Great Internships

 Image: Met Museum

Anyone that's been through a Museum Studies Program is familiar with the museum internship. Often highly recommended, but more often required, internships for Museum Studies programs are billed as a way to develop practical skills in a museum while using the knowledge gained from coursework. In some cases this is true, while other internships do not offer the same kind of experience.

Personally, I have had great internships and I have had some that definitely did not match my idea of a good internship. This has prompted me to determine what makes a great internship. Currently, I am working with a colleague to conduct a study of what interns believe make great internships and what intern managers believe make a great internship. We hope to uncover any disparities and get an idea of how internships can be designed for the best possible experience for both the interns and managers.

As someone who has been an intern and now someone who manages interns, I have a basic hypothesis of what I think makes a great internship:

1. Practical On-the-Job Training: This is useful for both the intern and manager. The intern will receive experience they can put on their resume and the manager will receive a worker they can trust to perform basic tasks.
2. Opportunities for Special Projects: Most interns are on the cutting edge of theory and practice from their coursework, so why not use that talent? For interns, this offers experience using what you've learned in school as well as a great project to put on your resume. For managers, you'll get something new and innovative to refresh whatever programming, etc that you're department is working on.
3. Opportunities for Improvement: This includes networking, extra training, community programs, etc where the intern can learn new ideas. Networking is very important when it comes time for the intern to be looking for jobs or other internships for the next semester. This can also benefit the organization as the intern can find new ideas or start collaborations with other organizations.

Those are the three main suggestions I have for improving internships. However, each program is different - has different resources, goals, etc. These are broad ideas and can be adapted for individual programs. I hope to share the results from my study in the next few months!

Weekly Links: Aug 27-Sept 2

Missed the Friday update, but here are the links:

Samantha at mus(eum)ings wrote a post on 9/11 museum exhibits. Less than a week away from the 10th anniversary.

Also, the Library of Congress offers a great site for teaching 9/11.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, MO just unveiled a new interactive website.

Klout just released the Top 10 Museums With Klout. If you haven't checked out Klout yet, definitely try it out and make sure to claim yourself.

The Smithsonian will be hosting the exhibition "Jefferson and Slavery at Monticello: Paradox of Liberty."

Hopefully you've already seen this, but if not, this performance at the Detroit Science Center is amazing!

Employee Training

Everyone has a job they've just been thrown into and expected to sink or swim. Hopefully, you survived it pretty well and eventually figured out most people's names, where the bathrooms were and how you fit into your department (if you're lucky enough to be on the organizational chart).

Then there are those great jobs that provide excellent employee orientation and training - the kind that makes you feel part of the organization before you even begin work. Though this is very important in large organizations where one department might never interact with another, small institutions can use trainings and orientations to their advantage as well. The great thing about orientations for museums and other cultural institutions is that everyone who works for you will understand and know your mission which is essential to presenting a cohesive message about your institution. I'd like to break down some essential elements to successful orientations and trainings.

1. Everyone should be required to attend - That means everyone from the floor staff to the Executive VPs. First this shows solidarity and commitment to the program. And second, it's a great informal way to meet people. 
2. Cover the basics - All your employees should know where the bathrooms and the most popular exhibits are in case they are on the floor and a visitor stops to ask them. Some other "basics" include your mission, employee benefits and a little background on your organization.
3. Overview of your organization - You can't expect all your employees to be experts in 18th century silver, but you can give them a little bit of information that the everyday visitor might not know. A great way to do this might be a tour by a curator or offering monthly programs that help keep your employees informed.
4. Explain how employees can stay up-to-date - If you have a fantastic intranet system, let employees know how to access it. Or if everything that's going on in the museum is posted in your monthly newsletter, let employees know how to get information about it. Many studies have shown that employees value being kept in the loop.
5. Remember to have fun - Think about how you're presenting your information and imagine if you had to sit through that program. Usually a variety of presentation methods are good - audio/visual, participatory, verbal, etc.

I recently sat through a great employee orientation and can't stop raving about how much I like the organization I'm working for. I can't help but think that the two are related.