Internship: Frequently Asked Questions
- What Exactly Will I Be Doing?
- What Should I Wear To Work?
- What Time Am I Supposed To Be At Work?
- Can I Have a Paid Job Somewhere Else and Do This?
- Can I Have a Letter for My School or a Reference for Applications?
- What Should I Use in Communications?
- What
Kind of Orientation Is There?
We match people’s passions and their skills (or capacity to develop them) with our organizational needs and objectives. We also tailor work to your availability. Individuals who are with us full-time usually work on more than one project. Those who are less than full-time, correspondingly, may be limited to one or two projects.
You may be asked to work in collaboration with other interns/volunteers to bounce off ideas. Depending on a number of factors, interns might: do research for an existing program, grant application, position paper or speech; research, design, and/or implement a program, a local activity, or write a grant for the same; assist with the development of public relations materials, direct mail execution, or other executive communications.
Everyone who wants to will have the opportunity of learning how to write a grant, to write feature pieces for our website/e-news/blog, visit the United Nations for a tour, and to have individual reflection time with the Executive Director and colleagues on your work. Everyone's ideas are appreciated and valued.
Our general rule is: Don’t wear anything that you or your colleagues would feel uncomfortable about, if you were to meet or be seen by religious and political dignitaries who come through our offices. In other words: “business casual,” as appropriate to the season. We have an employee handbook which governs such things and you will be encouraged to view that handbook for a couple of points of information.
What Time Am I Supposed To Be At Work?
Individuals have different commutes and demands on their time. You can work anywhere between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. But your work schedule will have to be suggested to us in advance and approved in its general outline. If you work during off-hours (before 9 a.m., after 6:30 pm, or on weekends), you may be provided a key upon request and special instructions for security of our offices.
The Executive Director, Rori Picker, is usually in the office from 9-5 during the week, but works at home in the mornings, evenings, and weekends and may work differing hours, depending on meetings. You can always reach her by email or by cell.
We keep a common calendar in the office between the two computers. Interns, volunteers and staff members are expected to mark which days they will be in the office on that calendar so that others can know when they will be expected.
Can I Have a Paid Job Somewhere Else and Do This?
Yes. We are not able to remunerate interns for their time, unfortunately, so we understand if you must have a paying job too. We will try to be flexible in working around your schedule.
Can I Have a Letter for My School or a Reference for Applications?
We are happy to provide letters to help support your effort in obtaining aid from your school or other institution. A few of our interns receive work/study funding through their school or fellowships that support internship activity.
We also can provide letters of reference for you with a successful track record with us.
What Should I Use in Communications?
Interns will be assigned an e-mail @rfpusa.org. You will be sent communications at this address and you will be asked to use this for any external, professional communications related to RFP-USA work.
What Kind of Orientation Is There?
Interns all arrive at different times, so we will be doing mini-orientations as you arrive. It is important therefore, that we know your anticipated date of arrival, so such orientation be scheduled.