned at
work?
Action: What action did you take to solve the problem and complete the task?
Result: After your action, what was the end result for your employer organization? Can you
quantify this in some way by using a percentage, a number, or other measure? For example, did it
increase efficiencies or production? And if so, by how much?
On the resume under your internship description, try to list at least one accomplishment
statement for every professional experience.
Leave off the problem, and begin writing using a past tense action verb, followed by a quantified
result.
Below are a few examples of accomplishment statements. They usually appear as bulleted items
under the internship description.
Developed a software
application that increased
company production by 10%
each month. Internship central
Managed a project team
> Maximizing
> Reflecting