After the week, externs have a better grasp of their sponsors' fields.

But they also learned things the Office of Career Services is not concerned with, and that would not come up in a formal interview.

Ridlington had an interesting conversation about what is acceptable for women to wear in the work place, particularly the gradations of formality needed on Friday "dress down" days.

As much as externs learned from their sponsors, the Harvard students taught the graduates something as well. After admitting to a lack of computer skills, Gelin says Foshko showed her how to send a friend a birthday card over the Internet.

On the Homefront

The learning did not end with filing and job advice; the alumnae showed externs what it's like to balance a career and family life.

Lexton, for example, changed jobs in part to work at a firm with a support staff, a more family-friendly environment.

"Much of what my sponsor did was to reduce her workload so she could spend more time with her kids," Ridlington says.

Ridlington adds that observing the dynamic between Lexton and her husband, another lawyer with whom Ridlington talked extensively, was another valuable aspect of the externship.

Because of the extreme time commitment for sponsor, Chen divided her time between three people over the course of the week. All incorporated Chen into their schedules, by taking her along when they went shopping and met with friends.

"They sort of went on with their lives, and I was there," she says.

Gelin was in the process of helping friends search for homes, so Foshko went house browsing in her Georgetown neighborhood.

For the sponsors, having a responsibility to their extern for a week put a twist into their lives.

"It makes me feel like a mother, figuring out where someone is all of the time," Gelin says.

The Fun Stuff