Aside from being great resume boosters, Internships are a great way to gain valuable experience and valuable networking connections.
Internships give you a huge advantage over people who do not have internships. Those who do take the time to look for internships know how to take what they have learned in school and apply it in the workplace.
One of the best ways to become really familiar with what you are studying is to have an internship that deals with those subjects.
Applying what you learn to your internship will serve to cement what you have learned even further. As you will have first-hand experience with the topic and its variations.
Yet, having an internship and not taking full advantage of it is a waste of your time and effort.
Luckily, making the most of your internship is actually a lot simpler than you think.
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1. Be on time
The easiest way to impress your supervisor is to not only be on time but be early for meetings and show up prepared. You don’t want to be the last one in on a meeting, it shows you are slacking off, or aren’t really interested in the job you are doing.
You also don’t want your supervisor to be looking for you at your desk or work area and for you to not have arrived yet. This speaks volumes on your professionalism, and will probably be reflected in the company’s feedback to you.
Of course, people understand when you have a problem and can’t arrive on time, but do not use the excuse of traffic being crazy that morning too often. At some point it gets old and your supervisor will start thinking that you should be planning your mornings better.
Most of the time internships are only for a short period of time, and the amount of time you spend at the office is extremely valuable.
You will connect with people and learn from others. So always make an effort to arrive early and stay late if necessary.
That little extra effort will really set you apart from past interns and even current employees of the company who race to the door at 5 pm.
2. Be active
If you feel like your work has been winding down and you don’t really have much to do by the end of the day, let your supervisor know.
Since they don’t really know you or how you work, they will only assign to you the level of work they think you can accomplish in a day. Yet, that does not mean that there is not more work that you could be doing.
It will also make you look very professional if you are done with your work ahead of time and instead of lounging around on your phone you ask how else you can help.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes that is all the work that the internship has for you for that day but you will never know until you ask.
But just the mere act of you asking to see how else you can help will gain you points in your supervisor’s eyes.
Also, no matter what task you are given give it your best! Some tasks you will be assigned will feel very mundane to you, but don’t skimp out and do a half-hearted attempt at good work.
Every task you get is a chance to impress your supervisor and co-workers.
3. Be curious
One of the biggest qualities that employers are looking for nowadays is intellectual curiosity.
Meaning that they want people working for them that will not stop at ‘ oh this system seems to not be working’, but will go and find out why it is not working and how they can do something to solve it.
Someone who is intellectually curious will look for more information when they think it is needed, and because of that they often come up with better solutions.
Intellectual curiosity also shows your supervisor that you care about the work you are doing and you are trying to make the most of what you are learning.
Don’t stop and wait for someone else to give you the answers if you can be willing to put in the work and find a solution yourself.
Being curious can also lead you to have more opportunities in your internship since you might find things that you are more interested in and you can help the company out with.
By being curious you can also watch and learn from those around you!
Obviously don’t overwork yourself, but if you do have time, go over to your co-worker’s desk and ask them what they are working on and if you can help them out.
4. Ask Questions
Even though I encourage you to spend time and try to figure it out yourself, do not spend hours on it!
If you see that you are stuck in what you are doing and after a little bit you still haven’t figured out what is wrong, do not be afraid or embarrassed to ask your supervisor.I assure you that they will be happy to help you.
Also, you probably will not be the first person to ask them about that specific problem or maybe it is a problem that they had to overcome themselves.
When you encounter several problems in the task you are doing, write them down. This way, you can go talk to your supervisor once about those 2-3 problems instead of walking into their office 2-3 times with different questions.
Doing that will make you look more efficient and organized, and it won’t make you feel like you are bothering your supervisor.
Keep in mind that you do not have to always ask your supervisor. If they are busy or if you feel like you have been to their office too much, you always have the option of asking a co-worker or putting in a ticket with IT if you think they can help.
5. Be confident
Being in a new work environment can definitely make one feel uncomfortable, but you have to be confident in your ability to perform the work that you are assigned.
If the company did not think you were capable of performing the duties, they would have not hired you. Unless you lied in your resume or interview, but that is a separate problem.
Think back to all that you have learned in school and try to apply your knowledge to solve the problems you encounter at work.
If all else fails, fake it until you make it!
After a couple of days of your internship, I can assure you will be a lot more comfortable with both your work and the people around you. And the more confidently that you portray yourself, the more your supervisor will trust you. Which will build your confidence up more in the long run.
6. Network
The ability to expand your network is one of the biggest upsides to an internship, but don’t think of this as just networking but more like relationship building.
Networking is not something that just happens passively though. You have to put in the effort and reach out to people you are interested in networking with.
Start networking with your immediate co-workers and supervisors, but also look through the company’s LinkedIn to see if there is anyone else you are interested in connecting with.
On the flip side of that, don’t go overboard with your networking and try to meet everyone in the company. Quality over quantity is your goal here.
Also, don’t just try to network with people in high positions and ignore those with lower positions. You never know where that ‘lower position’ contact will end up next.
Don’t forget to cultivate your relationships. Ask them to go get coffee or lunch with you. They might bring along other people and before you know it you will have a bigger network than you expected.
Remember that good networking doesn’t happen by accident but it is also not difficult. Just focus on being nice and helpful to others, asking good questions, and always be willing to strike up a conversation.
If you apply all those things you might find that people come to you rather than you having to go find them.
7. Send a thank-you note after your internship
Set yourself apart from other interns by sending a thank you letter to your supervisor once your internship is over.
Just a simple note thanking them for the experience will do!
