Context:

With the spring semester in full-swing and summer quickly approaching, you should take time this month to talk with your mentee about planning for a summer internship, summer job or other career exploration experiences. March is also an important time to check-in on academic performance, and health and wellness to help ensure that your mentee has access to any resources they may need, and stays on track to persist to the end of the semester.

When it comes to finding a valuable summer internship for college students, preparation is key.  Mentees who have done their due diligence by researching, prioritizing, and preparing for an internship have higher chances of securing one that helps them advance their life or career goals. The same goes for students who tap into their networks to guide and support them through the process. Use this conversation to explore potential internship experiences while creating a list of the resources and people and connections (at home and on campus) that will help your mentee explore and land their ideal summer internship.

Prompts for Communication:

Even though there is a lot to cover this month, before getting bogged down in tasks send your mentee a quick message to see how they are doing.

• What us one thing that is going well for you or that you are proud of?
• What is one thing that you are struggling with ot could use some additional support with?

Celebrate and congratulate your mentee on their wins. Help them work through their challenges, by first offering a listening ear, then validating their feelings, and finally, helping them explore the resources that are available to them on-campus, in their community and at iMentor.

As far as an academic check-in, ask your mentee how they are preparing for midterm exams and suggest some ways for your mentee to manage any stress or anxiety around this. Maybe there is something that you can do together virtually like guided meditation, yoga or maybe even watching an episode of their favorite show. In addition to mid-terms ask your mentee about:

• Meeting with their academic advisor
• Course registration for the upcoming fall semester

Exploring summer internships while exciting could seem a bit daunting to your mentee especially as they are preparing for midterm exams. You can kick off the conversation by talking about your personal experience with internships and how you can support them in exploring their options. How did you research, select, and land your internship? What advice do you have for your mentee? At this early stage in their post-secondary journey your mentee may be unsure of what type of internship would benefit them.  Have them start their exploration by using the career interest assessment tool in the resources section.

Resources:

• Learn more about the value of an internship here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/11/09/internships-the-ultimate-return-on-investment-for-todays-college-student/?sh=722e228243a6
• Career Interest Survey

https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Careers/interest-assessment.aspx