Summer Internship Kick-Off May 10, 2006

Margot DushinDirector of Programs, Social Enterprise Initiative

mdushin@hbs.edu

Betsy StricklandManager, Career Development Programs

bstrickland@hbs.edu

Getting the Most from Your Summer Fellowship

• Clarify Your Personal and Professional Goals

• Evaluate the Senior Management and Board of the Organizations You Are Considering

• Use Your Network to Conduct Due Diligence

Preparing for

Your Internship

• Do Your Homework: Understand the Sector

• Develop a Deeper Understanding of the Organization and Its Culture

• Understand Your Role Within the Organization and Begin to Scope Out Your Project

Making the Most of Your

Internship

• Invest in Relationship Building Early On

• Create a Detailed Workplan

• Leverage Available Internal and External Resources

• Remain Adaptable

• Keep Networking

Leveraging Your Internship

• Determine Appropriate Follow-On Contact with the Organization

• Pursue Further Related Study or Project Work

• Utilize HBS Resources

• Continue to Network

Identifying Opportunities

Evaluating Opportunities

• Develop an Understanding of the Sector

• Refine your Focus

• Develop a Deeper Understanding of Specific Sub-Sectors

• Network, Network, Network

Preparing for Your Internship Understand the Sector: Key Distinctions

Nonprofits For-Profits

Mission To solve a social problem To earn returns for shareholders

Measurement Qualitative, output-oriented metrics; absence of clear bottom line; few good sources of data

Clear, quantitative metrics; analysts dedicated to providing quality information and data

Governance Multiple influences and poorly defined boundaries and incentives

Top-down with clearly defined responsibilities

Funding Fragmented, project-focused funding; limited capital sources; heavy reliance on donations

Clearly defined and accessible capital markets

Human Resources

Often volunteer workforce that “does it all”; less management capability/ capacity; significant constraints on salary and performance incentives

Clear job responsibilities and career paths with pay for performance

Stakeholders Multiple constituencies, including foundations, service recipients, corporations, government, and society

Primarily customers and shareholders

Competitive Environment

Role of competition unclear Clear set of competitors drives continual improvement

Source: McKinsey & Company, 2002

Preparing for Your Internship Understand the Organization

• Its sub-sector– Characteristics of the sub-sector– Competitive landscape; other players in the field

• Its mission– Is it clearly articulated and understandable?– Is it reinforced by the strategy?

• Its organizational structure and culture– Internal organizational structure– Board/Staff relationship and role of Board– Cultural norms

• What are the key issues facing senior management, e.g.:– Performance measurement/management and accountability– Sustainability/Growth/Income-generating strategies– Capacity building – Collaboration (within or among sectors)– Other

Preparing for Your Internship Your Role within the Organization

• How does your proposed project tie-in with the key organizational issues?

• What will be your formal and informal reporting relationships?• What are your own personal/professional development goals

for the summer?• What do you hope to achieve for the organization? What is the

intended impact/result of your project? • What won’t be included within this project? e.g. Define the

boundaries of your project.• What strengths do you bring to the table? e.g. objectivity,

data-driven approach, focused attention, industry or disciplinary expertise, etc.

• What resources will you need from the organization/others to succeed? e.g. sector-specific knowledge, understanding of stakeholders, existing data, etc.

• What will happen with your work when you leave?

Making the Most of Your Internship Transitioning and Settling In

• Invest in relationship building early and often– Speeds learning of organization and sub-sector– Provides insight to various stakeholder viewpoints– Builds trust and credibility

• Create a detailed workplan– Clarifies goals, objectives, and deliverables up front– Identifies required resources– Formalizes reporting relationships/check-in points

• Leverage available resources– Internal to organization– HBS resources– Summer fellowship community

• Remain adaptable• Keep networking—within organization and field

Making the Most of Your Internship Developing a Workplan

Multiple Review

Points

• Build in review points with key decision-makers throughout the project timeline

• Periodically test assumptions and findings

• Gain feedback in time to make necessary adjustments

Develop Recommned-

ations

• Synthesize findings

• Develop action plan for implementation and detail anticipated outcomes

Present Your Findings

• Present findings to key decision-makers

• Gain agreement and commitment

• Clarify follow-on requirements/activities

Define Project Objective

Research and Analysis

• Develop a Problem Statement (scope)

• Provide Context: Why does the organization need to address this issue? Why now?

• Identify criteria by which to measure progress.

• Identify key decision-makers

• Outline any working hypotheses/assumptions.

• Set a detailed timeline

• Collect Data (quantitative and qualitative)

• Find proxies/work-arounds when encountering data scarcity

• Conduct analysis: Remember, simple analyses can be very powerful

• Interpret findings

Making the Most of Your Internship Sample Work Plan Template

Project Name

OBJECTIVE:

.

WORKING HYPOTHESIS/ASSUMPTIONS

1.

2.

PROJECT ELEMENTS

1.

Sub-elements

2.

Sub-elements

ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBILITIES (INFO/AID TO BE PROVIDED)

General:

Project staffing support from others in the organization

Access to necessary staff as needed for information collection

Input/collaboration along the way

Participation and feedback

Provide background information on (e.g. competition, etc.):

PROJECT DELIVERABLES

1.

2.

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

Activity Start Date End Date

Work Plan Approval and Project Start

Research and Analysis:

Review historical data, competitive analysis, interviews

Mid-Course Review

Synthesis: Develop Plan

Conclusions and Recommendations

Final Presentation

APPROVALS:

______________________________________________ Date: ____________

Name, title

______________________________________________ Date: ____________

Your name, title

Making the Most of Your Internship Resources

Social Enterprisewww.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/relatedresources.html

Career Specificwww.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/careerdevelopment.htmlwww.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/jobsearch.html

Publicationswww.philanthropy.comwww.nptimes.comwww.ssireview.com

Other Sourceswww.bridgespangroup.orgwww.guidestar.org

Leveraging Your Internship to Chart Your Career Path

• Staying connected with the organization– Formal follow-on work– Informal contact– Connect others with the organization

• Pursue further related study or field work– SE courses– Field study

• Utilize available resources and continue to network– SE Career Coaches– Faculty– HBS Alumni Network

Advice from Past Fellows

Preparing for the summer:

• “Scope your project well and understand the resources you will have before going in. Ask about contingency plans in case your project unexpectedly changes.”

• “Definitely make sure you are working on specific projects. Find out as much as possible about these before Day 1. Be sure to have a mentor.”

Advice from Past Fellows

During the Summer:

• “It’s important to set your goals early on in the summer, make sure you are adding value, and check in periodically with leadership to make sure your goals are still in line with their expectations.”

• “Remain flexible if your project changes. Bringing suggestions to the table might make for a new and much more exciting project than initially proposed. Things may not go as planned (or as you initially envisioned), but there are still tremendous learning opportunities regardless.”

Advice from Past Fellows

On taking a social enterprise position:

• “I think it's an amazing chance to make a real impact at an organization in a short period of time and to learn a lot from diverse and passionate people.”

• “Go for it! It feels great to have had a positive impact on the region or community you're working to support. A truly unique and soul-filling experience.”

See full comments on all stages at:www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/summer/advice.html