TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL INTERN EXPERIENCE
A great article was put out by Kyle Kittles that anyone thinking about an animal internship needs to read.
9 Harsh but Helpful Tips on Rocking Your Internship with Animals, written by a marine trainer, Kyle Kittleson which can be found on marinemammaltrainer.com. It’s refreshing to get the views of others in the animal field that are going through the same things you are. There are many very harsh, but helpful points made, and we have re-worked it to fit the case for our Intern Program. I believe, like the author of the article, that this is a harsh reality of internships, but if you follow these “tips,” you will get the most out of your experience.
If you are interested in working in the animal care field, it is important you understand just how important it is to gain animal care experience. This experience not only gives you an inside look on what it is like to care for animals, but also connects you to influential leaders in the industry. The primary reason is to make you a more attractive job applicant to potential employers.
Here are some tips to help you through your internship experience.
Understand Your Role
The reason interns exist is to make the lives of employees easier. You are there to do the work that nobody else likes doing. This may include scrubbing toilets, shoveling animal poop or filing documents. You do NOT exist as an intern to fulfill your dream of playing with the animals or nursing a baby tiger cub. You are simply there to make the jobs of the actual staff easier.
Now, a good internship such as this one will give you hands on experience working with animals and teach you about the field and industry. Show up every day knowing that your job is to make everyone’s lives easier. If you do that, you will be rewarded with experience.
Expect Nothing
In the competitive world of animal internships, as soon as you expect something, you have lost. The internship is designed to make you a better future candidate, not to give you time playing with animals. When you start expecting certain privileges, you have taken your eyes off the prize.
Expecting nothing will also make the tough times easier. Interns have thankless position. You will rarely be told “great job.” And you will be overworked. And that’s okay! Don’t expect to be thanked, coddled or appreciated. Then if you are shown gratitude, it will be an unexpected bonus! Just because your parents told you were great, doesn’t mean managers will tell you the same thing. Your “good job” comes in the form of a recommendation for a job. When staff is called as a reference, if deserved, their recommendation will help you land your dream job.
Don’t Ask What To Do. Just Do It!
Environments surrounding animals are busy, hectic, and often times, stressful. Asking what you should be doing proves that you don’t know what is going. It tells staff that you need to be told what to do and indicates that you are not a self-starter and require constant supervision. Who wants to hire someone like that? Nobody. During certain circumstances asking a staff member what you should be doing is okay. Perhaps you need clarification on what task would be more beneficial.
Be One Step Ahead
Interns are appreciated when they make the employer’s jobs easier by being one-step ahead. Staff like interns who didn’t have to be told what to do and were one step of the game. Want to stand out? When a staff member says for you to go do something, then you tell them it’s already done, you will instantly earn brownie points and closer to becoming a star intern.
During your training weeks, learn the schedules, routines and preferences of staff. One pet peeve for us, is an intern standing around when there is work that can be done. If you know the routine, what comes next, this should never happen. This all goes along with not having to be told what to do. If you can do that, you are going to stand out.
You have to keep in mind, we (staff), go through this training process EVERY three months! Every three months, we start from scratch and train a new batch of interns. So, when we have interns who are constantly needing direction and being told what to do next, it gets tiring and our patience wears thin.
Take Credit Where Credit Is Due
If you do something, take credit for it! Be honest and truthful because we can smell a fake from a mile away. Taking credit doesn’t mean you should send out a group email detailing how you cleaned the shoe rack. It just means that you should be proud of the work you are doing and the powers that be should know about your work.
Network, Network, Network
Staff: This internship is your chance to make connections in the industry. The animal industry is small. If you know one person, you know everyone. Chances are that someone at the facility you are interning knows someone at a facility who could hire you. One good letter of recommendation could mean the difference between getting the job and not getting the job. An unflattering letter or phone call is almost certain to keep you from becoming employed.
If you develop a professional relationship with staff members, make sure to ask for their contact information before your internship ends.
Interns: You should also be networking with other interns. You never know who knows who. Additionally, you never know who your fellow interns will become. These are people just like you who are passionate about caring for animals.
Social Media: Be very careful on social media! It’s not uncommon for your boss to “friend you” on Facebook or “follow” you on Twitter. Social Media is also becoming very popular for a lot of businesses, especially non-profit organizations. With its popularity, it’s a very useful way to help bring awareness to the facility. It is very beneficial for you to help support the facility you intern at by “liking” their Facebook page and “sharing” their posts to help spread the work about the work they are doing. Again, it’s all about someone knowing someone.
Be Likeable
People want to spend time with those they like. Therefore, people hire people they like. Animal people spend a lot of time at work. They often spend days on end without leaving in order to care for a sick animal or prepare a new habitat. During that time, they will be spending a lot of time with fellow co-workers. You better believe that they would rather spend time with someone they like! So if you want to rock your internship and put yourself in a position to get hired, then be likeable.
“Likeable” may mean NOT being you! Whether you agree or not, you are not always yourself. You act differently around your parents than you do your group of friends. You behave differently during spring break in Mexico than you do Sunday at Church. So in your internship, you may need to modify your behavior to better suit your environment. Example: You may work with people who are loud, funny and extroverted. They, naturally, will want to be around more people like that.
You should seek employment that makes you happy—that includes working in environments that are reinforcing to you. This is just a helpful tip to make your internship as successful as possible.
Listen
Working with live animals has inherent risk when it comes to safety. Because of this it is crucial you listen. It is so important to listen to staff when they are giving you instructions. If you are unsure of their direction, ask questions! The one thing we hate is to see the understanding head nod, and then we turn around and see an intern doing the complete opposite of what they were told. Also, listen to the conversations taking place over the radio! Just because your name was not mentioned doesn’t mean that the information is not just as important to you.
I always tell interns it’s important to use all your senses while working with animals. Not only do you use your eyes, but your ears are just as important. For example, while picking up a habitat, you are busy looking for poop, checking toys, perches, etc. Your ears will help you stay connected to your surroundings. If someone has a “blooper moment” and goes to raise the animal from their house, you should tune in and react if you hear a pin cling or any other noise that will alert you to potential danger.
One thing you will learn when working with animals, dangerous ones especially, is to trust no one! You should always double check others, including staff and yourself. Always be aware of your surroundings!
Enjoy Every Second
There will be a moment at 5am when you are getting up to work and you will be sore, tired, irritated and unmotivated. Don’t let that get you down. There are thousands who would give their left arm for the opportunity to work next to animals…in any capacity. You should enjoy yourself. SMILE! Picture yourself giving advice to interns years from now. Picture yourself landing that dream job working with animals. It isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey! This internship is part of the journey. So enjoy it!
A great article was put out by Kyle Kittles that anyone thinking about an animal internship needs to read.
9 Harsh but Helpful Tips on Rocking Your Internship with Animals, written by a marine trainer, Kyle Kittleson which can be found on marinemammaltrainer.com. It’s refreshing to get the views of others in the animal field that are going through the same things you are. There are many very harsh, but helpful points made, and we have re-worked it to fit the case for our Intern Program. I believe, like the author of the article, that this is a harsh reality of internships, but if you follow these “tips,” you will get the most out of your experience.
If you are interested in working in the animal care field, it is important you understand just how important it is to gain animal care experience. This experience not only gives you an inside look on what it is like to care for animals, but also connects you to influential leaders in the industry. The primary reason is to make you a more attractive job applicant to potential employers.
Here are some tips to help you through your internship experience.
Understand Your Role
The reason interns exist is to make the lives of employees easier. You are there to do the work that nobody else likes doing. This may include scrubbing toilets, shoveling animal poop or filing documents. You do NOT exist as an intern to fulfill your dream of playing with the animals or nursing a baby tiger cub. You are simply there to make the jobs of the actual staff easier.
Now, a good internship such as this one will give you hands on experience working with animals and teach you about the field and industry. Show up every day knowing that your job is to make everyone’s lives easier. If you do that, you will be rewarded with experience.
Expect Nothing
In the competitive world of animal internships, as soon as you expect something, you have lost. The internship is designed to make you a better future candidate, not to give you time playing with animals. When you start expecting certain privileges, you have taken your eyes off the prize.
Expecting nothing will also make the tough times easier. Interns have thankless position. You will rarely be told “great job.” And you will be overworked. And that’s okay! Don’t expect to be thanked, coddled or appreciated. Then if you are shown gratitude, it will be an unexpected bonus! Just because your parents told you were great, doesn’t mean managers will tell you the same thing. Your “good job” comes in the form of a recommendation for a job. When staff is called as a reference, if deserved, their recommendation will help you land your dream job.
Don’t Ask What To Do. Just Do It!
Environments surrounding animals are busy, hectic, and often times, stressful. Asking what you should be doing proves that you don’t know what is going. It tells staff that you need to be told what to do and indicates that you are not a self-starter and require constant supervision. Who wants to hire someone like that? Nobody. During certain circumstances asking a staff member what you should be doing is okay. Perhaps you need clarification on what task would be more beneficial.
Be One Step Ahead
Interns are appreciated when they make the employer’s jobs easier by being one-step ahead. Staff like interns who didn’t have to be told what to do and were one step of the game. Want to stand out? When a staff member says for you to go do something, then you tell them it’s already done, you will instantly earn brownie points and closer to becoming a star intern.
During your training weeks, learn the schedules, routines and preferences of staff. One pet peeve for us, is an intern standing around when there is work that can be done. If you know the routine, what comes next, this should never happen. This all goes along with not having to be told what to do. If you can do that, you are going to stand out.
You have to keep in mind, we (staff), go through this training process EVERY three months! Every three months, we start from scratch and train a new batch of interns. So, when we have interns who are constantly needing direction and being told what to do next, it gets tiring and our patience wears thin.
Take Credit Where Credit Is Due
If you do something, take credit for it! Be honest and truthful because we can smell a fake from a mile away. Taking credit doesn’t mean you should send out a group email detailing how you cleaned the shoe rack. It just means that you should be proud of the work you are doing and the powers that be should know about your work.
Network, Network, Network
Staff: This internship is your chance to make connections in the industry. The animal industry is small. If you know one person, you know everyone. Chances are that someone at the facility you are interning knows someone at a facility who could hire you. One good letter of recommendation could mean the difference between getting the job and not getting the job. An unflattering letter or phone call is almost certain to keep you from becoming employed.
If you develop a professional relationship with staff members, make sure to ask for their contact information before your internship ends.
Interns: You should also be networking with other interns. You never know who knows who. Additionally, you never know who your fellow interns will become. These are people just like you who are passionate about caring for animals.
Social Media: Be very careful on social media! It’s not uncommon for your boss to “friend you” on Facebook or “follow” you on Twitter. Social Media is also becoming very popular for a lot of businesses, especially non-profit organizations. With its popularity, it’s a very useful way to help bring awareness to the facility. It is very beneficial for you to help support the facility you intern at by “liking” their Facebook page and “sharing” their posts to help spread the work about the work they are doing. Again, it’s all about someone knowing someone.
Be Likeable
People want to spend time with those they like. Therefore, people hire people they like. Animal people spend a lot of time at work. They often spend days on end without leaving in order to care for a sick animal or prepare a new habitat. During that time, they will be spending a lot of time with fellow co-workers. You better believe that they would rather spend time with someone they like! So if you want to rock your internship and put yourself in a position to get hired, then be likeable.
“Likeable” may mean NOT being you! Whether you agree or not, you are not always yourself. You act differently around your parents than you do your group of friends. You behave differently during spring break in Mexico than you do Sunday at Church. So in your internship, you may need to modify your behavior to better suit your environment. Example: You may work with people who are loud, funny and extroverted. They, naturally, will want to be around more people like that.
You should seek employment that makes you happy—that includes working in environments that are reinforcing to you. This is just a helpful tip to make your internship as successful as possible.
Listen
Working with live animals has inherent risk when it comes to safety. Because of this it is crucial you listen. It is so important to listen to staff when they are giving you instructions. If you are unsure of their direction, ask questions! The one thing we hate is to see the understanding head nod, and then we turn around and see an intern doing the complete opposite of what they were told. Also, listen to the conversations taking place over the radio! Just because your name was not mentioned doesn’t mean that the information is not just as important to you.
I always tell interns it’s important to use all your senses while working with animals. Not only do you use your eyes, but your ears are just as important. For example, while picking up a habitat, you are busy looking for poop, checking toys, perches, etc. Your ears will help you stay connected to your surroundings. If someone has a “blooper moment” and goes to raise the animal from their house, you should tune in and react if you hear a pin cling or any other noise that will alert you to potential danger.
One thing you will learn when working with animals, dangerous ones especially, is to trust no one! You should always double check others, including staff and yourself. Always be aware of your surroundings!
Enjoy Every Second
There will be a moment at 5am when you are getting up to work and you will be sore, tired, irritated and unmotivated. Don’t let that get you down. There are thousands who would give their left arm for the opportunity to work next to animals…in any capacity. You should enjoy yourself. SMILE! Picture yourself giving advice to interns years from now. Picture yourself landing that dream job working with animals. It isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey! This internship is part of the journey. So enjoy it!