Slide 1
NAFs Internship Toolkit: Academy PersonalizationOr, how to stop
your students from asking the same questions over and over and over
and.Marvin I.C. Siegfried, Coordinator,John Dewey High SchoolMarva
Forsyth, 2007AOF alumnaNancy Lam, 2007 alumnaLaura Fidler, Project
Manager, [email protected]
Background information:John Dewey High School
The first Academy program started in 1982
140 students, 70 seniors, 70 juniors
Located in Brooklyn, NY approximately one hour from midtown
Manhattan (where most of our internships are)
Reasons for initiating the handbookPromote cooperation between
the juniors and seniors
Provide useful information to the juniors about their summer
internshiphow to prepare for the internship?what the process would
be like?how to travel to their internship?
Supplement NAFs Online Internship toolkit for New York City
Provide a useful senior project
Preserve their coordinators sanityafter answering the same
question 70 times
Promote cooperationuse what the seniors had experienced to help
prepare the juniors
have the seniors mentor the juniors
Seniors Mentor JuniorsHow to prepare for the internship? what
are some requirements?
What the process would be like? what the interview and
application process entailed?
How to travel to their internshipspecific subway lines and
approximate travel times
Academy PersonalizationEach Academys internships are a bit
unique:
NYC students are usually placed in the corporate offices or
headquarters, rather than in the local brokers office, bank branch,
etc.We felt that a handbook that focused primarily on those jobs
would supplement NAFs online Internship Toolkit
www.naf.org
Senior projectAll too often, seniors can become indifferent to
school during their senior yearCollege applicationsPromGeneral
ennuiLets students give back to the AcademyEvery senior, including
those who did not have an internship, for one reason or another,
was required to submit an assignment.
Students who did not have an internship turned in articles on
the paperwork necessary for the internship, job interviews
including how to dress, etc.
How did we prepare?Senior Survey of:what information they wished
they had prior to beginning their internshipwhat they thought was
the most important thing they had learned about the
internshipspecific skills and other information that they thought a
student beginning the internship would like to know
Sample survey questionsWhat skills did you need for your
job?What would you have liked to know about the company and/or the
job before you started work?What advice would you give to the
juniors?What did you do after work?Where did you go for food?Once
we collated the data, we had Nancy Lam decide on the format for the
assignment
ACADEMY OF FINANCE INTERNSHIP HANDBOOK ASSIGNMENT sample
Congratulations! You have successfully completed your summer
internships, and are now seniors in the Academy of Finance. You
have a lot to look forward to, Banking and Credit, Financial
Planning, applying to college and for scholarships, a college
course at Baruch College and most importantly, helping out the
juniors so they can have as rewarding a summer experience as you
did.To that end, we are going to put together an internship
handbook so they will be even better prepared for their internship
interviews and jobs than you were last year. Heres how youre going
to help them.Each senior who completed an internship has to write a
brief description of their summer internship. (Brief in this case
means two (2) typed pages.) You must include certain information
and follow a specific format. You can use much of the information
you used in your summer reports. (I have those assignments in my
office if you failed to keep a copy.)
The format will be as follows:NAME OF THE COMPANY OR
CORPORATIONADDRESSPHONE NUMBERWEB ADDRESSA BRIEF PARAGRAPH
DESCRIBING WHAT THE COMPANY DOESSPECIFICALLY WHERE YOU WORKED (What
division, office, section, etc.)That divisions address (if
different from the address above)Your supervisors name and phone
numberClosest subway line(s) to your work location and approximate
travel time from BrooklynA brief paragraph describing what you
specifically did during the summerComputer programs or skills
needed for that work (Word, Excel, typing, etc.)Hours worked per
week (including whether you had to work overtime and were paid for
it)Finally, other useful information about the area where you
worked, such as:Places to eatSights to seePlaces to shopDress code
at work, after the first week or soEtc.Remember, the more
information you provide, the better our students will perform at
their internships. Any questions please see me in my office.Seniors
who did not have an internship will be writing articles on the
documents necessary for an internship, how to interview, etc.
Everyone will participate. The first draft is due
Further preparationOnce all the assignments were turned in, our
wonderful editor Marva Forsyth took over and put it all
together
We had decided on a general format for each company and job
entry
Marva edited it down and made each entry conform
Marva added a feature, Words of Wisdom
Sample entryBear Stearns Securities Corp. Bear Stearns
Securities Corp. is currently among the largest global investment
band and securities trading and brokerage firms in the world. The
company provides services to corporations, institutions,
governments and individuals world wide. Academy students worked in
the following departments: Client Services.
Department: Client Services Address: One Metrotech Center North
6th Floor Brooklyn, NY 11201Travel: A, C, or F to Jay Street; M or
R to Lawrence StreetJob Description:-Work is generally from 9 am to
5 pm.-Workers must conduct themselves in a professional manner at
all times.-Important skills to have include: Microsoft
Word.-General responsibilities include: making copies, working with
confidential files: much of the work will be done using programs
created especially for the company.-Dress: after the first week
business casual is generally accepted.Food and Attractions-Caf on
the 5th floor: great deals on food.-Fulton Mall is a few blocks
away.
Sample Words of Wisdom
Don't be afraid to ask questions! Everyone is there to help, and
they'll welcome you with open arms." Stella Milnes
You are there to learn, they dont expect you to know everything
about the company. You should take advantage and learn from them.
When they assign you work to do and when you are finished you
shouldnt just sit there and wait for them to give you work. You
should consistently go to them and ask for more work because that
proves that you are working and trying to gain experience.Yen
Lau
[Try to budget yourself.] Just because youll have money does not
mean you should run out after work to spend it. Resist the
temptation to buy those Cartier sunglasses or those True Religion
jeans. Window shopping is the best way to budget yourself. Rebekah
Francois
.be open to [new] things.Sabine Jean-Jacques
More Sample Words of WisdomDont dye your hair strange colors
during the internship; wait until its over.Ask questions, because
messing up can mean you just set yourself back a couple of
hours.Get enough sleep, ask for recommendations in the middle of
the internship and dont bite Karina Galinskaya
Double check your work and make sure that things are done
perfectly. Make sure to smile and try your best. Also, if you dont
understandany instruction, ask again. Most of all-make sure that
you enjoy yourself. Good luck!Nancy Lam
CustomizeDo what works best for you.
Personalize it for your city or county.
Our handbook had a dedication, which follows on the next
slide.
This first edition of our internship handbook is respectfully
dedicated to all the victims of September 11, 2001 and especially
to Francesco Garfi. Frank was a graduate of the Academy of Finance
here at Dewey, class of 1990. After trying pharmacy, Frank returned
to finance and was dedicated to working at Cantor Fitzgerald on
that terrible day. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his
family.
John Dewey High School50 Avenue XBrooklyn, NY 11223
Marvin [email protected] x306