professional development internship

CRITERIA AND STRUCTURE OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNSHIP PROPOSAL

Your Professional Development Internship Proposal must include the following elements below. Each section of your paper should be labeled with the corresponding heading in bold.

Cover Sheet:  See template on page 4.

A.  Description of the setting or organization

A description of the setting or organization in which the internship will take place. Effort should be made as to why this organization was chosen for your internship. Aside from fulfilling course requirements, how will working with this organization contribute to your professional career after leaving LSU.

Sufficient detail should be included so that the description makes clear the professional development setting in whichthe student will be working, including, who will be reporting to the student, the nature of the project/work/initiative, thestudent’s professional responsibilities, resources available (i.e. human, financial, or technical resources), time frame(i.e. start and end dates), number of hours to be worked on a weekly basis in the internship, and personnel with whomthe student will be working (names, position/job titles, summary of responsibilities, and any other relevant details).Please include the name of the student’s immediate site Supervisor and his/her working relationship with the student.

B.  SMART goal(s)

·  Specific (simple, sensible, significant).

·  Measurable (meaningful, motivating).

·  Achievable (agreed, attainable).

·  Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).

·  Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Identification of an initiative the student will pursue in their leadership role in this setting. The initiative(s)should have tangible and measurable outcomes that can be used to assess the success or failure of the initiative(s).The student is also required to state a plan for monitoring and assessing the extent to which these outcomes areattained.

Example: I will lead my team in an initiative to raise $10,000.00 for our cause. In order to monitor ourprogress, we will count our donations every week.

(If you have raised $10,000.00 by the end of your internship, then you have been successful).

Example: I will lead my team to improve workplace morale by 15%. In order to measure this, I will locate orcreate a survey that measures morale. I will administer this survey to our employees at the beginning and end ofmy internship.

(If you have raised morale by 15% at the end of your internship, then you have been successful).

C.  Purpose

Discuss in detail how this internship will aid you in your immediate career goals, over the next 12 months, once you leave LSU. Here you should think deeply about what your first job will be after graduation and how this internship will add to your skillset. How will this internship be presented on your resume and LinkedIn? If you are attending graduate school, how will this internship contribute to your continuing education.  

D.  Professional development goals

A description of the personal professional development goals/objectives the student will try to attain as a result of this experience.  Here you should think deeply about how the internship experience can help you strengthen areas seen as weaknesses.  In other words, describe the keys areas of knowledge and skill development you see as critical for your professional development.  Why do you see these as critical for your development and how will this internship help you build these competencies?

E.  Leadership development goals

A description of the personal leadership development goals/objectives the student will try to attain as a result of thisexperience. Here the student should think deeply about how the internship experience can help them strengthen areasseen as weaknesses. In other words, describe the keys areas of knowledge and skill development that the student seesas critical for their own professional development. Why are these areas critical for your development and how will thisinternship help build these competencies?

Example: I am terrible at keeping a schedule and staying on task and want to improve in this area. In order toimprove, I will purchase a daily planner or app. Example: I am bad at waking up early and want to improve in thisarea. In order to improve, I will go to bed early and set multiple alarms.

Example: I tend to interrupt people when they speak and want to improve in this area. In order to improve, I willwait until the other person is finished speaking before interjecting. Additionally, I will ask for feedback from myboss to make sure I am successful in this goal.