Feeling Stuck in My Internship: How Can I Communicate My Learning Needs to My Mentor?

Hey, guys,

My name is Deesha. I am currently pursuing my MBA from the University of Mumbai. I have completed my first year. Basically, I am not a Mumbai local.

For my internship, I have come to my hometown, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, and have joined a very good organization (name withheld). I am really looking forward to learning many things during my internship.

Actually, my internship was supposed to start on 2nd May 2008 and end on 30th June 2008. However, as of now, I am just working on a home assignment on training and development given to me by my mentor at that organization.

Meanwhile, my friends back in Mumbai are learning new things every day. I think returning to my hometown and joining here in Aurangabad was a wrong decision. But now, I want to make my mentor realize that I am losing precious time for my learning.

I feel he is not taking me seriously. I want him to understand that I genuinely want to learn a lot about actual HR working.

As he is my mentor, I can't just directly tell him how I feel. I fear he might feel bad.

Can somebody please help me figure out how I should make him realize this?

Thank you.

Please do reply.

Regards,

Deesha Chandan

Deesha, you can do one thing. You can go up to your mentor and tell him, "Sir, the work you have given me, I would like to do it in the office itself. If I stay in the office, I can see the day-to-day activities that need to be done and learn how to tackle different issues. As per my assignment, if I can't finish it here, I will manage to do it at home after returning from the office. I know how efficiently you handle all the issues. I would like to learn from you so that I gain the confidence to perform and handle things just like you do." I suppose this will help you.

You can wait for a few others to give you suggestions. Don't worry; everything will be fine. All the best.

Hi Deesha,

Until what time do you have to submit your assignment on training and development? Is the report to be submitted to your mentor?

There are two ways to look at your problem:

1. On a positive note, your mentor may be helping you by making you work on actual needs for the company rather than wasting your time by making you sit idle in the office. He may ask you to come to the office after a month, so that you are prepared with the training part, and he may tell you to do a mock session kind of thing.

2. On a negative note, the mentor is taking advantage of you either by making you prepare something which he should have done or he doesn't want you to get knowledge of the company's internal matters.

It may also be the case where young interns come up with a lot of enthusiasm and may try to give suggestions regarding change. This may not be well accepted by the internal person, and he may think that the intern is quite a disturbing element in his daily routine.

It has happened with quite a few people where the interns thought that the HR person in the company was taking a wrong path and did the obvious thing of suggesting the person. THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL!! Don't be a threat to him.

There are a lot of things that we can imagine of what is happening with you.

But I feel you should talk to him. Say that you are giving importance to the T&D assignment, but at the same time, you need to understand a company's working culture and its operations. You may ask him in a polite manner about his professional career, success, and his struggle. Maybe it will work for you. Ask him if you can come to the office on alternate days.

I hope you will get more suggestions from other members.

Hi Deesha,

I agree with Anu. Take a deep breath and discuss with an open mind. However, since the internship is time-bound, you may have to stress that you are eager for hands-on experience. (Take a chill pill... joking about that, okay.)

1. Make a list of all that is troubling you.
2. Try to figure out how many of these facts your senior/mentor is aware of.
3. For each, make 2-3 options. Like Anu says, it is risky to try interns on serious or regular in-house assignments. In this case, ask him to direct you to a section where you can have periodical interactions.
4. For every employee, every minute and effort is very valuable, so respect that. Make sure that you are committed and behave that way too.
5. Finally, do not get flustered comparing with your batch mates. Girl, think for yourself... Have a nice day!