Two weeks have past, and now it is time to reflect and think about "how am I as an intern?". A big point is self-advocacy. You will only continue to fall behind unless you speak up for yourself and ask questions. A common theme when I was talking with officers was timidness. When an interested party comes in hoping to have a glance around, they are often shy and do not ask questions. This can cause a great deal of trouble.
As someone who has had no previous experience with police departments and those that work in them (besides in entertainment), this was something I found myself doing frequently. A lot of information must be gained in order to complete the project I begun and therefore required a lot of communication. Since communication is such an important part of the operation, it was a beneficial activity.
Since I am in a situation where participating is being someone's 'left hand man', it offers many opportunities for questions and to find a deeper understanding of the subject at hand. The front office (for employees that is) is typically filled with passing officers who enjoy the occasional banter back and forth. While still professional, it is important not to be too serious. You must be an open book with nothing to hide. The environment is often filled with casual conversation. As someone who is an expert of this craft, I feel quite confidently of my presence not going unnoticed.
As someone who has had no previous experience with police departments and those that work in them (besides in entertainment), this was something I found myself doing frequently. A lot of information must be gained in order to complete the project I begun and therefore required a lot of communication. Since communication is such an important part of the operation, it was a beneficial activity.
Since I am in a situation where participating is being someone's 'left hand man', it offers many opportunities for questions and to find a deeper understanding of the subject at hand. The front office (for employees that is) is typically filled with passing officers who enjoy the occasional banter back and forth. While still professional, it is important not to be too serious. You must be an open book with nothing to hide. The environment is often filled with casual conversation. As someone who is an expert of this craft, I feel quite confidently of my presence not going unnoticed.
There are five different helpful guidelines that were read before leaving for internship:
1. Always be doing something
2. Do not go to a meeting without a notebook
3. Get to know your colleagues early
4. Show up on time (or early) for everything
5. Dress more professionally then you need to
There are several I have managed to follow more than others. One would be always having a notebook (in this case the Notes app). I feel this is extremely important as I now have much in the way of helpful information not only for my project, but also a deeper look into the careers available in my hopeful topic of study. Another would be getting to know colleagues early. As soon as I walked in my mentor introduced me to nearly everyone there and helped me set up times in which I could speak with them. I feel those two may be the ones that have been applied most often, but I cannot think of a single one that I have not used at one time or another. As long as you are open and a good conversationalist, it is easy