Checklist for supervisors and tips for successful guidance. Interview with the intern Clarissa.
By: Björg Helene Eggen
Tags: Leadership, Intern, Mentor, Mentorship, Internships

Why internship is important

The purpose of the internship is to give the intern a grounding in reality and an opportunity to test their knowledge. The internship gives our interns a head start, as well as a pre-understanding of the different subjects they study in school.

During the internship, leadership is extra important and the supervisor has an important role, and must be interested in the assignment. The supervisor must have a good professional knowledge and an interest in working with young people.

The intern learns about entrepreneurship. How does it work in a workplace? What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? The intern’s time in the workplace gives them a sense of entrepreneurship and what it means.

International perspectives are another important factor. Several of the companies in Sweden that Björg works with have an international connection, and also enable internships abroad.

Internships develop people. Practicing generates courage, knowledge and social skills. For many, internships are their first opportunity to be in a workplace.

Checklist for supervisors

Below is a checklist / guide that is good to start from:

✅ Meet expectations and requirements for the intern.

✅ Set up a schedule for the intern.

✅ Supervise the intern in the practical tasks at the workplace.

✅ Introduce the intern in the company.

✅ Answer questions and help the intern to cope with any tasks.

✅ Help the intern to understand how the company works.

✅ Ensure that requirements for the work environment are met.

✅ Make sure that any accidents / incidents are reported.

Tips for successful guidance

✅ Share experiences and encourage questions.

✅ Give constructive criticism.

✅ Involve the intern as much as possible, let them, for example, meet customers, let them submit their own suggestions for solutions, encourage initiative.

✅ Feel free to have a continuous dialogue with the intern about the work.

Hello! I ´m Clarissa the intern

Hi! My name is Clarissa and I´m 16 years old. I’m in my first year of high school in a school named Thoren Business School. I attend the science program with a specialization in management. All the students at the school have been instructed that they need an internship. The purpose of the internship is that the students should develop knowledge about professional skills and understand the professional culture but also become a part of the professional community. That’s why I’m going to be here with Björg the following three weeks, WHICH WILL BE FUN! I will help Björg with practical tasks.

When I’m not in school I spend my spare time at studies, being with my family and friends but also listening to music. I love going to concerts but under prevailing circumstances there have been no concerts this year. My own thoughts about internship is that is fun to be a part of the real “working life” in different ways because I will end up there in the future. My dream is to become a doctor or a dentist, I want to work in healthcare in some way so I can help people who need it.

Designing the first T-shirt

A fun random fact about me is that I love ice-cream so much that I once ate a whole 1L package of ice-cream a hot summer day … I did not feel well after that LOL.

I think its fun to be an intern. I have helped my supervisor with different kind of tasks, and I have learned how to use different tools and programs that I did not have knowledge about before. I designed my own t-shirt using a tool named “Figma”. That’s not the only thing I have done. I have also written articles, made illustrations, helped design an app, both the content inside the app and the app icon. The app will later be launched on the App store and Google Play.

I have been involved in meetings with consultants and supervisors but also learned more about the business and the profession. The absolute most fun has been designing a t-shirt. At first it was difficult to figure out how it should look, but then I came up with some ideas. I created a mood board and looked at inspiration from internet. It feels good to be able to take part in real working life because it gives me an insight into what my future may look like.

/ Clarissa