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mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}In “Learning to Work with Emotions During an Internship,” we can learn from Sara’s situation. We all know that internships will bring out emotions and situations that we didn’t know we would experience. They offer us an opportunity to begin our lives in our future jobs. We will learn not only different techniques in the business world, but also how to deal with our emotions. How we deal with the emotions and situations put before us will play a big role in the outcome of how we do in our internship, as well as life. Some internships will require you to deal with really stressful situations, such as people coming in and crying or yelling. What if a person is yelling at you accusing your place of internship for doing something wrong? How would you react: yell, cry, or react calmly? My internship at the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will most likely leave me in a situation like this. I will try my best to react calmly. What if like Sara, we are being too outgoing at work? Will we react professionally and try to adjust or will we take it wrongly?
In “Expressing Emotion in Interpersonal Interactions,” it says that it isn’t always good to express all of your emotions when asked about how you are. This can also be said for other situations as well. Not all of your coworkers want to know your entire morning and how stressed you are. This can make them feel uncomfortable, because they may not know how to react. There can also be situations when something frustrating happens at work. For instance, the fax machine stops working, the printer keeps jamming, or your computer keeps freezing on you. It would be best not to show anger with the stressor or cuss at it. This can cause your coworkers to feel uncomfortable. So, just imagine your grandmother was in the room with a bar of soap and a wooden ladle. Be cautious of what you say or else you may become reprimanded.
Do you have any tips for relieving stress from work or how to handle stressful situations?
· Take a calming, deep breath
· Go to the bathroom for a moment alone and to think
· Talk with your supervisor about things that are stressing you out
· Remember that by staying calm, you are showing not only that you are mature, but courage. You don’t have to belittle yourself to another’s level of yelling. Yelling will only cause a bigger situation and more stress
First, let me begin by saying that these reading really helped me clear things up. I had been feeling a little overwhelmed with the tasks I am expected to complete. For example, I am not very familiar with Microsoft Access and Excel, and I have been asked to help compile and complete data bases using those programs. I am nervous that I will not be able to do them correctly, or that my supervisor will not be satisfied with my performance. However, through these readings, I have discovered that I am probably not the only one and that as long as I remain calm and think things over before talking to my supervisor I will be okay.
In response to “Learning to Work with Emotions During an Internship,” I discovered that I would come across many different emotions in the workplace, and I already have. My supervisor one day, instead of giving me a list of tasks to complete, told me every detail of her day and how she was feeling overwhelmed, upset, and even angry. While I did not mind her telling me these things, It made me feel a little uncomfortable, which is an emotion that is common when you over-share. Being that I am new, I do not share too much with my coworkers but sometimes I feel like the girls that share my office with me think that I am “stuck-up” so to speak, because they are always talking about everything from their boyfriends to the lunch they had that day, and I (so far) rarely speak up or add anything in. This also ties in with “Expressing Emotion in Interpersonal Interactions.” As Jocelyn stated sharing too much can make others feel uncomfortable. It is and can be hard to know what you should and should not share, especially once you get comfortable enough around your coworkers.
All of that aside, the article “My Entry-Level Life” calmed me down. I have been VERY apprehensive about entering the work force, especially as an English major. I am told time and time again that English majors usually amount to nothing more than a glorified secretary. However this reading made me realize that just like any other profession, degree or not, we have to start at the bottom and work our way up. Kendra wrote about identity in her article. I found this interesting when she said “For most of my life, my identity was “student.” She spoke about how a nine digit number categorized her until she received her diploma. It is going to be hard to make the transition from student to employee. We have been explicitly told what to do and how to do for so many years, and once we are out of school we will no longer be lead through tasks and will have to do much of the work ourselves.
In the end these readings were short and helpful. They made me realize that I am not the only one who feels overwhelmed at times, and through open and honest communication– but not too much– that I can get through anything. My questions to you all are these: Have you been asked to complete any tasks that you know you are going to need extra help with? Do any of you work within a team? I am pretty much on my own and would like to know how you collaborate with others, especially since in academic group work, I have the tendency to like to take the lead and have things done my way, and they haven’t exactly always worked out.
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mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}When I first started my internship, I was terrified. I felt like I’d be on such shaky ground that if I made one mistake, they would tell me to never come back. Of course, that was only my fear making me feel that way, not my boss (she’s actually very nice) or anything else that happened at the time.
As it was mentioned in the first post, when I’m feeling overwhelmed, taking a short break to the bathroom really helps clear my head. Sometimes, it’s important to just take a moment to gather yourself before you start a difficult task, rather than simply powering your way through it. It’s not a sign of weakness or inability to need a second to gather your thoughts. The same is true if you happen to get upset while at work. Like the readings said, it’s never a good thing to react in anger towards a coworker or boss. Reigning in emotions and choosing the correct time to display them can be the difference between getting fired and being offered a job after the internship is over. Also, many things can be cleared up by talking about the situation to another person. Poor communication is the cause of many misunderstandings.Kendra Potts’s “My Entry-Level Life” also struck a chord with me. All of us in this class are reaching the end of our undergraduate careers, so it makes sense that this reading assignment would stand out. I definitely believe that my internship is providing me with valuable experience. However, when I find an entry-level job after graduation, I will still start at a lower level in the organization and work my way up–this way of thinking is very similar to the American dream. Maybe I’m still naïve, or maybe there’s some truth in it.
Regarding deadlines, I tend to agree with Kendra Potts. Many of the CLC (Center for Literary Computing) projects I’m working on require correspondence with people inside and outside of the University similar to how Kendra’s projects rely on tasks completed by other departments. For example, I am editing essays translated from Portuguese, but I communicate with one of the authors in Portugal to receive source information. This delays my progress a bit, but it is a necessary part of my editorial work. From this experience, I’m learning that deadlines are more or less goals. They may not always be reachable, but they’re what you should aim for. Thinking of deadlines this way may help ease the pressure if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
In “Learning to Work with Emotions During an Internship” I was able to relate to some of Sara’s experiences in the work place. Specifically, I was able to relate to the way Sara handled the situation when she was asked to do more work. She said that she would get to it as soon as she could. So far in my internship, I have learned the importance of time management. When you’re approaching a deadline, that project may sometimes have to take precedence over other projects you are involved in.
Last summer I had an internship similar to Kendra Pott’s position in “My Entry-Level Life.” I worked as a technical writer and I also experienced many of the same issues that she faced with deadlines. Often times when I was working on an assignment where all I needed was a confirmation or two short sentences of information, I would have to wait between one and two weeks for a response. It was frustrating at times. Eventually I got over it and acknowledged that I was only an intern and my needs were not very high other people’s priority list. Since I worked in an office with a maze of cubicles I was told to use online messaging to as a primary communication between coworkers. I found after a while of getting to know some the coworkers that using face to face communication solicited a faster response than using email or online message. They sometimes still needed a few reminders but appealing to them in person for a response was still much better than using alternative communication methods, when it was an option.
In “Learning how to deal with emotions during an internship,” I don’t face the same overwhelming feeling as someone who is just starting their internship. I’ve known my supervisor for some time now. He’s been my professor, mentor, and supervisor before and understands that I am still in school and working a part time job. Therefore he expects that some deadlines will be hard to hit. Instead of getting angry or upset that the deadline is missed, he always focuses on what could we have done better to hit the deadline. Where can we improve is always his question after a project, whether successful or not. In this way he continues to push me to succeed. Also, for my internship this semester I face a new situation that I’m not very familiar with. I have two other interns who work below me. I give them assignments and work to do and they report back to me. Just as I don’t want to be overwhelmed, I’m trying not to overwhelm the other two interns. It’s a new position that I have yet to become use to. I’ve always been given directions and assignments, but I’ve been had to give them to others before. It will be interesting to see how this turns out this semester.
I’m feeling many of the same apprehensions as other members of the class about the amount of work I’m expected to do and how much I’m expected to know.
My absolute biggest fear is that I will disappoint my intern adviser. He places a lot of faith in me and my abilities and always speaks very highly of me to his colleagues, people I’ll be working with, too, and I’m afraid he thinks I’m more capable than I am. I know this is my own insecurity but I’m not sure how to get past it. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading Kendra Potts’s “My entry-level life.” I felt as though I could identify with her on a lot of points (from the pale skin to the desire to work in a small, quiet environment) and the fact someone else is working the job I’m likely to have and succeeding gives me hope that I can do the same as I enter into the work force. And with some luck and nepotism, I can rise through the ranks to my dream job.
So far in my internship, I haven’t really experienced any major stressors or seemingly unfair situations like the girl does in the Stitts article. I have been fortuante, so far, to have a very understanding and nice supervisor. As the intern, I do a little bit of everything. Although they know that my main purpose of being there is to do PWE-type work, I am often asked to do very mondane, every day tasks such as sorting mail or putting together packets of information for prospective WVU students. These everyday things are things that the secretaries do, so it kind of makes me feel like I’m not needed. I grin and bear it, though, and it should get better because they are hiring a student worker to do that sort of thing soon. Yay!
I can relate to the Potts piece. I enjoyed reading it and thought is was funny. On week two of my internship I got my very own cubicle. I didn’t realize it until Potts said something in the article about the “padded walls” of a cubilce, but it is somwehat reminiscent of a psycho ward. Although she didn’t go any further with this, I can only hope that’s what she was alluding to.
As with anything in the real world, it is very important to have a positive attitude and keep your emotions in check. I feel that I have done this well so far, but that’s mainly due to the good office environment I am in. If I were to have any unprofessional situations happen to me, like the girl in the Stitts article, I would be really upset and can only hope that I could handle my emotions with class.
In all reality, Sara should have not kept her back turned to someone who was talking to her. If I were her superior, I might have been offended. That’s just rude and very unacceptable for someone (especially someone, like an intern, who is on the bottom of the totem pole) to do.
In the day-to-day workings of the office, I feel it’s best to live by Ron Burgundy’s example and “stay classy.”
I was really worried about getting an internship. Last semester was crazy for me and I started searching late. I emailed my resume and luckily the corrdinator was interested, She told me that though they had already started selecting but she would consider me. Then I didn’t hear back for a few weeks, I became worried. Thats when I sent the e-mail sure that I was going to have to try to find something at last minuet. She e-mailed me back and told me if I was interested they wanted me. I was so estatic, my first position for my major. Everything I had been studying for the past 3 years was going to be put to the test. I have just completed editing the main document I will be focusing on for my internship. There are two documents that I have editied, my next project will be to conslidate two different documents I have been editing to one.
My main worry is that this semester I am taking my first editing class. I edited the documents but not with proper editing marks. I wrote a lot of suggestions in the margin and made minor edits to the documents. My supervisor looked over them but I will not know what she thinks until tomorrow. She could be really upset with me, thinking I had more knowledge than I do. I am worried that she may pull me off the project feeling that I am not suited for me. This example has shown me that what will happen will happen and I must remain calm and collected before I meet with her. I really enjoy working on this because I need to bring my knowledge from my part time job to my internship to help me make decisions about the way things in the documents should be.
Andrea George
I originally started looking for internships mid-semester last fall. I was worried that all of the internships would be taken. About a couple days after I emailed people about possible internships, I received a call back from the Social Justice Office on campus. They said they don’t know how I heard about them for an internship. I guess nobody has interned with them from PWE. They told me that they were actually currently looking for somebody to help out. So I got to start working there a week later. Charlie, the man who I spoke to over the phone, told me that we could see about the internship at the end of the semester. Which is when my work there was supposed to be ending. I ended up working there some over winter break. Once break had started, I still didn’t know whether I had the internship or not. I had two other interviews and was told I could have an internship at one. I didn’t know what to do. I told the woman that I was also trying to get the internship at the Social Justice Office and that I didn’t know whether I had it or not. She said she understood the situation. Finally! I found out that I had the internship at the Social Justice Office.
I enjoy working there, because everybody is so nice and fun. However, I never know if I say too much or if they do. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable or just want to start laughing, because of their outbursts. I don’t want to seem rude, so I don’t laugh and I tell them that I understand. Usually, the equipment starts going haywire and drives us insane.
My fear for the internship is that I won’t be what they expect. I fear that I won’t do my job well enough. Right now, I am working on a newsletter for the office, but I don’t know what to write about for it. I took the lead and am doing what I think could work. My supervisor is out for the entire week, so I haven’t been able to correspond with her about the newsletter. I emailed her a few days ago, but I understand that she is busy and unable to check her emails. I just feel like I’m not going to do a good job on it or have it done by the time frame she wants. I really don’t know when she wants it completed by either.
So I have been trying to get the newsletter done, but I keep worrying that she won’t like it. This worry leads me to writing and rewriting things, changing my ideas, and fearing that it will either be too short or too long. Being an intern is so stressful, especially when all of my classes are high demanding and have a lot of homework. My supervisor understands that school work comes first, but how long will it be until she says that I’m not doing stuff in a timely manner?
Like Liz, I am fortunate to have a very kind and understanding supervisor, so I too haven’t really experienced any major stress or dealt with any unfair situations like in Stitt’s article. However I do still feel the anxiety of possibly disappointing my supervisor and those that I work with. I am not treated as a ‘lowly intern’ but more as an equal; everyone around me values my opinions and insights and they place a great deal of faith in me. At times I feel that not having graduated yet makes my abilities insufficient.
“Learning How To Deal With Emotions During an Internship,” and “Expressing Emotion in Interpersonal Interactions,” were interesting reads, especially since I’ve recently found myself in “don’t overshare” situations that “make others uncomfortable” as Jocelyn said. It’s tough for me to find a balance of being open and friendly and saying too much, especially since I work with a group of people with a very familial bond. They are all very close and give out their opinions quite freely. I don’t know if I will ever reach that point of familiarity with them, and I’m still not entirely sure if it’s appropriate. Is it still unprofessional or do you go with the flow of things?
Like pretty much everyone else, “My Entry Level Life,” stood out to me. It’s a little daunting at times (okay, all the time) to think that after graduating I will no longer be just a “9 digit number.” I will no longer have professors and instructors and homework assignments, and I will no longer be guided through every aspect of my work. It’s a freeing feeling too, I suppose. My internship is definitely providing me with much needed, wonderful experience, but just like everyone else regardless of major I will eventually have to work my way up in the ranks.
liz has already mentioned the one thing that really stood out in my mind about sara’s story: she kept her back to her supervisors when they spoke to her. not only is it rude, it prevents her the opportunity of looking for visual clues about anything else they are relaying to her. whether or not people intend it, they often display their emotions visually, even with purpose (as covered in “expressing emotion…”). i’ve dealt with supervisors – and other people with absolutely no right to require a single thing of me – who flaunt their power, real and imaginary. they seem to want to see how many unreasonable requests or attitudes they can pile on before someone refuses. the saying “the smile doesn’t reach his eyes” came to mind as i read sara’s description of this office bully. making eye contact, maintaining a neutral facial expression, and confident, non-confrontational body posture are all helpful in dealing with such people. aside from facing people when they are speaking (even if they don’t seem to mind, as one of her supers didn’t), i think she handled things well. it’s discouraging to be told you’re too good at something and that others feel inadequate so you should be less; compliance with the request to “dumb it down” can lead to bad habits and bad attitude, including laziness. that doesn’t work for someone with drive.
with an internship, it’s not always an option to quit. jobs can be difficult to find but do not have the time constraints of adding and dropping that classes and internships do. i was placed in a group for a project last semester with a truly despicable person. i made at least two trips to splash water on my face and growl in the ladies’ room every day i had to be around her. even though i had loved the class, i almost dropped it – twice – because of this woman and her behavior. had it been a job rather than a class, i would have quit. it was a class i need for my concentration. i didn’t want to have to start all over this semester and cram another class into an already overfull schedule. i got through it, thanks to a lot of personal support, and did well, and so remind myself that all things related to school are only for a time. i laugh when i see the “splash water” or even the recommendation to go to the restroom to cool down: i rarely wear makeup because i do this so often. it’s better for me than more aspirin and gritting my teeth.
thankfully, my supervisor for this internship is a person i can get along with easily. while some of you have spoken about the discomfort of people sharing too much – and i’ve definitly experienced that (yuck) - i am relieved that she is willing to share as she does. we approached discussion of our personal situations tenuously and found a sympathetic ear in each other. the nature of the work is technical but the cause is very personal. we share a passion for compassion and it helps to reaffirm this from personal perspective. she also gave me a very cursory history of the office situation so that i am not caught off guard by anything (and it matched my perceptions completely). because we know the basics of each other’s big stressors outside of the office, we have created a mutual sense of understanding and it makes learning and doing the work much less intimidating for me.
i’ve discovered that most people who make work situations uncomfortable tend to 1. be unaware that they have that much effect on people, 2. don’t realize they’re coming off “that” way or 3. have serious personal issues and lack the skills, consideration, or integrity to do anything about them and so take them out on others – i try to pity the 3′s until i can get away from them. remembering that everyone is a person with their own pluses and minuses tends to help me break down the problem better in my own head. with the 3′s, it’s just a survival mechanism for the duration.
dry idea deodorant had an ad campaign in the 80′s “never let them see you sweat” and it’s a great saying. it works for everything – emotion, behavior, expression, words – that might indicate you’ve lost your self control. i believe it’s acceptable to admit you’re confused by a person’s behavior, consider something unfair, do not understand what you’re expected to do or why, or even to say that you are upset, sad, depressed, etc. as long as you do it with calm and cool – or get away until that’s possible.
I’ve never been a nine-digit number. Sure, the University has to keep track of me via my 700 number. But the U.S. Government has to keep track of me by my SSN. Can any of us really say we feel like in our whole lives we’ll only be a number? Within the University, we’re constantly building relationships with other students and professors that more accurately describe where we stand. Anyone who feels like a number is either lying or looking for a reason to be unhappy.
We have to forge our own positions, and this shouldn’t be complex. We’re just relating to the people around us, and that’s just life.
It reminds me of a discussion I had with a friend recently. He was going to be interviewing a 30-year-old man about farming. He didn’t know how to approach the situation. He’s older, but not a lot older, so how much formality do you use? How much can you joke around? How do you break the ice?
People are people.
We don’t need some sort of manual to deal with one another. It’s simple. If you are nice to people, and you allow them to establish a certain level of informality or familiarity, I find very few issues arise. Sure, it’s no longer the student/teacher or student/student relationship we’ve grown accustomed to in the past 17 years, but the idea is still pretty much the same. Is it really difficult to find a common ground or figure out where you fit?
As an intern or an entry-level new hire, everyone pretty much knows you’re “the new kid,” so you can let the environment and other people determine your place within them. Once you’ve found that place, building a rapport with your coworkers allows your position to change and evolve. I think avoiding being too familiar is an obvious problem to avoid, because you don’t have that relationship and you know it. Don’t try to force anything on your coworkers, and things should go well.
FEELINGS DESPISED AT WORKAfter reading, “Learning to Work With Emotions During an Internship,” I realized how it is important to balance emotions. The internship that I am working for Court Appointed Special Advocate where I advocate for children whose parent’s either had problems with alcohol or drugs or sexually abused them. When we having a meeting, I am expected to shut down the emotional aspect so I am able to think critically and take notes professionally. Yet, strong emotions like passion for fighting for the child and the disgust or anger that is found when thinking about the wrong that the parent did is almost expected or needed. Otherwise, there would be no motivation for this. I remember being interviewed for this and all the various questions that came up that had to do with handling emotions. On one hand these emotions are internal and giving me the reason to work for the internship. However, when making decisions, I have to almost be devoid of emotions and bias in order to have the ability to think.
I do agree with the rest of the class with fact that when someone asks how you are, it is best to leave emotion out of it as explained in “Expressing Emotion in Interpersonal Interactions.” I forget this concept all the time. When I ask someone, “Hey, how are you” I want to know what is new in their life and all the details. Yet, I am usually greeted with a curt, “Good, thanks.” I have been an RA for two years and I find that this concept carried over to my job and not just the internship I am in. I deal with hundreds of residents every day and it is expected for me to keep it short and polite and answer with “I’m good. Thanks” when a resident asks how I am. In a way it does makes sense because emotion and feelings are personal and should not be mixed with professional work.
Just like the majority of the class, I find “My Entry Level Life” very relatable. The idea of graduating, getting a job, and living a real “adult” life is daunting. I’ve been in some kind of school since I was five years old, so finishing will be both strange and liberating. However, I’ll be attending graduate school next year so I guess I get to out off “real” life for another two years. At the same time, I’m intimidated because I’ll be a graduate teaching assistant which is a position that carries way more responsibility than I am used to. I suppose it will be like having an entry level job, and I’ll definitely be at the bottom of the totem pole.
Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with a lot of the awkwardness mentioned in “Learning How to Deal with Emotions During an Internship”. I’m interning at the WVU Writing Center, and I’ve been a tutor there for about two years. I’m very familiar with my supervisor and we get along very well. She always asks for my opinion and listens to my suggestions. Overall, the work environment is very casual and positive. People share many things about their lives, from everyday annoyances to relationship problems. Sometimes people over share, but not enough to make anyone really uncomfortable. The ability to control and read emotions is more important when dealing with the students who come to the center for help. Many of them are stressed out because of writing assignments, and it’s important to listen carefully and show them that you care about helping them. So far, the only issue I might run into is time management. I haven’t really gotten a feel for everything I’ll be working on this semester, especially since the writing center isn’t open the first week of school. Many of the projects I’m working on will last the entire semester, so I don’t have many deadlines to guide me. However, I’m starting to develop a schedule so I stay on task.
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