Is your summer job meaningful? Darden student Zoe Robins is currently an intern in the field of conservation finance in Bali, Indonesia. I’d say her internship is meaningful. Not because she’s working for a non-profit, somehow helping save the ecosystem of one of the most beautiful places on earth. Well, okay that in itself would probably make the internship meaningful. But from my vantage as a Career Director, I’d say her internship is meaningful for other reasons. She is building her skills in finance. She is developing contacts in an area in which she might have future interests. She is stretching her comfort zone by living and working in a foreign environment. She is using skills gained in her first year at Darden. I think she’s having fun.
I spoke to an intern in Minneapolis the other day in another meaningful internship. He too was building his skills, in finance, marketing and strategy. He was networking in a company with endless opportunities and already creating possibilities for the future. He seemed to be stretching his comfort zone in the types of projects in which he was engaged. By the way he described his summer after about four weeks; he seemed to be having fun.
When you begin your job search next year, what will your criteria be for your summer or full-time job? Are you searching for “meaningful” work? In the Personal Career Assessment Program (PCAP) part of the Career Management curriculum, you develop(ed) “life themes”. Could those “life themes” be your criteria for meaningful work? If you’d like to discuss more about how life themes can help you in your job search, contact a career consultant, or me, and we’ll be happy to discuss.