When preparing your application and you realize that you’ve forgotten your fieldwork diary for an internship, it’s important to remember that there are still several ways to showcase your experience and skills.
Firstly, you should provide a detailed description of your role during the internship. This includes the tasks you were assigned, the projects you worked on, and any responsibilities you had. If you were not assigned any real work, as was the case with an intern at a large design office on January 14, 2020, you can still highlight the learning experiences you gained from observing and interacting with professionals in the field.
Secondly, you can list any accomplishments or significant contributions you made during your internship. Even if you didn’t have a specific task, you might have improved a process, contributed ideas, or helped colleagues in some way. If you found yourself with nothing to do, you could have taken the initiative to ask for feedback, repeat a task you had already learned, or even volunteer to create or update training materials, as suggested in a list of things interns can do when they run out of tasks.
Thirdly, you should mention any challenges you faced during your internship and how you overcame them. These could include a steep learning curve, menial tasks, lack of feedback, or little or no pay. Overcoming these challenges shows resilience and adaptability, which are valuable traits in any professional setting.
Lastly, don’t forget to include any relevant coursework or fieldwork related to your internship. For instance, if you’re applying for a position as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), you could mention the required 1500 hours of Concentrated Fieldwork, with at least 10% of those hours being supervised, as stipulated by the BACB.
Remember, honesty is key. If you made mistakes during your internship, acknowledge them and explain what you learned from the experience. Your potential employers will appreciate your honesty and your commitment to learning and growth.