We are taught to think of this internship as a 10-month job interview.

With every lecture, every new location, every general interaction with another person, we are meeting a potential future employer.  Come June, they could be looking to hire, and we will be on the market. 

Most people ask for a general introduction upon meeting all eight interns in the program: name, college, hometown, general area of interest (within nutrition).

Clearly, the first three are a constant. With the last one, my answer is always changing.

There are so many opportunities and choices within this field. I’m interested in too many things. I love to write (obviously); I like the idea of working with technology and design and all this Internet stuff; I’m into sports nutrition; I love to cook; I enjoyed working in a hospital. All of the above.

I like it. I’ll do it. It just comes down to one thing….figuring out where to start.

This isn’t something you decide overnight; you can’t really just go and say “I’ll be a sports nutritionist  starting today.” Any kind of specialty will require extra schooling, usually a certification, and certainly more experience.

Toward the end of this program, we have one “elective” week:  A time where we choose where we’ll be.  Ideally the choice is somewhere you want more experience, or somewhere you really enjoyed and want to return to. 

Even though we’re only one month in, I’ve started weighing the options.  I’m taking note of people that could help me find somewhere to go.   For instance, my partner and I got to attend a food show last week (which, if you ever get the chance, GO. It’s basically tons of free food. And it’s delicious, because they want people to buy it! Good stuff.).

We met a sales rep who knows the sports nutritionist at an academy in this area. Mental note: get her e-mail, to get the sports nutritionist’s e-mail, so I can contact her and possibly set up a meeting. Even if it’s just to talk and say “Hey, what is your job like?!”

This year will be full of these kinds of networking, and I love it. One experience leads to the next. Every meeting is a step in one direction or the other, a foot in this door or the next. You just have to keep track of your steps and decide on your destination. 

Posted by Mary Ellen Nunes at 10/07/2008 02:19:09 PM |