Hopefully you are confident with the choice you made in seeking this profession as a career. What does the future hold for you? It holds many possibilities if you are diligent and prepared to be seen as a professional. The internship experience is an invaluable opportunity to apply your acquired knowledge to real practical experiences that include day-to-day job duties and the challenges that come with them. You now have some work experience that can demonstrate your ability to handle responsibilities to potential employers. The next step after the internship is creating a plan. The following suggestions are designed to prepare you for your ultimate goal – employment.

8.5.1 Reading, Researching, and Reflecting

For some, reading is for entertainment, but for the Human Services professional is part of the job. As long as you are practicing in the field, you will be reading case studies, reports, newsletters and continuing education courses for licensing requirements, exploring current literature on trends and laws, etc.

Reflecting on what you have learned, what you still need to learn, the need to break bad habits you found while in your internship, and other profession-related issues needing more attention are things you will be reviewing.

Evaluate your current preparation for starting your career:

• Look at where you are and where you need to be by going over your documents.
• Go over your goals and expectations and ask yourself if you’ve met them. Also look at new skills developed, supervisor’s final evaluation listing your strengths and weaknesses and feedback from colleagues.
• Create a professional portfolio. The portfolio is your passport to success. In the portfolio you need to include your internship progress reports, projects you participated in, documents you have that validate your internship and training. Include letters of recommendations and list your professional contacts and permission to use them as reference. Get all your recommendation letters before you leave your internship.
• Create a resume. List all your new skills and accomplishments and list all the special training you received.

8.5.2 Re-Education or Ongoing Education

Once you have completed your internship, you can take the experience to inform the direction you go in the future. You may decide that the area your internship was in is the field you want to pursue. You may decide that the work does not quite match your goals and you’d like to focus elsewhere.

Depending on the field you decide upon, you will probably need either more education or ongoing training. For example, substance use counselors in Oregon can begin working in the field after meeting a minimum of education hours, but will still need to complete supervised practice hours and pass an exam to become certified. Other areas, such as family therapy, most often require a master’s level degree. Make sure to talk to your mentors and instructors about the path you’ve chosen. They will often have great advice about the best path to take.

8.5.3 Creating Balance

Balance is one of those words we hear all the time, but pay little attention because we believe we are in control or on top of it. What is balance? Simply put, it is the equilibrium between two things or living life in moderation. The latter is more than likely the one we have to monitor.

Many people divide their day into work and play, with little attention focused on the in-between times. For instance, you need time to rest, to care for yourself, to tend to your home life, to get errands done, and when does that get done between work and play?

You know you only have eight hours for work, 8 for sleep, and that leaves you another 8 hours to get the rest of your needs met. Create a calendar and set up a regular routine so you do not burn out. Pencil in “fun times” and “self-care time.” Always discuss with your family your schedule so they know what your day looks like and know what they can and cannot expect from you.