MilfordHigh School

Career Focus Internship

Journal Keeping Guidelines

There are 3 purposes for keeping your Journal:

1. Documenting your Hours

Write down what you do each day. Document your hours by writing in the hours worked each day at the top of your journal AND your time sheet. Be sure your name and the date are on your Journal entries.

2. Good Information for your Final Presentation

Your final Presentation at the end of the semester should include information on the organization, the career path in your profession, your internship goals, and activities at the site and so on. Keeping track of what you do and other information in your Journal will assist you in putting together your presentation. Otherwise, you might forget the things you did and your thoughts at the time.

3. Assisting in your personal growth and career exploration

Keeping a Journal has shown to help people understand and integrate the happenings of every day life. To get full benefit from your experience, you need to reflect on your Internship site and yourself. This can help clarify your career goals and understand where you “fit in” and don’t “fit in”. The following topics can give you some ideas on what to observe and write about. Your journal entries must reflect at least one of the below areas each time you Journal. Please write in a positive manner!

  1. Appearance- How do people dress at work? How does the office or place of business look – laid back, super organized, very structured? What do they have for equipment to get the work done? How do you feel about working in a place like this?
  1. Attitudes-How seriously do people take their work here? Are they friendly and helpful? Is there a lot of pressure or most laid back? How do you feel you fit working in this type of atmosphere?
  1. Rules-Are there rules governing work procedures? Are the rules clear? Is the authority structure clear? Who reports to who? Is there a time clock? Do people come and go as they please?
  1. Training- What type of training do you need to work here? What type of education do you need to progress in a career? What personal qualities are useful here?
  1. Learning- Are you asking Questions? What are the Answers? What are some new things you are learning? Do you feel you are learning enough? You need to be assertive sometimes to get what you want from your internship.
  1. Scheduling-What are the hours of the normal workday, when do people arrive, when do the leave? Do they have a lot of deadlines? Are people meeting deadlines? Are your hours as we first set them up or are they changing week to week? Are they flexible with your hours? Are you being flexible for them?
  1. Supervision/Mentoring – How are you getting along with your mentor? What is your Mentor’s leadership style? Is it compatible with yours?
  1. Ethics/Values – How does the mission of the organization fit your personal goals and values? Would you be comfortable working for this company full time?
  1. Career Satisfaction – Would the daily functions of this career satisfy you? What are the relationships between staff, co-workers, clients or students to staff? What personal satisfaction would you find in this work? Is there opportunity for advancement?

MilfordHigh SchoolPage 110/23/2018

Kristi Bradshaw Job Coach 603-673-6709 ext.122