My Last Week at Main Line Health

Looking back on my internship experience this summer I can say that I've not only learned a lot, but I have also enjoyed myself while doing it. I accepted the internship at Main Line Health initially because I wanted to be close to home while still having a corporate HR experience… I had no interest in health care or anything remotely related to the industry. Though I still would rather pursue a career in another industry, I have learned so much about health care and what it takes to run not only one hospital but 5. It was truly eye-opening. I also learned that through the good and bad, a recruiter's job is never over. Once you have finally filled that position that was stressing you out for weeks, another one comes up. Once you give a candidate a rejection, they will continue to call you for other opportunities. Or once you give a candidate good news, you'll continue to keep in touch with them after you have completed the hiring process just to see how they're doing. Good recruiters and HR representatives extend the relationships they have built with applicants beyond just the initial interview and that was something I never realized.

I believe I have utilized some of my LSA education in this internship, though no school work will ever fully prepare you for the real world. My Organizational Psychology class (psych 260 for anyone interested… great class) really prepared me for a lot of aspects of office life including how to communicate effectively with co-workers, how to negotiate, how to have crucial conversations, and how to work with people who have different personalities than your own. Though I didn't do much writing during this internship other than these blog posts, a fundamental writing course like the lower and upper level writing courses LSA students are required to take are always beneficial.

The three women I worked most closely with and their boss, who is the Director of Recruitment, took me out to lunch today as a thank you/goodbye lunch. We had a great time, taking a break from our constant work conversation and had real, non-work related conversation which was nice. I think they valued my presence in their office as much as I value what they taught me. I forgot to take the picture while we were at lunch and one of of the three women did not come back to the office after so I just grabbed someone else who was nearby (Val, the woman all the way on the left). But below is a picture of myself, two of the women I worked closely with/that supervised me, and the director of recruitment.

 I told Julie, all the way on the right, that I wouldn't use this picture because she was eating candy and caught off guard but it was the only one I got…. sorry Jul!