2.3 Becoming Part of the Team
Starting your internship can be a very intimidating experience, especially if this is your first time working in the helping field. It can be helpful to keep in mind that everyone in the field felt that way at the beginning. No one expects a new intern to be knowledgeable about all aspects of the work or the agency. Following are some suggestions to help you gain comfort in your new role, and to develop your role as a team member.
2.3.1 Observing and Participating
So, you’ve been accepted as an intern, and completed your training. It’s time to start working—right? The first few weeks of an internship can be bumpy as you and your colleagues navigate this new relationship. Some agencies have long-standing internship programs that are very structured and have defined goals and expectations. Many smaller agencies develop each internship according to the student’s goals and the needs of the agency at the time. The first style can give you comfort that you know what is expected, but the second can give you the opportunity to individualize your experience to best meet your own goals. Either way, you may have to put in some effort for people to begin to recognize you and count you as part of the team.
One of the best methods for doing this can be the simple act of asking questions. You may have learned about some procedures in training, but how it is in a policy manual is not always how it looks in real life. If you aren’t sure about something, ask a colleague. If you observe a colleague solving a problem for a client, ask them how they learned that skill. It can feel very intimidating to speak up, but this helps workers not only get to know you, but also recognize your eagerness to learn. If you sit quietly at your desk and wait to be asked to do something, you may sit there for quite a while! Try to be active in the office, and ask for opportunities to participate. Asking to shadow another worker or observe paperwork can be a great way to show your willingness to be a part of the team.
Interns often feel the pressure to “know” everything once they start. The truth is, human services workers can get the education, but until you’ve actually garnered some work in the field, your knowledge will remain limited. It is very powerful to be able to say “I don’t know” and ask others for help. Doing so helps you build rapport with your new colleagues. By being friendly and open, you begin to establish a working relationship that will be beneficial throughout your internship. People in general like to help others (especially those in the helping fields), so asking questions or asking for assistance helps build bonds between team members.
2.3.2 Looking for Ways to Help
You’ve begun to get comfortable, but still feel like you are not an active part of the team. This can be a common feeling for interns. Sometimes it results from interns not trusting that they know enough to begin helping. Sometimes it comes from experienced colleagues not sure the intern can handle the work. Sometimes it comes from the team forgetting that they have another team member to rely on. And sometimes it comes from a combination of the three. It may be time to step up and start advocating for what you need.
An easy way to start is to start volunteering to help with tasks. This can mean offering to accompany a worker on a home visit, offering to file paperwork, or even run errands. It may feel easier to offer help with simple tasks, like coffee runs or filing papers. Make sure to pay attention to what the case workers are doing, and challenge yourself to offer to help them with more challenging tasks, too. Once your team gets used to seeing you busy and involved, they will be more likely to think of you when something needs to get done. For example, one intern was working for the Chief of Police of a small town. He mentioned that he had to attend City Council meetings, and the intern asked to come along for the experience. He was impressed with her insights and questions about the Council. During the last few months of the internship, he had her attend the meetings independently to represent the Chief’s office and asked her to type up a formal report for him afterward. This level of autonomy and trust was far beyond the student’s expectations when she began.
If you’ve offered several times and continue to get turned down, it may be time to check in with your supervisor and/or your instructor. It is the responsibility of these two to make sure you are having the opportunity to meet your learning goals. They can advise you about where opportunities may be, and also support you in your role as a team member.
2.3.3 Finding Ways to Help
Casey had dreamed of being a child protective services caseworker since childhood. She began pursuing a human services degree with this goal in mind. She nervously applied, went through the screening process, got interviewed, and was offered an internship. She couldn’t wait to start.
By the time she was able to begin, however, the COVID pandemic had begun. The agency had shifted to partial telework for all employees to limit the number of people in the office at a time. It turned out that Casey’s supervisor was not going to be on site during the days of her internship. In fact, it was a completely different set of people each day of the week when she was in the office. She called me (her field instructor) at the end of week two, dejected and wondering if she had made a mistake. She said she sat at her desk waiting to be assigned work, but felt that everyone ignored her. She felt like most of the caseworkers didn’t even know who she was. She was frustrated and angry that her supervisor was not available to help her become part of the team.
Knowing this had been Casey’s dream, I encouraged her not to give up. I suggested that the only way people would get to know her is if she introduced herself and asked if she could help. She was hesitant to do this but took my advice. Her coworkers were delighted to have the help, and soon found that Casey could be relied on to do thorough and prompt work. Caseworkers assigned her increasingly important work over her internship. At the end of her internship, she received glowing marks from her supervisor and everyone she had worked with. She was immediately offered a temporary position in hopes of bringing her on permanently. She was so glad she did not quit and had been brave enough to ask for what she needed.
2.3.4 Licenses and Attributions for Becoming Part of the Team
“Becoming Part of the Team,” “Looking for Ways to Help,” and “Finding Ways To Help” by Yvonne M. Smith LCSW are licensed under CC BY 4.0.