During my 6 months of internship, I was eager to enthusiastically contribute to the organizations objectives by applying the knowledge I obtained during my education environment for example differentiate.My strengths are that I’m an exceptional writer. My impact and contribution to The Salvation Army literature review required a vast amount of work and my ability to engage in multiple tasks, locating key points and evaluating material proved to be very beneficial during the duration of this project. My capability to critically thinking, paraphrase, cite references, evaluate, take notes while drafting and rewriting, my Communication skills were prominent by sending emails to request for information, discuss approaches and request for assistance on a daily basis. This experience empowered me to consider research path for my future career. I gained positive feedback.MY WEAKNESSES I was also able to carefully and clearly identify my own limitations and one of this limitations was that I had to refine my oral communication skills and time management.
However, I learnt how to better prioritize my time and projects, encourage myself to be more committed and motivated when carrying out my tasks in order to properly contribute to my team in future. I realised my biggest weakness was self-doubt, I continually doubted my capabilities and my project responsibilities; I was in constant communication with my supervisor and I felt that my work was not good enough however my supervisors encouraged me and guided me. The reading by Boud (2001) pointed out that by using reflection is a way of learning and it can deepen the quality of learning, critical thinking and enable learners to understand their own learning process.After careful reflection, I realised I was doing a good job. At I felt uncomfortable because I was pushed out of my comfort zone within the four walls of Macquarie University classroom. However, to be in the working life requires determination, commitment, challenges are normal in professional work setting and those are somethings I had to nurture my mind to understand. I was able to gain independence while accomplishing my tasks while also working professionally with the research team.
PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS I successfully produced a formal report, gathering and analyzing data, maintain Confidentiality, improved my time management skills, research skills beneficial to my current university majors social justice and gender studies . The most rewarding part of this experience was being able to research and learn more about community housing, I also understood the importance of having a research design and project management plan. IMPACT ON FUTURE CAREER I was able to understand the value of research informed reflection as part of social work practice. Thee Code of conduct was very beneficial to my future profession as a social worker.
There was information which pointed out how to encourage and support clients experiencing hardship and how to safely manage each individuals case. Undertaking this internship with The Salvation Army has allowed me to study and work in a positive working environment. This Internship experience has given me an insight into what it is like working with professional research analysts with many years of practice. By witnessing the work that The Salvation Army does for the community I have been iinspired me to study social research and social work after I complete my degree. A social worker is required to believe in the equal worth of all human beings regardless of race, sexuality and age; and that is something all The Salvation Army Documents I reviewed Continually discussed. Gender Studies major you have used critical framework analysis to interpret the findings from your project. Gender Studies helps to prepare students to work as researchers, writers and creative practitioners.
The major is beneficial to people who aim to work within areas such as social work, research. I encourage future students to take the opportunity to do an internship with a non-profit organisation especially if it relates to their future careers as it will guide to them to identify their strength and weaknesses in that field of work.The limitations I experienced due to the literature review approach was lack of reliable data It would be useful and beneficial to read more of The Salvation Army documents to better understand more of The Salvation Army ‘s approaches to community, community service, community development and different sorts of communities. Another limitation was I struggled to select between what is information was relevant or irrelevant in other not to be repetitive.
Due to the time limits of my project, I was not able to thoroughly analyses all pages of the documents assigned to me. I would have loved to read more The Salvation Army documents that discuss other aspects of their work. I was only able to read the specific assigned pages of the documents given to me by my supervisor. It would have been beneficial to work more hours in The Salvation Army office to get a more hands-on experience and gain a clearer understanding of how The Salvation Army staff actually perform their work duties.
