Being An Internship Supervisor: Fact Sheet Season

We have officially entered the time of year that I call "Fact Sheet Season." I think that many people assign internship director contact as an assignment in the Fall semester of the senior years because I get more requests for fact sheets and application links during the months of September and October than any other months of the year. I also do not get much in the form of actual applications from this assignment, but I happily send out my fact sheet and links to my application to all who ask for them.

It is interesting to me how people approach me during this process. I recently received an email that was not directed at me since it stated that the person sending it was going to be my practicum student this fall (I am not a practicum student supervisor - I have been in the past, but have not been approached to supervise a pre-internship student this fall). In the past, other people have sent emails that are not directed to me as well. I tend to return those to sender because sensitive information is being sent out. 

I am the type of person who hates form emails. You know the ones..."To Whom It May Concern..." or "Dear Internship Director..." The rest of the email can certainly be a copy/paste type of thing, but take a little time to personalize the greeting. If you are sending me an email, then you have to see my name somewhere, so just use it. I would much rather be addressed by my name than by a generic salutation. I don't know how others feel, but I definitely feel this way about the first contact.

I just adjusted my fact sheet - but I am thinking that I did not incorporate our new program which was the reason I was adjusting my fact sheet. I will need to review that this morning since it is the season for inquiries.

My fact sheet is long. I think it is about seven pages and covers every single thing I can think to include. Information is repeated in several places to assist people in knowing what I require of my applicants before they apply. It covers the history of the facility, the music therapy program, and the current programs that we offer at the facility. We go over the general schedule, the progression of learning how to do the job, and all the requirements for consideration to be an intern. Most of the requirements are repeated in the application that is a separate document. I'm moving into a more digital existence when it comes to my application, but it is still a bit behind when it comes to other options. That's okay, though. I am working on updating my methods to work within my available options. We just got access to Google through my school district, so I am taking advantage of that set of tools right now.

I start to make my decision about people based on that initial contact. I also make decisions based on the applications submitted. I do not require auditions from everyone since I require an onsite audition in rural Kansas. I really have designed my application to provide me some metrics for making those invitations for applicants that I want to see more from. I use my application to help me decide if an applicant is able to follow directions. If I get a transcript or a resume from an applicant, I know that they did not follow my requests in my application. I state that I do not want these elements in the fact sheet, but I get so many demands to review transcripts from applicants who do not read my requirements. I know that some internship directors want those things - I do not. I've had one applicant tell me that I "forgot" to ask for these things - I did not forget. I get no useful information from either of these things, so I don't want them.

It is about time to get ready to head out to my office to see how many requests have come in over the past couple of days. I will send fact sheets and links back to everyone. I will then move their emails to my email folder for such emails and move into my clinical day.

I hope that you enjoy your Monday.