This summer’s 40th cohort of State Government Interns is enjoying its third week on the job in state offices from Manteo to Morganton. They are gaining real-world, hands-on job experience – an important resume-builder in the increasingly competitive job market.
Amazingly, however, some of these interns never bother to update their resumes at the end of their 10-week stay. That’s because they proved to be so valuable that they were asked to stay on by the agency that first promised nothing more than a temporary summer internship.
Dozens of state employees, including such high-profile folks as Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, began their public service career as a State Government Intern. A few former interns at the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) have gone on to permanent, meaningful positions.
Paul Jones, a fulltime NCDA&CS employee, interned for the State Fair in 2009, blogging under the pen name “Bearded Lady” on the Fair’s Deep Fried Blog and contributing to the annual fall event’s overall social media efforts.
A connection former State Government Intern Natalie Alford made through her 2004 summer internship led to a part-time fall job with the State Fair. Now she serves as the Public Information Officer for the State Fair, and works closely with the Fair’s current intern on projects.
“We always feel fortunate to get an intern, and we always try to do right by them in helping build valuable work experience and portfolio pieces,” said NCDA&CS’ Andrea Ashby, who supervises the State Fair summer intern. “I like to think that their willingness to return and work with us after the internship speaks well for how well we integrate them into our office environment.”