Holidays have come to an end, but its time for me to start a shiny new rotation!!! This time I'm in my external management rotation (so, still kind of foodservice related :( But it's only 4 weeks, and then it's all clinical for as far as the eye can see!!!)
I'm now at a large food corporation (hmm... not sure if I'm permitted to say which one...) that produces several kinds of convenience foods, such as breakfast cereals, snack bars, pastry products, and others. There are only a few dietitians who work here full-time, but a few others who are here on contract/temporary positions as well. The contract/temp dietitians are working mostly with the regulatory department, which determines what kinds of claims Health Canada will allow companies to make on their packaging, and whether our products meet those requirements. The full-time people work mostly with the health and nutrition department, where they advocate to the R&D and marketing teams to develop and promote the manufacture of products that will promote health, based both on nutrition evidence and an understanding of the marketplace. The company's products become more reputable, because a regulated health professional is somewhere behind it. The dietitians also network with other health professionals (including other dietitians, pharmacists, nurses, etc) to promote the health qualities of the products and encourage them to recommend certain products to their clients/patients when appropriate. This networking also helps the company to gauge how they are perceived by health professionals (e.g. do other dietitians think that we've "sold out" and are only here to make money? Do they understand the role of advocacy in the company to influence what kinds of products are made?)
My project for this month is to do a competitive analysis of the "grain snacks" category (things like granola bars, marshmallow/rice squares, and protein bars). I'm working with three other interns to figure out where our company stands against the major and smaller competitive brands in grocery stores. The marketing people gave us a huge list of all of the "snack" products out there that was pulled from some database, and now we interns have the task of gathering in-depth data on each of them. We've been hunting around grocery stores to find the nutritional info, ingredients lists, what kinds of health claims are being made (such as "this product contains soluble fibre, which helps to lower cholesterol"), if they are peanut free/gluten free/organic/other specialty things, etc. We will then take all that data and create a massive report comparing where our company's products stack up nutritionally against the others - e.g. are we way higher in sodium than others? This information can be used by the marketing and R&D people to figure out market trends, and potentially contribute to development of new products or reformulations of existing products to meet those trends.
For me this project isn't all that exciting, simply because I've done this a thousand times before. Having already completed a business and marketing degree, and worked in sales, marketing and communications for several years before transitioning to a career in nutrition, I've done competitive analyses countless times before. I can do a SWOT analysis with my hands tied behind my back. But, because of my background and understanding of business processes, I've somehow been elected the leader of this project because the other interns are straight-up nutrition and science people who have never fathomed anything like this before. Using an Excel spreadsheet for data analysis is a completely new experience for some. So, it's not all bad - even though I don't anticipate that I'm going to be learning much about marketing or food industry above what I already know, at least I will have a great opportunity for leadership skills development through this.
I've also figured out that working in industry is absolutely not the job for me. Nothing against the dietitians who choose this area, really, but it's just not for me. I've experienced the business world before and knew then that it wasn't the place for me. I wanted to become a dietitian because I wanted to work with patients in a healthcare environment, not in a cubicle working on marketing projects for food products or on R&D for new convenience products. Other interns have had an awesome experience at their industry placements, so I absolutely wouldn't call this a waste of time or discourage people from taking the experience - some people who thought they would never enjoy industry ended up loving it!
We're wrapping up here this week, and soon the day I've been waiting for all this time will come ---- CLINICAL ROTATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 *SQUEAL!*
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Writing your internship cover letter
So you internship applicants are now putting the final touches on your resume, have solidified which internship programs are in your top 3, got your transcripts printed, and are getting ready to send out your application packages. But wait - what about that cover letter???
For me, writing the cover letter was the hardest part of the application package. You have just one or two pages to grab the internship committee's attention and convince them that you are worth considering for their program. While you've probably written a hundred cover letters before when applying for jobs, somehow this one seems so much more intimidating than any letter you've ever written in your life.
There really isn't any template to follow in writing your internship or grad school cover letter, but there are definitely things that you need to include:
1. Do NOT use the same cover letter for all of the internship programs/grad schools. This should go without saying, but you cannot use the same letter for each program and just change the name its being addressed to. No. They will know that you created a generic letter and thought you'd get away with it. Remember, this is the first thing they will look at upon receiving your application, and it needs to stand out. If your letter is generic and doesn't make you shine, sparkle, glow, or any other effervescent adjective, your application review is not going to go much farther than the letter.
2. Review the application brochure verrrrrry carefully. Each brochure is different, and each will include some key phrases that describe what qualities their ideal candidate will possess. For example, one internship program might value your communication skills and interpersonal/teamwork skills, while others will highlight leadership abilities and organizational skills. Use these key words in your cover letter when you describe yourself and your relevant experiences.
In addition to looking for those key words, pay attention to the page limits and requirements for your cover letter. Some programs aren't too specific ("two pages"), while others will be extremely specific ("two pages, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, 1" margins"). You must adhere to these requirements. Doesn't matter how ridiculous they may seem. Most programs keep the letters very short - one to two pages, usually double spaced - because they need to be concise and get to the point. It also shows that you can follow direction and pay attention to detail if you follow their specific guidelines.
3. Give examples. When you say that you have these skills/abilities that the program has mentioned in their brochure, provide examples that prove that you have these experiences. It's not good enough to say that "I like to work in a team". It is much more believable to say that "In my position at ABC Hospital, I worked with an interprofessional team to provide the best possible care to my patients". If you don't have work/volunteer experiences with that particular skill, you can still use life experiences or school experiences to demonstrate your skills. For example, working with groups to complete a project and taking a leadership role still demonstrates these abilities!
4. You must explain why you want to be a dietitian. Be honest with yourself, and be honest in your letter. It doesn't have to be a big flowery explanation or a life-changing experience, but it does need to be an honest reason.
5. Do your homework. Your letter isn't just to tell the internship program about why you are right for them - it also needs to explain why the program is right for you. Include the reasons that you applied for this particular program and why these things appeal to you. Do your homework - find out what clinics or programs the hospital offers, what their specialties are, etc.
6. Organize your letter. Again, there's no real template that you need to follow, but your letter needs to be structured in a way that makes sense. My letters followed a basic pattern:
Paragraph 1: Why I want to be a dietitian, and how I got to this point.
Paragraph 2: Why you decided to apply to this specific internship program.
Paragraph 3: My work and volunteer experiences, and how they gave me the skills/abilities that this program is looking for in a candidate.
Sincere "Thank you" for reviewing my application package
7. Review Review Review. You'll need to review your letter at least a billion times before you're happy with it. And then get other people (friends, family, professors, whoever will do it) to review it as well.
8. Breathe. Take a break from writing your letters. At least a day or two. Then go back to it for another review with a fresh set of eyes to take one last crack at revisions.
Internship applicants - have any more questions? Comment below!
Good luck!!!!!!!
For me, writing the cover letter was the hardest part of the application package. You have just one or two pages to grab the internship committee's attention and convince them that you are worth considering for their program. While you've probably written a hundred cover letters before when applying for jobs, somehow this one seems so much more intimidating than any letter you've ever written in your life.
There really isn't any template to follow in writing your internship or grad school cover letter, but there are definitely things that you need to include:
1. Do NOT use the same cover letter for all of the internship programs/grad schools. This should go without saying, but you cannot use the same letter for each program and just change the name its being addressed to. No. They will know that you created a generic letter and thought you'd get away with it. Remember, this is the first thing they will look at upon receiving your application, and it needs to stand out. If your letter is generic and doesn't make you shine, sparkle, glow, or any other effervescent adjective, your application review is not going to go much farther than the letter.
2. Review the application brochure verrrrrry carefully. Each brochure is different, and each will include some key phrases that describe what qualities their ideal candidate will possess. For example, one internship program might value your communication skills and interpersonal/teamwork skills, while others will highlight leadership abilities and organizational skills. Use these key words in your cover letter when you describe yourself and your relevant experiences.
In addition to looking for those key words, pay attention to the page limits and requirements for your cover letter. Some programs aren't too specific ("two pages"), while others will be extremely specific ("two pages, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, 1" margins"). You must adhere to these requirements. Doesn't matter how ridiculous they may seem. Most programs keep the letters very short - one to two pages, usually double spaced - because they need to be concise and get to the point. It also shows that you can follow direction and pay attention to detail if you follow their specific guidelines.
3. Give examples. When you say that you have these skills/abilities that the program has mentioned in their brochure, provide examples that prove that you have these experiences. It's not good enough to say that "I like to work in a team". It is much more believable to say that "In my position at ABC Hospital, I worked with an interprofessional team to provide the best possible care to my patients". If you don't have work/volunteer experiences with that particular skill, you can still use life experiences or school experiences to demonstrate your skills. For example, working with groups to complete a project and taking a leadership role still demonstrates these abilities!
4. You must explain why you want to be a dietitian. Be honest with yourself, and be honest in your letter. It doesn't have to be a big flowery explanation or a life-changing experience, but it does need to be an honest reason.
5. Do your homework. Your letter isn't just to tell the internship program about why you are right for them - it also needs to explain why the program is right for you. Include the reasons that you applied for this particular program and why these things appeal to you. Do your homework - find out what clinics or programs the hospital offers, what their specialties are, etc.
6. Organize your letter. Again, there's no real template that you need to follow, but your letter needs to be structured in a way that makes sense. My letters followed a basic pattern:
Paragraph 1: Why I want to be a dietitian, and how I got to this point.
Paragraph 2: Why you decided to apply to this specific internship program.
Paragraph 3: My work and volunteer experiences, and how they gave me the skills/abilities that this program is looking for in a candidate.
Sincere "Thank you" for reviewing my application package
7. Review Review Review. You'll need to review your letter at least a billion times before you're happy with it. And then get other people (friends, family, professors, whoever will do it) to review it as well.
8. Breathe. Take a break from writing your letters. At least a day or two. Then go back to it for another review with a fresh set of eyes to take one last crack at revisions.
Internship applicants - have any more questions? Comment below!
Good luck!!!!!!!
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