Now that you have a fabulous internship to go to, it’s important to live up to the expectations you set for yourself before nabbing the opportunity. Even with the low or non-existent pay of your internship you can parlay it into a full-time job, or at the very least connections to people who can recommend you for full-time work later.
1. Introduce Yourself – Even if you are shy, introduce yourself to your co-workers and don’t be afraid to speak to your superiors either. You’re there to learn, so you want to get to know the right people in order to learn the most during the time you’re with the company.
2. Set Goals – With your supervisor you should set some goals for your internship. What will constitute success for you during the time there? Will you learn new software? Will you create something new? Make a goal and set out to reach it during the internship.
3. Ask Questions – If anytime was a good time for questions, it’s during an internship. If you don’t ask questions, a lot of the time you won’t learn anything. Never be afraid to ask questions of people. As an intern your job is to learn all you can from those around you.
4. Be Professional – Even if everyone else dresses down, sends Facebook messages during work, and otherwise acts unprofessional, you should not. Don’t miss work. Internships are not long-term jobs and missing work during one will be frowned upon. Be as professional as possible so that the higher ups remember you and want to hire you.
5. Stay Organized – Organizational skills are very important during your internship. You won’t be there very long, so you shouldn’t even have time to be disorganized. Instead, due to the length of time you’re there you should seek to be more organized than normal.
6. Be On Time – The worst thing you can do when you’re new someplace and an intern is to be late for anything. If it cannot be avoided due to a wreck on your way there, always call in to make sure people know where you are. But, try not to have these things happen too often during your internship because people will end up not trusting you.
7. Keep Track – Every project you work on and finish is something you can add to your portfolio. Keep track of your projects so that you can show them to future employers, as well as share with your supervisors so they know at the end of your internship exactly what you accomplished.
8. Network – Take some time to socialize and network with your co-workers and higher ups so that you can have an infrastructure of people to tap into for future jobs or just to ask questions of. Be friendly and not too clingy. Offer something in return and you’ll be golden.
Working in an internship can be a very trying time. You may feel as if you have no idea what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, or just feel really nervous. But, it’s okay to feel that way. Everyone feels nervous in a job, even an internship, because they want to make a good impression. If you follow these eight tips you will be successful in your internship.