We get a lot of work out of our interns, and they inject an energy into the
organization that is welcomed. Sometimes an intern will develop something
new that no one knew we needed. We have three right now, two college and
one high school student.
We've had some problems given the variety of skill sets and abilities,
matching those skills to tasks, and just taking the time to manage interns.
Encouraging lots of communication has also served us well. Many on the list
probably have some experience with an intern's causing a minor disaster here
and there. I once gave an intern, a really good one, a complex scheduling
task that I managed less than closely, and that job was done twice - once
by the intern, once by me after the intern did not take into account what he
couldn't possibly have known since I didn't tell him where to be sensitive
to conflicts. So I learned a lot from that intern, and he learned a lot
from me (not all of it good).
From my p.o.v., interns who spend more hours at the museum both give and get
more out of their experiences. One day a week for two hours never seems
like enough. The interns who are here 8+ hours a week take away more.
Things they are looking for include experience, learning, and the tangible
rewards of money (although we haven't paid an intern in two years, it's not
a bad practice at all).
Rusty Baker
Susquehanna Art Museum
Harrisburg "home of the monkey trial" PA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Daphne Holmes" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 9:37 PM
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Supervising Interns
> Kate, I'm willing to participate as well on or off-line--this topic came
up recently as we have some relatively new hires working with interns in a
way that the senior staff recognized wasn't the best win-win so we're
revamping these interactions. In my current and previous positions I've
supervised interns quite frequently.
>
> Daphne Holmes
> Director of Education
> and Community Outreach
> Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum
> 910-395-5999 ext. 1007
>
> --- "Scher, Thomae Dawn" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From: "Scher, Thomae Dawn" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 16:27:40 -0500
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Supervising Interns
>
> Katie: I would be happy to discuss this topic on or off-line.
> Our museum has hosted over 600 high school and college interns
> since 1991 (when I started our museum-wide Internship Program)
> and I personally have supervised over 80. Which ever method is
> preferred.
>
>
>
> Dawn Scher Thomae
>
> Milwaukee Public Museum
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 414.278.6157
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Katie Wadell
> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 2:46 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Supervising Interns
>
> Hi Museum-L-ers,
> Would anyone be interested in discussing techniques and
> skills for supervising interns, either on-line or off-line?
> How do you train your interns, plan projects for them, etc?
> How do they fit into the life of your institution? What do
> you expect from them, and does that line up with what they
> expect from you?
> I'm considering an article on managing interns and
> internships, and would love to ask questions and collect
> real-life examples of effective management - and real-life
> problems or insecurities. (I know I've been a lousy intern
> supervisor at times!) I recently got into a discussion on
> the problems of supervising and motivating interns, and
> was encouraged to write on the topic by someone else who
> wanted advice. I'd also love to hear from former interns
> who benefited from good supervision- what did your
> supervisors do that was particularly effective?
> Thanks so much,
> Katie Wadell
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain
> detailed information about the listserv commands by sending
> a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] .
> The body of the message should read "help" (without the
> quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line
> e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of
> the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the
> quotes).
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain
> detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a
> one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The
> body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail
> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
