AGRI 499

Agricultural DevelopmentInternship

Please return , no paper copies please.

Student goals for the internship

Sometimes students and employers have different expectations regarding what is involved in an internship. Employers may misjudge the level of knowledge a student brings to the job; students may expect a more exciting job with less routine. To try to address these issues, we ask you to fill out this short evaluation of your own expectations regarding your internship.

Learning has different components, which are often broken down into the three categories of 1) knowledge, 2) skills and 3) personal/professional qualities (savoir, savoir faire et savoir être, in French). In university we tend to focus on the knowledge part of the equation. Students sometimes finish their programs feeling that they have a lot of knowledge, but that they still don’t know how to “do anything”, and that they don’t have much to offer a potential employer. In the workplace the skills and understanding parts can often be more important, and by doing an internship, you can fill in those missing components that the university is ill-equipped to provide. Most students find that doing an internship is good for their self-confidence, because they realize they are actually better equipped, personally and professionally, than they had thought.

Please answer the questions below, and return to the internship coordinator. Your thoughtful participation in this process may help you get the most out of your internship experience, andavoid misunderstandings with the employer.Note that this work is graded, and misunderstanding the difference between knowledge, skills and personal/professional qualitiesin your answers below will result in points being lost.

Student Name: ______

Employer ______

  1. What knowledge do you currently have that will be helpful to you in doing the job?

Examples: can recognize weed species; understand economic ratios as they apply to financial reporting; know how to do basic soil sampling; have a basic knowledge of animal nutrition.

  1. What knowledge do you hope to acquire while doing this internship?
  1. What skills do you currently have that will be of interest to your employer?

Examples: can drive a tractor with implements; know how to apply formulas in an Excel balance sheet; have used a computer program for doing PAEFs; am comfortable handling dairy cows.

  1. What new skills do you hope to develop during the internship?
  1. What personal or professional qualities do you have that will help you do a better job during this internship?

Examples: I’m sociable and get along well with strangers. I’m good at giving attention to detail.

  1. What personal or professional qualities would you like to improve during the internship?

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