July 7, 2025 • 39 mins
In this episode of "What's Happening MoCo," Anthony Featherstone, Executive Director of WorkSource Montgomery, discusses the organization's role in supporting the county's workforce through nine job centers. He highlights the Mobilize Montgomery coalition's efforts to assist highly-skilled professionals affected by federal workforce reductions. Dr. Elizabeth Carr joins to talk about the importance and implementation of internship programs. The episode offers practical strategies for job seekers, small business owners, and students.
For job resources, visit worksourcemontgomery.com or visit the job center at 11510 Georgia Avenue.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Good day and welcome to what's Happening MoCo, an
authentic unscripted podcastfrom your Montgomery County
government.
Now here's your host, derekKenney.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good day.
Welcome to what's HappeningMoCo.
Today we're talking jobs withWorks for Works.
Montgomery's, AnthonyFeatherstone.
Good afternoon, Anthony.
How are you today, sir?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Eric, I'm doing well.
Thanks for having me All right.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Do you mind if I call you Anthony?
Sure, all right, you do such animportant job.
Jobs are so important forfamilies, for individuals,
people coming out of college,people that are transitioning
from careers that they thoughtthey might retire from.
What is the current state ofaffairs in your view when it
(00:48):
comes to the job market inMontgomery County now?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well, that's a great question, Derek.
I think you know it'll probablybe no surprise that you know
talking about the federalworkforce and federal talent
that's been affected by therifts or the reduction in force
at the federal government levelis kind of, you know, front and
center right now, and so we'reseeing a lot of federal workers,
(01:13):
federal contractors, who havebeen highly compensated, who are
highly educated, have greatexperience, come through our
jobs and adore seekingassistance, and so we're trying
to do our part to make sure thatwe can help them with their
reemployment needs as bestpossible.
But then also realizing, derek,that there's still a lot of
need in Montgomery County with,you know, returning citizens or
(01:36):
young adults or older adults orindividuals with disabilities
that are looking to break intothe labor market or advance in
the labor market, and so we'retrying to balance the two to
make sure that we can achieveour core goal, which is that all
Montgomery County residentshave access to economic mobility
through workforce resources.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
That's great.
That's great.
Now we can take a step back.
We see what the situation iswith jobs in the county.
But your organization,Workforce Montgomery, does
something about that.
It's not just aware of thesituation.
You work with communities, youwork with individuals, you work
with the federal government Imean, that's right the county
government to help affectpositive change for people
(02:14):
seeking jobs.
What is Workforce Montgomery?
What does it do and what isyour role with the organization?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Sure, so we're the county's lead workforce
organization, and so we are partof the larger workforce
ecosystem of community providers, chambers, education
institutions, communityorganizations that all work to
advance workforce developmentwithin the county, and so we
operate our job centers, nine ofthem across the county.
(02:44):
Some are mobile, some arevirtual, some are brick and
mortar.
One is at the correctionalfacility in Clarksburg.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But I think it pertains to kind of the current
state of affairs when it comesto workforce.
As I mentioned, we're just apart of a larger ecosystem and
so there's a coalition calledMobilize Montgomery, which
includes county government,montgomery County Economic
Development Corporation,worksource Montgomery, community
partners, the Montgomery CountyChamber that came together in
(03:13):
response to you know what'shappening at the federal level
with federal workers, and sowith that coalition we are
streamlining the communicationof resources to federal workers,
because there's a lot ofdifferent resource hubs that are
out there.
But directly we're doingworkshops, we're we're putting
on job fairs, we're providingjob placement assistance, we're
providing free trainingresources and we're trying to
(03:34):
meet people where they're to toget, get back to the workforce
or find the next opportunity now, how do people become aware of
these, these job fair, theresources you mentioned, the
different places they can govirtual or in person for help.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
How do they find you?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, I would say, check out the
mobilize-mcgomerycom website,and that pulls together all of
the programs, resources andservices that are out there.
But for WorkSource Montgomery,you can check out our social
media sites, whether it'sInstagram, facebook, linkedin or
whatever the case may be.
You can come to our website,wwwworksourcemontgomerycom and
(04:14):
look at our calendar and you cansee all of the professional
development workshops, all ofthe job fairs that are available
, and then a lot of ourcommunity partners.
That's usually our bestmarketing tool is just word of
mouth, through communityorganizations, through customers
who are telling you, know,family and friends about
services they receive, and soit's a variety of ways you can
get in touch with us and learnabout those resources.
(04:35):
But if you just want to comesee us and talk to us, come to
our job center on Georgia Avenue, at 11510 Georgia Avenue, and
just talk to us and we can pullyou into the services that are
available to you and what's bestfor you to help you achieve
your goals.
Oh, wow, incredible.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Incredible.
Now, what do you have like moreof a on a personal level for
individuals that are like, oh mygosh, I need a job?
What are your top tips?
Do you have like three, maybefour tips that you give to job
seekers when they are at squareone?
They realize they have a needfor a job, they realize that
(05:13):
they may not be totally aware ofwhat the job market is bearing
right now or where to go tofirst.
What are the tips that youwould give?
And we'll start with number one.
I love top lists, so we'll dothe top three lists.
Top three lists from AnthonyFetterstone, worksource
Montgomery.
Number one one, one.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
So my number one you're really putting me on the
spot here, derek.
So so my number one would beknow yourself and know your,
your strengths know yourinterests, know what's going to
make you want to get up out ofbed and go do that job with that
next opportunity, and so youcan tap into a variety of career
(05:52):
coaching tools.
We have a virtual career coachtool which will help you
identify strengths, interests,work values and then identify
number two your targets.
So once you know yourself, youknow your strengths, start
identifying your targets basedon your knowledge, skills,
experience and abilities, sothat you can have a targeted job
(06:13):
search as you start to put yourname out there and start to put
applications in and start tonetwork and so forth.
And I think, number three makesure you have a quality product
to present, and that's writtenand verbal.
Make sure you have a qualityproduct to present, and that's
written and verbal.
And so make sure you have aquality resume that's tailored
to the opportunities that youare applying for.
And then make sure, as Imentioned with number one, you
(06:33):
know yourself and that you canarticulate your skills and your
value proposition, whetheryou're in a grocery store
talking to somebody behind youthat could be your potential
coworker or next supervisor, orwhether you're in an interview,
or whether you're at a job fairnetworking and so like.
Those are my three kind of knowyour strengths, know who you
are, know what you like and wantto do.
Number two identify yourtargets from an employment
(06:55):
standpoint.
What are the jobs with thecompanies?
What are the areas that I wantto work in and I don't want to
work in?
And then, number three, wrap itup in a bow make sure that you
can sell yourself in writing,verbally and then through social
media.
I always recommend that folksstart to you know.
Build their brand on LinkedInat the very least.
It's the only social mediaplatform I'm on and I highly
(07:19):
recommend that job seekers buyinto LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Now.
Are there any things that aredifferent now as opposed to
pre-COVID or even 15 years agowhen it comes to how to conduct
yourself for an interview, howto dress for an interview, and,
depending on the type of jobyou're looking for, does it
matter how you're dressed?
I haven't been out there for awhile, but I'm an old guy, so
(07:44):
any type of interview I've goneto, whether it's McDonald's or
whether it's for, like a copyclerk when I was, like in
college or even as recently,trying to work for the county
government I've always walked inwith a suit on.
What's the expectation nowamong employers for in-person or
virtual interviews amongemployers for in-person?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
or virtual interviews .
So I think, as far as how youyou dress, I think professional
is a very relative term and it'shard to define.
It's hard for me to say this isexactly what you should do and
it'll be right in the eyes ofevery employer that you sit in
front of.
I think you always want to erron the side of you know being
cautious when it comes to aninterview.
(08:25):
It's better to be over dressedthan to go on an interview and
be under under dressed, and soyou have to know the company,
you have to know the industry,you have to know the culture.
You may dress different if youare looking to, you know, jump
into the construction trades asopposed to looking to interview
(08:45):
for a business professionalposition within an office
setting.
So I would say, just kind ofknow, as you know, your target,
you know address to impress, butdo not address to take away
from the attention that shouldbe put on you as a job seeker
and what you have to offer.
And so what that means is thatyou want to stay away from
(09:05):
things that may detract fromyourself and that could be
accessories, that could becertain colors, things that an
interviewer will watch asopposed to listening to you, but
it's hard to say wear a suitand tie, because every employer
is different.
But we always say you arebetter in a situation where
you're overdressed than goinginto an interview.
(09:26):
If everybody's suited andbooted, you're in there with a
t-shirt on.
You want it to be the reverse,at worst.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
And we don't want to say.
I think I want to emphasizethis the most important thing
for a job interview is to showup.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
So even if you don't have the Brooks Brothers suit.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
even if you don't know how to tie a tie, still
show up.
Show up and present the bestyou possible, and you never know
what the opportunity may yieldfor you.
So this is a littleconversation here.
I just wanted to make sure thatwe clarified that for anyone
out there seeking jobs we're notsaying we're kind of giving it
(10:02):
tips on how to present yourselfthe best way possible.
But the main thing right, Iguess always is to try apply for
that job, show up for thatinterview and then the first day
of work.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Go in there and give them the very best you got Right
.
Yeah, absolutely, when you,when you show up for that
interview, show up prepared,yeah.
Show up, having done research onthe position that you're
applying for, the, the company,uh, important events in that
industry or within that thatcompany, um, with questions,
thoughtful questions, prepared,um about you know what life
would be like, um, if you werehired in that position and what
(10:39):
success would look like Um, andthat shows the the employer
level of due diligence, um, fromyour standpoint as a job seeker
.
And so what you wear is alwayssubjective, but how you come in,
how you show up and how you'reprepared and how you're able to
articulate your skills andabilities and be authentic self,
I think that's what, that'swhat matters most and makes you
most comfortable as a job seeker.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Yeah, fantastic, fantastic.
Now we have a couple of minutesleft, perhaps Fantastic, now
that we have a couple of minutesleft, perhaps give us your last
, like a last statement fromWorkSource Montgomery and then
also, I think we didn't have achance to get to meet you, of
course, as the leader ofWorkSource Montgomery.
What is your title there andkind of, what do you do?
And then, just like a lastcouple of tips for job seekers
(11:22):
out there, or parents of jobseekers out there.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, so, as I mentioned, you know, anthony
Featherstone, I'm the executiveexecutive director for
WorkSource Montgomery and ourlocal workforce development
board, and so the board is abody of business.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
Led members.
Who kind of?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
you know, set the vision for our workforce system
and WorkSource Montgomery is thestaff for that board.
And so you know just a coupleyou know words to.
You know leave folks with whenit comes to WorkSource is that
you're not alone when it comesto finding your next opportunity
or finding your next employee.
(12:01):
And when I say you're not alone, it doesn't mean that
WorkSource Montgomery is theonly entity that you can come to
and that we do it all.
But there is a workforce systemthat's there to support you,
and so it always starts with aconversation, and you can come
see us at any one of our jobcenters.
You can connect with usvirtually, but if you are a
(12:23):
business, if you are a residentlooking for work, come see us.
And if we're not the best placefor you to provide services, we
know a partner who likely is.
And so we want to start thatconversation, and so a lot of
people can do it on their ownand a lot of people may need
support, and so if you do needsupport, we're here for you, and
that's what WorkSourceMontgomery and our partners are
(12:44):
all about, and that's what'shappening.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
MoCo, Be sure to check out WorkSource Montgomery
and, of course, AnthonyFeatherstone, the executive
director.
They are there to help you andothers like you to find jobs and
live your best lives here inMontgomery County, Maryland.
So what's the name of that?
The URL for your website again.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
So you can visit wwwworksourcemcgcom.
That's wwwworksourcemcgcom.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
And that's what's happening.
Moco.
Be sure to like, share,subscribe and, if you see them
out on social media, engage withWorkSource Montgomery.
It's another great way to getyourself started on your next
job or career journey.
And up next we'll be talkingabout internships.
So if you're younger and you'retrying to get your feet wet in
your profession or your futurecareer, be sure to listen up.
(13:32):
Next we talk to a smallbusiness that has tips for other
small businesses on how tointegrate internships and
internship opportunities foryoung people in Montgomery
County, maryland.
And we're talking to none otherthan the Dr Elizabeth Carr.
Thank you for being here.
And what's the name of yourbusiness?
(13:52):
You're not an internshipbusiness, but you are a business
that has interns.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yes, so my business is Kentland Psychotherapy.
We're in the heart of theKentlands.
It's a psychotherapy practice.
We do talk therapy for adultsand children and couples,
medication management andtesting.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
All right, and a round of applause for Montgomery
County-based businesses, allright.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And thank you for all you do when it comes to helping
with the health of countyresidents.
We've talked quite a bit onthis podcast about mindfulness
and wellness and health andhealth and also the fact that
health is not always justphysically being in shape,
although that does help Notsaying that I'm an example of
(14:35):
that but there's also thedeliberate need for us to be
healthy mentally as well, and Iknow we're not talking about
that today, but I just wanted tothank you and your colleagues
and Kentlands for that greatthing that you guys are doing
there.
Thank you Now.
Why internships?
(14:55):
You reached out to us at thepodcast and you said you know
what there's all these thingsgoing on on a federal level.
There's some challenges thatyoung people are facing when it
comes to our internshipopportunities.
What inspired you to give us acall?
And then let's start talkingabout tips for other businesses
(15:19):
like yours.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Absolutely.
You know, I think it's alwaysimportant that we support young
people, but now more than ever,because I think the job market
is really difficult for youngpeople to get into and having
professional experience in yourfield is critical for breaking
into that job market.
And so I think many businessesdon't realize that they could
create and stand up aninternship program at their
(15:41):
office to support young people,to get those experiences, to
help them prepare to get intothe job market when they
graduate.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
All right.
Right.
Then, when you talk aboutinternships, how young do you
consider not that you're anexpert when it comes to, I think
, the legal ages for those typeof things, but how young are we
talking when you're?
If you're a small businessowner and you're looking to have
someone that can help you froma productivity standpoint, how
young are you thinking of forinternships?
Speaker 4 (16:11):
I think it really depends on what you think
they're going to be doing forthe organization.
Of course, it's reallyimportant that it's grounded in
something that's educational forthe intern.
They need to be learning.
It can't just be cheap labor.
It really needs to be alearning opportunity for them.
So first, I think, the businessneeds to-.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I'm sorry, hold on.
I'm sorry, you said it can't be.
It cannot be cheap labor.
It cannot be cheap labor.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
There's lots of laws involved in doing it right.
And so we need to do that, ofcourse, and part of that is
having a vision for what do youthink you could create?
That's a win-win where you canbe teaching young people
something of value to them.
And then they can becontributing back to the
organization of value to it.
So it's worth it to theorganization to take the time to
invest in the young person.
Now back to your age questionworth it to the organization to
(16:54):
take the time to invest in theyoung person?
Now back to your age question.
We've had interns for yearsthat are in the high school
level helping with first draftsof advice columns and things
like that.
As you probably know, for highschool kids, by the time they're
a senior, if they have enoughcredits, they can leave in the
middle of the day and do aninternship for the second half
of the day, and so there's a lotof Montgomery County kids that
are seniors that are looking forthese internship opportunities
(17:15):
that start around like 12, orone in the afternoon, that go
half day.
Right now, what we're doing andwhat we have found works best
for our organization is collegelevel interns.
They just bring another levelof experience and sophistication
and skills to the table, whichis really helpful to our
organization, and we havepartnered quite extensively with
(17:36):
University of Maryland,particularly right now with
their communications department.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
All right, all right.
Now, many moons ago, back whenI was a youngster, there were
the duties that internships werewhat interns had to do.
You know, like you do, all thisgrunt work, so to speak, that
the bosses don't necessarilywant to do themselves.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
And then you're able to do some of the more fun
things or some of the otherthings that you may want to do
as an intern right.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
You come in as an intern, you're big and bold, you
know everything and you want todo what your bosses do, but
back then it was copy makingcopies, faxes, mail.
There is no mail, is no email,copies or PDFs, and you know who
knows what else.
Other things are outdated.
What are some of the thingsthat interns can do for the
(18:31):
average small business that theyshould be prepared for, going
into their interviews or even intheir residence?
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Yeah, I think one of the things is even for me as a
small business owner, if I walkin the front door and there's a
bunch of dead leaves out infront of my step.
I'm going to come in and put mybriefcase down, go to the closet
, get a broom, go back out onthe front porch and sweep off
those leaves before I start myday, because when you're a small
business owner, like those oldKinko commercial show, you're
(19:01):
doing everything, and so I dothink that you bring that spirit
of nobody's above filling,refilling the K-cup station or
the crackers or whatever, and sowe'll ask the interns to help
with that too, but everybodyhelps with that kind of thing.
But primarily, the question iswhat can they do that's really
meaningful, that they will learnfrom, that is helpful to the
(19:23):
business?
I think for so many businessesnowadays you live and die by
social media and having anonline presence, and so,
particularly for communicationstudents, there are these
opportunities to help with thosesocial media accounts and just
getting the word out about yourbusiness.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Right, right, and it's almost like.
I mean like this is few as 10years ago.
If people couldn't Google you,then you didn't exist, and
that's as an individual or as abusiness.
Nowadays, if you're not onFacebook, if you're not on
Instagram, if you're notnecessarily on TikTok, then your
business, some of the ways thatyou would normally engage with
(20:00):
your audiences and some of theways that people found your
business, they couldn't find you.
They can't find you, who havegrown up with Google as a, you
know, second nature and socialmedia as something that they
were into early on in theirlives, whereas we've kind of
(20:20):
adopted it later in our lives.
Oh, I'm talking speaking formyself as a whole person.
They're they're adept to doingRight Now.
What, what type of learningcurve is there when it comes to
bringing in interns to help withsocial media, to help them be
more appropriate for yourbusiness?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
and then an asset as well as just someone as great as
social media, yeah, so this issuch an excellent point because
they are.
You know, we used to talk aboutdigital natives, now we're
talking about sort of socialmedia natives, and the younger
generation brings a perspectiveon how to use that communication
medium.
That I think can be reallyhelpful to your average 50 plus
(21:01):
year old business owner who isnot really comfortable in that
arena but knows they need to bethere.
But what the business owner hasthat the student doesn't have
is expertise about yourparticular field.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Right.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
And so what you do is you're partnering your
expertise about your fieldwhether it's, you know, air
conditioning repair orpsychotherapy with the student,
who understands social media andthose outlets and how to use
platforms like Canva and thingslike that.
And so I think that's where youhave that synergy between the
expertise of the business ownerand the expertise of the student
(21:34):
as a user of social media.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
And that's fantastic, because you're looking at a
person with no experience in aprofession but has skills that
lend to almost any professionpsychotherapist later on in life
, then your first steps, beforeyou even finish your first few
(21:57):
classes in college, could beinterning with Kentlands.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
So, for example, when I was a student, I did
internships at a batteredwomen's shelter.
I did internships at a cancersupport center.
So there are many opportunitiesout there if you search for
them.
Half of the internships that Ihad as a young person were not
advertised.
I just thought about well, whatdo I want to do?
And then you have to pound thepavement sometimes and be brave
(22:22):
and approach places that aren'teven listing having an
internship, and if you canexplain to the organization what
it entails, because I thinksometimes when you say an
internship program, that soundslike a big deal but in reality
oftentimes you just have avision for what you can do to
partner with a student that canbe mutually beneficial and
there's a minimal amount ofpaperwork that you do with the
(22:43):
school in terms of theirquarterly evaluations or
something.
It's not really that cumbersome.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh, wow, fantastic.
And so you said something alittle while ago that really
resounded with me.
You said hit the pavement orbeat the pavement.
What does that mean for aperson that has grew up
literally in the cyber world,where a lot of your first
engagements with people werevirtual?
Yeah, the first time you heardsomeone's name or read someone's
name, it was online.
(23:09):
What does pounding the pavementlook like for an intern these
days?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Is it literally going ?
Speaker 4 (23:14):
door to door, or was it research.
That's a great question, youknow.
Just as an aside, I always liketo ask the high school interns
you know, what's the mostbeneficial thing you got out of
this experience?
And I was shocked one year whena student said you made us make
phone calls to strangers.
And I'm not used to makingphone calls to strangers and
(23:34):
that was kind of an anxietyprovoking thing that I needed to
learn how to do.
Right, but it really speaks tosuch a different generation.
You know, you and I, when wewere kids, if we wanted to talk
to our friend we had to calltheir landline and talk to their
parents.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Right, and that's something that's just foreign to
most young people, and so thereare many times that even just
something like that, like havingstudents help with outgoing
phone calls, can be a reallygood growth opportunity for them
, you know.
And so again, when you thinkabout when you want to do an
internship, when I wasgraduating from college, I had a
(24:09):
mentor in Washington State andhe went with me to the state
library because it's back in1990.
And we looked through theyellow pages in the state
library for Washington DC tofind organizations that I wanted
to work at, so that I couldmail them letters suggesting
that I could be an intern.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Right, but there is a new, modern, 21st century way
of doing the same thing.
You can still look online fororganizations that you think
you'd like to work with, get toknow that organization by
looking at their digitalfootprint and then crafting a
letter of what you think youcould contribute to the
organization as an intern, sothat you can sell yourself to
them.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Right, and so what you're talking about here is
unsolicited connections toplaces that you'd like to work.
Right unsolicited connectionsto places that you'd like to
work.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
Right, because if you limit yourself to just the
internships that you see posted,you are limiting yourself more
than you need to.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Right Now.
What's something that some tipsyou can give to interns to be
successful in getting aninternship once they've
identified a person to reach outto, whether they've found them
via, like a reference, or goingto the library or Mr Google or
social media what's the firststep that you think, or what are
some of the characteristicsthat their outreach should have?
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Yes, I think.
Know the organization thatyou're applying to well.
Reference the things that youknow about them.
Know the organization thatyou're applying to well.
Reference the things that youknow about them in the letter
that you're writing.
When you're selling yourself asa potential intern, if you are
responding to a job ad, makesure you read it very carefully,
in granular detail, and followthe instructions exactly.
You and I were talking beforethe show about how often we will
(25:51):
post a job, say on Handshake,and say and Handshake is like
Indeed, you know, for collegestudents.
And it will say apply, send inyour resume and cover letter to
this email address and peoplewill just submit their resume on
Handshake.
And so they haven't read to thebottom, I guess, but that's
(26:13):
going to make them disqualifiedinstantly, because if they can't
read those instructions, thenyou think they're going to make
other mistakes at the office.
So read the instructions very,very carefully.
The other thing I wouldrecommend is that there's a good
chance you might haveprospective employers cyber
sleuth you, and so you shouldGoogle yourself, see what
pictures come up, whatpresentation you're making on
the internet, and considermaking some of those things
(26:36):
private.
You have a right to have aprivate life, but you should
make your private life private,I think, when you start to enter
into the job market.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Right.
So that's interesting.
You say private life, becausethere's this thing about data
and social media reallyrevealing a lot about who you
are as a person.
How concerned should an internor a regular person should be
when they're applying for aninternship or job these days,
when it comes to their privatethoughts and activities on
(27:05):
social?
Media and how they presentthemselves Does that have an
impact.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
You know, I think it would depend from organization
to organization, but I justthink in general, some
organizations are very concernedabout how all of their
employees present to the outsideworld, and so image can be
really important to a lot oforganizations.
And so think about what's theimage you want to present to the
world and how do you comeacross the way you want to right
(27:30):
, because maybe some of thethings that you posted five
years ago just don't reflect whoyou think you are today and you
can make those private.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah, and it's okay to audit your social media, I
think.
I really recommend everyone,every three or four years, go
back through your social mediaaccounts and audit your social
media.
It doesn't mean you change whoyou are or who you were, but you
might want to enhance it orremove some things that may not
(27:59):
be who you, as you say, reflectwho you are today.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Because every day you learn something new, every day
you grow and change, and who youare today may not be who you
were many moons ago.
And we don't know about gettingjobs because of social media,
but we do know that a lot ofpeople have lost jobs because of
something they posted on socialmedia years ago.
So well let's make a littletransition here from talking
(28:24):
about how to get an internshipto talking about someone that
did get an internship with yourorganization.
And the young lady is here.
She's from the University ofMaryland, yep, and her name is
Allie Gottlieb.
Allie Gottlieb, and what was itabout, allie, that got her, or
earned her, a position with yourorganization?
Speaker 4 (28:45):
So we have found that the interns, who are really
good at presenting themselvesand articulating their interest,
and that their passion for whatthey do in terms of
communications and publicrelations really fit with what
we're doing.
And when we spoke to her itjust felt like she really kind
of got our values and ourmission and was excited about
(29:08):
contributing and helping thecommunity.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Wonderful Well using the magic of media.
The next person you see herewill be Ali Gottlieb, and we're
back with Ali Gottlieb.
Helloie how are you today?
Speaker 5 (29:23):
I'm good, how are?
Speaker 2 (29:24):
you Pretty good, pretty good.
So we've learned quite a bitfrom Dr Carr about what interns
should be mindful of as theyresearch and apply for
internships, and also what ittakes to be a good intern.
But from your perspective, whatis it like as a college-age
(29:46):
intern in today's society?
In Montgomery County, maryland,I think it's tough.
Speaker 5 (29:51):
A lot of people I know were really struggling.
It's a major stressor forpeople because it feels like
your career is dependent onfinding an internship.
So I think for a lot of peopleit becomes something bigger than
an internship.
It becomes something that theyplace their value and their
future on and I think that makesit.
(30:15):
It just makes it tough.
A lot of people don't liketalking about it because it's so
stressful and when someone doesget one, they feel a little bit
bad and guilty and they don'treally want to post about it
because so many other people arejust completely stressed and
it's just not a super fun topicanywhere.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Oh, wow.
So someone would think, in manycases internships are unpaid.
Was your internship paid orunpaid?
It is paid.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
It's about 50-50, I say, with people being paid and
not paid, it depends on yourarea of interest and how you're
doing the internship.
A lot of remote ones tend to beunpaid and in-person tends to
be paid.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Now, what was your experience like finding this
opportunity with Kentlands andwhat was your once you found out
about the opportunity?
What did you do to get the job?
What do you think helped you toearn the position?
Speaker 5 (31:15):
So it just kind of fell into my lap.
My dad sent me an email and hewas like hey, look at this.
And I'd I'd applied a lot ofplaces and heard back from maybe
like two of them and they wereboth no's.
The issue is you kind of get itfeels like you're sending them
into a void a little bit.
And I went and I checked outKentland's website and I looked
over their homepage and I lookedover their internship
(31:38):
responsibilities andrequirements and I really liked
that.
I felt like they tailored theinternship to the person who got
it.
So had I been a psych major, itwould have been more psych
focused, but I'm a PR major, soit's tailored to the person who
gets it and I really liked that.
I thought I could tell that DrCarr was looking to help someone
(32:02):
in the community rather thanagain looking for someone to do
cheap labor.
So that stuck out to me a lotand I think, just the values of
the company, especially likewhen I went and I spoke to Dr
Carr, I felt like we aligned ona lot of things and the the
interview was not serious orstuffy.
It was very laid back andrelaxed, which I enjoyed.
(32:26):
I don't really tend to getnervous at interviews, but I
know that they're a majorstressor for people um, so I
thought that was really tellingof what kind of place it was to
work at and what, what?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
what does that experience mean to you to be
able to find this?
Is this your first internshipin college or is there?
Speaker 5 (32:47):
I had one last year and it was remote and it was a
great place to work, but itwasn't it, but it wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I don't want to say anything so.
So this this year is a bitdifferent.
The last one was in, remote,was remote, this one's more in
person.
Speaker 5 (33:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
OK, and you're able to use your skills as a PR
person.
What, what ways that Kentlandsreshape the internship or shape
the internship around yourspecific skill set?
Speaker 5 (33:26):
So I do a lot of the social media posting.
There's me and another intern,so that's been super helpful
because obviously I'm learningabout this stuff in my classes
but I'm not doing the stuff I'mlearning about.
I'm just learning what theconcepts are and at this
internship I get to apply thoseconcepts, which I think is super
important, because had I notgotten it, I would not have
known how to apply some of thethings that I'm learning, like
(33:48):
SEOs or like generally how touse Canva.
Like this stuff is what we'relearning in class, Like we learn
about all these things butwe're not actually doing them
things, but we're not actuallydoing them.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
An seo for people that aren't initiated.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
Searching optimization and canva is a uh,
a cloud-based ai, quasi ai,graphic design tool it's like
not as much ai, but it is umlike you're making graphics on
it.
Yeah, okay great.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
So you're able to.
So you're learning this stuffin school and, at the same time,
in your internship, you'regetting practical experience
using some of the things thatyou're learning about in school
how does that?
How does that?
Does that give you an edge oversome of your peers?
Speaker 5 (34:27):
I think so yeah, I think if you were to go straight
into a job post-grad and youhadn't done any internship
experience, you would be alittle bit shocked, like if I
was just taking my classes andnot doing any extracurriculars
or going to any events for mymajors.
(34:50):
Like I will go to networkingevents and stuff.
If I was not going to those, Ithink I would be missing a lot
of information that is kind ofcrucial to know about the field
I'm going into, information thatis kind of crucial to know
about the field I'm going intoand I think it helped me feel
better in my decision about whatmy major is.
But had I not done that, Ithink I would have been entirely
(35:10):
unprepared.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Wow, right Now, what would you say to others, other
young people like yourself, thatare seeking to enhance their
ability to get jobs after theyfinish school?
What would you say to them togive them tips on how to get an
internship, and what would yousay to them how to get the most
out of their internship?
Speaker 5 (35:33):
I think to get an internship, a lot of people
struggle with not having anyexperience and then not getting
the internship because they haveno experience.
And to that I think making useof the resources at your school
or university, like joiningorganizations and clubs and
(35:53):
making positions for yourself inthose clubs, will really help
your chances, because that isexperience in its own way, even
if it's not an internship.
And I think once you're in aninternship, you just have to
like in my mind like this is myjob, like I treat it as such,
like I take it very seriouslyand I think that's the best way,
like I want to absorb all theinformation that I'm getting,
(36:13):
like I want to be like a sponge,like I want to know everything
there is to know.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Fantastic, fantastic.
So let's play a little gamehere, okay?
All right, you are a PR majorand you're getting some PR
experience through yourinternship here.
You haven't learned all thatyou're going to know about
public relations, which is PR,pr is public relations, right,
and you have your client.
Your first client is Kentlands.
Client is Kentland's.
(36:44):
Give us your, your best spillto let people know about your
about where you're working nowabout Kentland's.
About Kentland's.
If you, if you were to givemaybe a social media post or
just something to provideinformation for people that are
looking for therapists in theMontgomery County area and why
they should use Kentland's.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
Okay, Kentland psychotherapy is a small to
medium-sized practice.
They have tons of therapistsand they specialize in all
different sorts of things.
There's two dogs around theoffice which is pretty unique to
there, I think and the space isbeautiful.
It's not a typical stuffydoctor's office.
(37:24):
It feels almost like a spa andI think that's a major drawing
point for them is how beautifuland comfortable everything feels
.
It makes it a lot easier, Ithink, for clients to feel
comfortable in telling peoplethat they're seeking help there
and I think it makes the clientexperience a lot nicer.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Wonderful, wonderful Round of applause here for Ali.
That was fantastic and what Iliked about what you said number
one you took a breath and youthought about what you were
going to say and somewhere inthere you realized you, you know
all about this place and theway you spoke about the place.
It wasn't um, just a whitepaper about um, an office that
(38:07):
provides services.
You gave a visualization whereyou painted a picture for people
out there about what they canencounter, uh, with the um,
kentland psychotherapy, right,um, but then also it kind of
because we're a podcast, peoplecan kind of visualize what this
place looks like.
And even though we're here andwe do have video, some people
(38:29):
watch us on video.
They can also get a sense ofwhat's there.
But then they also get a senseof a differentiating factor.
I guess when marketing, youreally want differentiation
right between one organizationto another, and you gave those
specifics as well.
So congratulations to you forgetting an internship and thanks
(38:50):
to you for sharing some moreabout this organization and
thanks to Dr Carr for being here.
And that's what's happening.
Moco Get an internship learningmore about getting jobs through
Work.
Get an internship learning moreabout getting jobs to work.
Source Montgomery, learningmore about getting internships
through practical examples froman intern supervisor and an
intern from University ofMaryland.
(39:10):
Thank you, ali, thank you DrCarr, and thank you to you out
there for listening, forsubscribing and for liking this
podcast.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Thanks for listening to what's Happening, MoCo.
Please subscribe via yourfavorite podcasting platform and
follow us on Facebook.
This podcast is brought to youby County Cable Montgomery, your
source for news and informationfrom the Montgomery County
Government.
Connect with us via cable,Facebook, Instagram or YouTube
(39:40):
by searching for County CableMoCo.
Good day and welcome to what's Happening MoCo, an
authentic unscripted podcastfrom your Montgomery County
government.
Now here's your host, derekKenney.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good day.
Welcome to what's HappeningMoCo.
Today we're talking jobs withWorks for Works.
Montgomery's, AnthonyFeatherstone.
Good afternoon, Anthony.
How are you today, sir?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Eric, I'm doing well.
Thanks for having me All right.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Do you mind if I call you Anthony?
Sure, all right, you do such animportant job.
Jobs are so important forfamilies, for individuals,
people coming out of college,people that are transitioning
from careers that they thoughtthey might retire from.
What is the current state ofaffairs in your view when it
(00:48):
comes to the job market inMontgomery County now?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well, that's a great question, Derek.
I think you know it'll probablybe no surprise that you know
talking about the federalworkforce and federal talent
that's been affected by therifts or the reduction in force
at the federal government levelis kind of, you know, front and
center right now, and so we'reseeing a lot of federal workers,
(01:13):
federal contractors, who havebeen highly compensated, who are
highly educated, have greatexperience, come through our
jobs and adore seekingassistance, and so we're trying
to do our part to make sure thatwe can help them with their
reemployment needs as bestpossible.
But then also realizing, derek,that there's still a lot of
need in Montgomery County with,you know, returning citizens or
(01:36):
young adults or older adults orindividuals with disabilities
that are looking to break intothe labor market or advance in
the labor market, and so we'retrying to balance the two to
make sure that we can achieveour core goal, which is that all
Montgomery County residentshave access to economic mobility
through workforce resources.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
That's great.
That's great.
Now we can take a step back.
We see what the situation iswith jobs in the county.
But your organization,Workforce Montgomery, does
something about that.
It's not just aware of thesituation.
You work with communities, youwork with individuals, you work
with the federal government Imean, that's right the county
government to help affectpositive change for people
(02:14):
seeking jobs.
What is Workforce Montgomery?
What does it do and what isyour role with the organization?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Sure, so we're the county's lead workforce
organization, and so we are partof the larger workforce
ecosystem of community providers, chambers, education
institutions, communityorganizations that all work to
advance workforce developmentwithin the county, and so we
operate our job centers, nine ofthem across the county.
(02:44):
Some are mobile, some arevirtual, some are brick and
mortar.
One is at the correctionalfacility in Clarksburg.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But I think it pertains to kind of the current
state of affairs when it comesto workforce.
As I mentioned, we're just apart of a larger ecosystem and
so there's a coalition calledMobilize Montgomery, which
includes county government,montgomery County Economic
Development Corporation,worksource Montgomery, community
partners, the Montgomery CountyChamber that came together in
(03:13):
response to you know what'shappening at the federal level
with federal workers, and sowith that coalition we are
streamlining the communicationof resources to federal workers,
because there's a lot ofdifferent resource hubs that are
out there.
But directly we're doingworkshops, we're we're putting
on job fairs, we're providingjob placement assistance, we're
providing free trainingresources and we're trying to
(03:34):
meet people where they're to toget, get back to the workforce
or find the next opportunity now, how do people become aware of
these, these job fair, theresources you mentioned, the
different places they can govirtual or in person for help.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
How do they find you?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, I would say, check out the
mobilize-mcgomerycom website,and that pulls together all of
the programs, resources andservices that are out there.
But for WorkSource Montgomery,you can check out our social
media sites, whether it'sInstagram, facebook, linkedin or
whatever the case may be.
You can come to our website,wwwworksourcemontgomerycom and
(04:14):
look at our calendar and you cansee all of the professional
development workshops, all ofthe job fairs that are available
, and then a lot of ourcommunity partners.
That's usually our bestmarketing tool is just word of
mouth, through communityorganizations, through customers
who are telling you, know,family and friends about
services they receive, and soit's a variety of ways you can
get in touch with us and learnabout those resources.
(04:35):
But if you just want to comesee us and talk to us, come to
our job center on Georgia Avenue, at 11510 Georgia Avenue, and
just talk to us and we can pullyou into the services that are
available to you and what's bestfor you to help you achieve
your goals.
Oh, wow, incredible.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Incredible.
Now, what do you have like moreof a on a personal level for
individuals that are like, oh mygosh, I need a job?
What are your top tips?
Do you have like three, maybefour tips that you give to job
seekers when they are at squareone?
They realize they have a needfor a job, they realize that
(05:13):
they may not be totally aware ofwhat the job market is bearing
right now or where to go tofirst.
What are the tips that youwould give?
And we'll start with number one.
I love top lists, so we'll dothe top three lists.
Top three lists from AnthonyFetterstone, worksource
Montgomery.
Number one one, one.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
So my number one you're really putting me on the
spot here, derek.
So so my number one would beknow yourself and know your,
your strengths know yourinterests, know what's going to
make you want to get up out ofbed and go do that job with that
next opportunity, and so youcan tap into a variety of career
(05:52):
coaching tools.
We have a virtual career coachtool which will help you
identify strengths, interests,work values and then identify
number two your targets.
So once you know yourself, youknow your strengths, start
identifying your targets basedon your knowledge, skills,
experience and abilities, sothat you can have a targeted job
(06:13):
search as you start to put yourname out there and start to put
applications in and start tonetwork and so forth.
And I think, number three makesure you have a quality product
to present, and that's writtenand verbal.
Make sure you have a qualityproduct to present, and that's
written and verbal.
And so make sure you have aquality resume that's tailored
to the opportunities that youare applying for.
And then make sure, as Imentioned with number one, you
(06:33):
know yourself and that you canarticulate your skills and your
value proposition, whetheryou're in a grocery store
talking to somebody behind youthat could be your potential
coworker or next supervisor, orwhether you're in an interview,
or whether you're at a job fairnetworking and so like.
Those are my three kind of knowyour strengths, know who you
are, know what you like and wantto do.
Number two identify yourtargets from an employment
(06:55):
standpoint.
What are the jobs with thecompanies?
What are the areas that I wantto work in and I don't want to
work in?
And then, number three, wrap itup in a bow make sure that you
can sell yourself in writing,verbally and then through social
media.
I always recommend that folksstart to you know.
Build their brand on LinkedInat the very least.
It's the only social mediaplatform I'm on and I highly
(07:19):
recommend that job seekers buyinto LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Now.
Are there any things that aredifferent now as opposed to
pre-COVID or even 15 years agowhen it comes to how to conduct
yourself for an interview, howto dress for an interview, and,
depending on the type of jobyou're looking for, does it
matter how you're dressed?
I haven't been out there for awhile, but I'm an old guy, so
(07:44):
any type of interview I've goneto, whether it's McDonald's or
whether it's for, like a copyclerk when I was, like in
college or even as recently,trying to work for the county
government I've always walked inwith a suit on.
What's the expectation nowamong employers for in-person or
virtual interviews amongemployers for in-person?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
or virtual interviews .
So I think, as far as how youyou dress, I think professional
is a very relative term and it'shard to define.
It's hard for me to say this isexactly what you should do and
it'll be right in the eyes ofevery employer that you sit in
front of.
I think you always want to erron the side of you know being
cautious when it comes to aninterview.
(08:25):
It's better to be over dressedthan to go on an interview and
be under under dressed, and soyou have to know the company,
you have to know the industry,you have to know the culture.
You may dress different if youare looking to, you know, jump
into the construction trades asopposed to looking to interview
(08:45):
for a business professionalposition within an office
setting.
So I would say, just kind ofknow, as you know, your target,
you know address to impress, butdo not address to take away
from the attention that shouldbe put on you as a job seeker
and what you have to offer.
And so what that means is thatyou want to stay away from
(09:05):
things that may detract fromyourself and that could be
accessories, that could becertain colors, things that an
interviewer will watch asopposed to listening to you, but
it's hard to say wear a suitand tie, because every employer
is different.
But we always say you arebetter in a situation where
you're overdressed than goinginto an interview.
(09:26):
If everybody's suited andbooted, you're in there with a
t-shirt on.
You want it to be the reverse,at worst.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
And we don't want to say.
I think I want to emphasizethis the most important thing
for a job interview is to showup.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
So even if you don't have the Brooks Brothers suit.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
even if you don't know how to tie a tie, still
show up.
Show up and present the bestyou possible, and you never know
what the opportunity may yieldfor you.
So this is a littleconversation here.
I just wanted to make sure thatwe clarified that for anyone
out there seeking jobs we're notsaying we're kind of giving it
(10:02):
tips on how to present yourselfthe best way possible.
But the main thing right, Iguess always is to try apply for
that job, show up for thatinterview and then the first day
of work.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Go in there and give them the very best you got Right
.
Yeah, absolutely, when you,when you show up for that
interview, show up prepared,yeah.
Show up, having done research onthe position that you're
applying for, the, the company,uh, important events in that
industry or within that thatcompany, um, with questions,
thoughtful questions, prepared,um about you know what life
would be like, um, if you werehired in that position and what
(10:39):
success would look like Um, andthat shows the the employer
level of due diligence, um, fromyour standpoint as a job seeker
.
And so what you wear is alwayssubjective, but how you come in,
how you show up and how you'reprepared and how you're able to
articulate your skills andabilities and be authentic self,
I think that's what, that'swhat matters most and makes you
most comfortable as a job seeker.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Yeah, fantastic, fantastic.
Now we have a couple of minutesleft, perhaps Fantastic, now
that we have a couple of minutesleft, perhaps give us your last
, like a last statement fromWorkSource Montgomery and then
also, I think we didn't have achance to get to meet you, of
course, as the leader ofWorkSource Montgomery.
What is your title there andkind of, what do you do?
And then, just like a lastcouple of tips for job seekers
(11:22):
out there, or parents of jobseekers out there.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, so, as I mentioned, you know, anthony
Featherstone, I'm the executiveexecutive director for
WorkSource Montgomery and ourlocal workforce development
board, and so the board is abody of business.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
Led members.
Who kind of?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
you know, set the vision for our workforce system
and WorkSource Montgomery is thestaff for that board.
And so you know just a coupleyou know words to.
You know leave folks with whenit comes to WorkSource is that
you're not alone when it comesto finding your next opportunity
or finding your next employee.
(12:01):
And when I say you're not alone, it doesn't mean that
WorkSource Montgomery is theonly entity that you can come to
and that we do it all.
But there is a workforce systemthat's there to support you,
and so it always starts with aconversation, and you can come
see us at any one of our jobcenters.
You can connect with usvirtually, but if you are a
(12:23):
business, if you are a residentlooking for work, come see us.
And if we're not the best placefor you to provide services, we
know a partner who likely is.
And so we want to start thatconversation, and so a lot of
people can do it on their ownand a lot of people may need
support, and so if you do needsupport, we're here for you, and
that's what WorkSourceMontgomery and our partners are
(12:44):
all about, and that's what'shappening.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
MoCo, Be sure to check out WorkSource Montgomery
and, of course, AnthonyFeatherstone, the executive
director.
They are there to help you andothers like you to find jobs and
live your best lives here inMontgomery County, Maryland.
So what's the name of that?
The URL for your website again.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
So you can visit wwwworksourcemcgcom.
That's wwwworksourcemcgcom.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
And that's what's happening.
Moco.
Be sure to like, share,subscribe and, if you see them
out on social media, engage withWorkSource Montgomery.
It's another great way to getyourself started on your next
job or career journey.
And up next we'll be talkingabout internships.
So if you're younger and you'retrying to get your feet wet in
your profession or your futurecareer, be sure to listen up.
(13:32):
Next we talk to a smallbusiness that has tips for other
small businesses on how tointegrate internships and
internship opportunities foryoung people in Montgomery
County, maryland.
And we're talking to none otherthan the Dr Elizabeth Carr.
Thank you for being here.
And what's the name of yourbusiness?
(13:52):
You're not an internshipbusiness, but you are a business
that has interns.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yes, so my business is Kentland Psychotherapy.
We're in the heart of theKentlands.
It's a psychotherapy practice.
We do talk therapy for adultsand children and couples,
medication management andtesting.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
All right, and a round of applause for Montgomery
County-based businesses, allright.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And thank you for all you do when it comes to helping
with the health of countyresidents.
We've talked quite a bit onthis podcast about mindfulness
and wellness and health andhealth and also the fact that
health is not always justphysically being in shape,
although that does help Notsaying that I'm an example of
(14:35):
that but there's also thedeliberate need for us to be
healthy mentally as well, and Iknow we're not talking about
that today, but I just wanted tothank you and your colleagues
and Kentlands for that greatthing that you guys are doing
there.
Thank you Now.
Why internships?
(14:55):
You reached out to us at thepodcast and you said you know
what there's all these thingsgoing on on a federal level.
There's some challenges thatyoung people are facing when it
comes to our internshipopportunities.
What inspired you to give us acall?
And then let's start talkingabout tips for other businesses
(15:19):
like yours.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Absolutely.
You know, I think it's alwaysimportant that we support young
people, but now more than ever,because I think the job market
is really difficult for youngpeople to get into and having
professional experience in yourfield is critical for breaking
into that job market.
And so I think many businessesdon't realize that they could
create and stand up aninternship program at their
(15:41):
office to support young people,to get those experiences, to
help them prepare to get intothe job market when they
graduate.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
All right.
Right.
Then, when you talk aboutinternships, how young do you
consider not that you're anexpert when it comes to, I think
, the legal ages for those typeof things, but how young are we
talking when you're?
If you're a small businessowner and you're looking to have
someone that can help you froma productivity standpoint, how
young are you thinking of forinternships?
Speaker 4 (16:11):
I think it really depends on what you think
they're going to be doing forthe organization.
Of course, it's reallyimportant that it's grounded in
something that's educational forthe intern.
They need to be learning.
It can't just be cheap labor.
It really needs to be alearning opportunity for them.
So first, I think, the businessneeds to-.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I'm sorry, hold on.
I'm sorry, you said it can't be.
It cannot be cheap labor.
It cannot be cheap labor.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
There's lots of laws involved in doing it right.
And so we need to do that, ofcourse, and part of that is
having a vision for what do youthink you could create?
That's a win-win where you canbe teaching young people
something of value to them.
And then they can becontributing back to the
organization of value to it.
So it's worth it to theorganization to take the time to
invest in the young person.
Now back to your age questionworth it to the organization to
(16:54):
take the time to invest in theyoung person?
Now back to your age question.
We've had interns for yearsthat are in the high school
level helping with first draftsof advice columns and things
like that.
As you probably know, for highschool kids, by the time they're
a senior, if they have enoughcredits, they can leave in the
middle of the day and do aninternship for the second half
of the day, and so there's a lotof Montgomery County kids that
are seniors that are looking forthese internship opportunities
(17:15):
that start around like 12, orone in the afternoon, that go
half day.
Right now, what we're doing andwhat we have found works best
for our organization is collegelevel interns.
They just bring another levelof experience and sophistication
and skills to the table, whichis really helpful to our
organization, and we havepartnered quite extensively with
(17:36):
University of Maryland,particularly right now with
their communications department.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
All right, all right.
Now, many moons ago, back whenI was a youngster, there were
the duties that internships werewhat interns had to do.
You know, like you do, all thisgrunt work, so to speak, that
the bosses don't necessarilywant to do themselves.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
And then you're able to do some of the more fun
things or some of the otherthings that you may want to do
as an intern right.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
You come in as an intern, you're big and bold, you
know everything and you want todo what your bosses do, but
back then it was copy makingcopies, faxes, mail.
There is no mail, is no email,copies or PDFs, and you know who
knows what else.
Other things are outdated.
What are some of the thingsthat interns can do for the
(18:31):
average small business that theyshould be prepared for, going
into their interviews or even intheir residence?
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Yeah, I think one of the things is even for me as a
small business owner, if I walkin the front door and there's a
bunch of dead leaves out infront of my step.
I'm going to come in and put mybriefcase down, go to the closet
, get a broom, go back out onthe front porch and sweep off
those leaves before I start myday, because when you're a small
business owner, like those oldKinko commercial show, you're
(19:01):
doing everything, and so I dothink that you bring that spirit
of nobody's above filling,refilling the K-cup station or
the crackers or whatever, and sowe'll ask the interns to help
with that too, but everybodyhelps with that kind of thing.
But primarily, the question iswhat can they do that's really
meaningful, that they will learnfrom, that is helpful to the
(19:23):
business?
I think for so many businessesnowadays you live and die by
social media and having anonline presence, and so,
particularly for communicationstudents, there are these
opportunities to help with thosesocial media accounts and just
getting the word out about yourbusiness.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Right, right, and it's almost like.
I mean like this is few as 10years ago.
If people couldn't Google you,then you didn't exist, and
that's as an individual or as abusiness.
Nowadays, if you're not onFacebook, if you're not on
Instagram, if you're notnecessarily on TikTok, then your
business, some of the ways thatyou would normally engage with
(20:00):
your audiences and some of theways that people found your
business, they couldn't find you.
They can't find you, who havegrown up with Google as a, you
know, second nature and socialmedia as something that they
were into early on in theirlives, whereas we've kind of
(20:20):
adopted it later in our lives.
Oh, I'm talking speaking formyself as a whole person.
They're they're adept to doingRight Now.
What, what type of learningcurve is there when it comes to
bringing in interns to help withsocial media, to help them be
more appropriate for yourbusiness?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
and then an asset as well as just someone as great as
social media, yeah, so this issuch an excellent point because
they are.
You know, we used to talk aboutdigital natives, now we're
talking about sort of socialmedia natives, and the younger
generation brings a perspectiveon how to use that communication
medium.
That I think can be reallyhelpful to your average 50 plus
(21:01):
year old business owner who isnot really comfortable in that
arena but knows they need to bethere.
But what the business owner hasthat the student doesn't have
is expertise about yourparticular field.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Right.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
And so what you do is you're partnering your
expertise about your fieldwhether it's, you know, air
conditioning repair orpsychotherapy with the student,
who understands social media andthose outlets and how to use
platforms like Canva and thingslike that.
And so I think that's where youhave that synergy between the
expertise of the business ownerand the expertise of the student
(21:34):
as a user of social media.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
And that's fantastic, because you're looking at a
person with no experience in aprofession but has skills that
lend to almost any professionpsychotherapist later on in life
, then your first steps, beforeyou even finish your first few
(21:57):
classes in college, could beinterning with Kentlands.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
So, for example, when I was a student, I did
internships at a batteredwomen's shelter.
I did internships at a cancersupport center.
So there are many opportunitiesout there if you search for
them.
Half of the internships that Ihad as a young person were not
advertised.
I just thought about well, whatdo I want to do?
And then you have to pound thepavement sometimes and be brave
(22:22):
and approach places that aren'teven listing having an
internship, and if you canexplain to the organization what
it entails, because I thinksometimes when you say an
internship program, that soundslike a big deal but in reality
oftentimes you just have avision for what you can do to
partner with a student that canbe mutually beneficial and
there's a minimal amount ofpaperwork that you do with the
(22:43):
school in terms of theirquarterly evaluations or
something.
It's not really that cumbersome.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh, wow, fantastic.
And so you said something alittle while ago that really
resounded with me.
You said hit the pavement orbeat the pavement.
What does that mean for aperson that has grew up
literally in the cyber world,where a lot of your first
engagements with people werevirtual?
Yeah, the first time you heardsomeone's name or read someone's
name, it was online.
(23:09):
What does pounding the pavementlook like for an intern these
days?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Is it literally going ?
Speaker 4 (23:14):
door to door, or was it research.
That's a great question, youknow.
Just as an aside, I always liketo ask the high school interns
you know, what's the mostbeneficial thing you got out of
this experience?
And I was shocked one year whena student said you made us make
phone calls to strangers.
And I'm not used to makingphone calls to strangers and
(23:34):
that was kind of an anxietyprovoking thing that I needed to
learn how to do.
Right, but it really speaks tosuch a different generation.
You know, you and I, when wewere kids, if we wanted to talk
to our friend we had to calltheir landline and talk to their
parents.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Right, and that's something that's just foreign to
most young people, and so thereare many times that even just
something like that, like havingstudents help with outgoing
phone calls, can be a reallygood growth opportunity for them
, you know.
And so again, when you thinkabout when you want to do an
internship, when I wasgraduating from college, I had a
(24:09):
mentor in Washington State andhe went with me to the state
library because it's back in1990.
And we looked through theyellow pages in the state
library for Washington DC tofind organizations that I wanted
to work at, so that I couldmail them letters suggesting
that I could be an intern.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Right, but there is a new, modern, 21st century way
of doing the same thing.
You can still look online fororganizations that you think
you'd like to work with, get toknow that organization by
looking at their digitalfootprint and then crafting a
letter of what you think youcould contribute to the
organization as an intern, sothat you can sell yourself to
them.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Right, and so what you're talking about here is
unsolicited connections toplaces that you'd like to work.
Right unsolicited connectionsto places that you'd like to
work.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
Right, because if you limit yourself to just the
internships that you see posted,you are limiting yourself more
than you need to.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Right Now.
What's something that some tipsyou can give to interns to be
successful in getting aninternship once they've
identified a person to reach outto, whether they've found them
via, like a reference, or goingto the library or Mr Google or
social media what's the firststep that you think, or what are
some of the characteristicsthat their outreach should have?
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Yes, I think.
Know the organization thatyou're applying to well.
Reference the things that youknow about them.
Know the organization thatyou're applying to well.
Reference the things that youknow about them in the letter
that you're writing.
When you're selling yourself asa potential intern, if you are
responding to a job ad, makesure you read it very carefully,
in granular detail, and followthe instructions exactly.
You and I were talking beforethe show about how often we will
(25:51):
post a job, say on Handshake,and say and Handshake is like
Indeed, you know, for collegestudents.
And it will say apply, send inyour resume and cover letter to
this email address and peoplewill just submit their resume on
Handshake.
And so they haven't read to thebottom, I guess, but that's
(26:13):
going to make them disqualifiedinstantly, because if they can't
read those instructions, thenyou think they're going to make
other mistakes at the office.
So read the instructions very,very carefully.
The other thing I wouldrecommend is that there's a good
chance you might haveprospective employers cyber
sleuth you, and so you shouldGoogle yourself, see what
pictures come up, whatpresentation you're making on
the internet, and considermaking some of those things
(26:36):
private.
You have a right to have aprivate life, but you should
make your private life private,I think, when you start to enter
into the job market.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Right.
So that's interesting.
You say private life, becausethere's this thing about data
and social media reallyrevealing a lot about who you
are as a person.
How concerned should an internor a regular person should be
when they're applying for aninternship or job these days,
when it comes to their privatethoughts and activities on
(27:05):
social?
Media and how they presentthemselves Does that have an
impact.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
You know, I think it would depend from organization
to organization, but I justthink in general, some
organizations are very concernedabout how all of their
employees present to the outsideworld, and so image can be
really important to a lot oforganizations.
And so think about what's theimage you want to present to the
world and how do you comeacross the way you want to right
(27:30):
, because maybe some of thethings that you posted five
years ago just don't reflect whoyou think you are today and you
can make those private.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah, and it's okay to audit your social media, I
think.
I really recommend everyone,every three or four years, go
back through your social mediaaccounts and audit your social
media.
It doesn't mean you change whoyou are or who you were, but you
might want to enhance it orremove some things that may not
(27:59):
be who you, as you say, reflectwho you are today.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Because every day you learn something new, every day
you grow and change, and who youare today may not be who you
were many moons ago.
And we don't know about gettingjobs because of social media,
but we do know that a lot ofpeople have lost jobs because of
something they posted on socialmedia years ago.
So well let's make a littletransition here from talking
(28:24):
about how to get an internshipto talking about someone that
did get an internship with yourorganization.
And the young lady is here.
She's from the University ofMaryland, yep, and her name is
Allie Gottlieb.
Allie Gottlieb, and what was itabout, allie, that got her, or
earned her, a position with yourorganization?
Speaker 4 (28:45):
So we have found that the interns, who are really
good at presenting themselvesand articulating their interest,
and that their passion for whatthey do in terms of
communications and publicrelations really fit with what
we're doing.
And when we spoke to her itjust felt like she really kind
of got our values and ourmission and was excited about
(29:08):
contributing and helping thecommunity.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Wonderful Well using the magic of media.
The next person you see herewill be Ali Gottlieb, and we're
back with Ali Gottlieb.
Helloie how are you today?
Speaker 5 (29:23):
I'm good, how are?
Speaker 2 (29:24):
you Pretty good, pretty good.
So we've learned quite a bitfrom Dr Carr about what interns
should be mindful of as theyresearch and apply for
internships, and also what ittakes to be a good intern.
But from your perspective, whatis it like as a college-age
(29:46):
intern in today's society?
In Montgomery County, maryland,I think it's tough.
Speaker 5 (29:51):
A lot of people I know were really struggling.
It's a major stressor forpeople because it feels like
your career is dependent onfinding an internship.
So I think for a lot of peopleit becomes something bigger than
an internship.
It becomes something that theyplace their value and their
future on and I think that makesit.
(30:15):
It just makes it tough.
A lot of people don't liketalking about it because it's so
stressful and when someone doesget one, they feel a little bit
bad and guilty and they don'treally want to post about it
because so many other people arejust completely stressed and
it's just not a super fun topicanywhere.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Oh, wow.
So someone would think, in manycases internships are unpaid.
Was your internship paid orunpaid?
It is paid.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
It's about 50-50, I say, with people being paid and
not paid, it depends on yourarea of interest and how you're
doing the internship.
A lot of remote ones tend to beunpaid and in-person tends to
be paid.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Now, what was your experience like finding this
opportunity with Kentlands andwhat was your once you found out
about the opportunity?
What did you do to get the job?
What do you think helped you toearn the position?
Speaker 5 (31:15):
So it just kind of fell into my lap.
My dad sent me an email and hewas like hey, look at this.
And I'd I'd applied a lot ofplaces and heard back from maybe
like two of them and they wereboth no's.
The issue is you kind of get itfeels like you're sending them
into a void a little bit.
And I went and I checked outKentland's website and I looked
over their homepage and I lookedover their internship
(31:38):
responsibilities andrequirements and I really liked
that.
I felt like they tailored theinternship to the person who got
it.
So had I been a psych major, itwould have been more psych
focused, but I'm a PR major, soit's tailored to the person who
gets it and I really liked that.
I thought I could tell that DrCarr was looking to help someone
(32:02):
in the community rather thanagain looking for someone to do
cheap labor.
So that stuck out to me a lotand I think, just the values of
the company, especially likewhen I went and I spoke to Dr
Carr, I felt like we aligned ona lot of things and the the
interview was not serious orstuffy.
It was very laid back andrelaxed, which I enjoyed.
(32:26):
I don't really tend to getnervous at interviews, but I
know that they're a majorstressor for people um, so I
thought that was really tellingof what kind of place it was to
work at and what, what?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
what does that experience mean to you to be
able to find this?
Is this your first internshipin college or is there?
Speaker 5 (32:47):
I had one last year and it was remote and it was a
great place to work, but itwasn't it, but it wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I don't want to say anything so.
So this this year is a bitdifferent.
The last one was in, remote,was remote, this one's more in
person.
Speaker 5 (33:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
OK, and you're able to use your skills as a PR
person.
What, what ways that Kentlandsreshape the internship or shape
the internship around yourspecific skill set?
Speaker 5 (33:26):
So I do a lot of the social media posting.
There's me and another intern,so that's been super helpful
because obviously I'm learningabout this stuff in my classes
but I'm not doing the stuff I'mlearning about.
I'm just learning what theconcepts are and at this
internship I get to apply thoseconcepts, which I think is super
important, because had I notgotten it, I would not have
known how to apply some of thethings that I'm learning, like
(33:48):
SEOs or like generally how touse Canva.
Like this stuff is what we'relearning in class, Like we learn
about all these things butwe're not actually doing them
things, but we're not actuallydoing them.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
An seo for people that aren't initiated.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
Searching optimization and canva is a uh,
a cloud-based ai, quasi ai,graphic design tool it's like
not as much ai, but it is umlike you're making graphics on
it.
Yeah, okay great.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
So you're able to.
So you're learning this stuffin school and, at the same time,
in your internship, you'regetting practical experience
using some of the things thatyou're learning about in school
how does that?
How does that?
Does that give you an edge oversome of your peers?
Speaker 5 (34:27):
I think so yeah, I think if you were to go straight
into a job post-grad and youhadn't done any internship
experience, you would be alittle bit shocked, like if I
was just taking my classes andnot doing any extracurriculars
or going to any events for mymajors.
(34:50):
Like I will go to networkingevents and stuff.
If I was not going to those, Ithink I would be missing a lot
of information that is kind ofcrucial to know about the field
I'm going into, information thatis kind of crucial to know
about the field I'm going intoand I think it helped me feel
better in my decision about whatmy major is.
But had I not done that, Ithink I would have been entirely
(35:10):
unprepared.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Wow, right Now, what would you say to others, other
young people like yourself, thatare seeking to enhance their
ability to get jobs after theyfinish school?
What would you say to them togive them tips on how to get an
internship, and what would yousay to them how to get the most
out of their internship?
Speaker 5 (35:33):
I think to get an internship, a lot of people
struggle with not having anyexperience and then not getting
the internship because they haveno experience.
And to that I think making useof the resources at your school
or university, like joiningorganizations and clubs and
(35:53):
making positions for yourself inthose clubs, will really help
your chances, because that isexperience in its own way, even
if it's not an internship.
And I think once you're in aninternship, you just have to
like in my mind like this is myjob, like I treat it as such,
like I take it very seriouslyand I think that's the best way,
like I want to absorb all theinformation that I'm getting,
(36:13):
like I want to be like a sponge,like I want to know everything
there is to know.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Fantastic, fantastic.
So let's play a little gamehere, okay?
All right, you are a PR majorand you're getting some PR
experience through yourinternship here.
You haven't learned all thatyou're going to know about
public relations, which is PR,pr is public relations, right,
and you have your client.
Your first client is Kentlands.
Client is Kentland's.
(36:44):
Give us your, your best spillto let people know about your
about where you're working nowabout Kentland's.
About Kentland's.
If you, if you were to givemaybe a social media post or
just something to provideinformation for people that are
looking for therapists in theMontgomery County area and why
they should use Kentland's.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
Okay, Kentland psychotherapy is a small to
medium-sized practice.
They have tons of therapistsand they specialize in all
different sorts of things.
There's two dogs around theoffice which is pretty unique to
there, I think and the space isbeautiful.
It's not a typical stuffydoctor's office.
(37:24):
It feels almost like a spa andI think that's a major drawing
point for them is how beautifuland comfortable everything feels
.
It makes it a lot easier, Ithink, for clients to feel
comfortable in telling peoplethat they're seeking help there
and I think it makes the clientexperience a lot nicer.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Wonderful, wonderful Round of applause here for Ali.
That was fantastic and what Iliked about what you said number
one you took a breath and youthought about what you were
going to say and somewhere inthere you realized you, you know
all about this place and theway you spoke about the place.
It wasn't um, just a whitepaper about um, an office that
(38:07):
provides services.
You gave a visualization whereyou painted a picture for people
out there about what they canencounter, uh, with the um,
kentland psychotherapy, right,um, but then also it kind of
because we're a podcast, peoplecan kind of visualize what this
place looks like.
And even though we're here andwe do have video, some people
(38:29):
watch us on video.
They can also get a sense ofwhat's there.
But then they also get a senseof a differentiating factor.
I guess when marketing, youreally want differentiation
right between one organizationto another, and you gave those
specifics as well.
So congratulations to you forgetting an internship and thanks
(38:50):
to you for sharing some moreabout this organization and
thanks to Dr Carr for being here.
And that's what's happening.
Moco Get an internship learningmore about getting jobs through
Work.
Get an internship learning moreabout getting jobs to work.
Source Montgomery, learningmore about getting internships
through practical examples froman intern supervisor and an
intern from University ofMaryland.
(39:10):
Thank you, ali, thank you DrCarr, and thank you to you out
there for listening, forsubscribing and for liking this
podcast.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Thanks for listening to what's Happening, MoCo.
Please subscribe via yourfavorite podcasting platform and
follow us on Facebook.
This podcast is brought to youby County Cable Montgomery, your
source for news and informationfrom the Montgomery County
Government.
Connect with us via cable,Facebook, Instagram or YouTube
(39:40):
by searching for County CableMoCo.
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