Internship candidates often ask what they will learn from working with us. 2019 Summer Intern Amanda's reflection paper gives an accurate view of our daily work and culture as a startup nonprofit.
We teach hard skills (content creation, used and rare book industry knowledge, social media software, donor relations), but we also teach leadership. Our goal is to support our interns' careers long-term through our alumni program, which offers career support, resume review, and workspace access in perpetuity.
Here are a few of the ideas that have shaped us, linked to their source when possible:
- Time and talent are assets; we track and respect staff efforts.
- Showing initiative lets you grow; get buy-in from leadership by presenting a business case.
- We imagine people complexly; we find allies by defining our points of agreement and cooperating to achieve those goals; everything else, from favorite foods to political views, is irrelevant.
- Whether it’s a Kaizen meeting or an interpersonal relationship, continuous incremental improvement is vital; we are human becomings, not human beings.
- Medical transparency is rarely a business need; neither is covering your kneecaps.
- Question your assumptions, but work with reality.
- Continuous feedback goes in all directions.
- Transparency builds confidence.
- You can give knowledge and talent and effort but only the audience can gift you their attention.
- Focus on the last, littlest, and least.
- Be a leader who says yes, so that your staff never needs to ask permission to do good.
- Our supporters have given us their trust; let’s be worthy of it.
If you’re interested in an internship with us, but you don’t want to take a college course for credit, ask about our student volunteer program. Volunteer roles at RRC are defined by short-term projects, rather than set time periods; we teach the same skills and develop the same relationships while still allowing for flexibility with your other commitments and scheduling needs.