Now that summer internships are winding down it’s time for a bit of reflection before you hop on to the next big career opportunity. Whether you’ve realized the career path you thought you wanted to take is not for you or your internship has solidified your desire to work in a particular field, your summer job has been a valuable learning experience that will have benefited you whether you know it or not. So what can you take away from your summer internship? Collegiettes™ all over the country tell us just what they’ve learned this summer.
Maintain a good work ethic.
Working hard may seem like an obvious concept, but it’s incredibly important to remember. Show up early, stay on task throughout the day (no Facebook!), and occasionally stay a little late. Your internship coordinators will definitely take notice, and it will put you ahead of the other interns.
“Stay on task and be organized. Before you know it, you will have a lot of assignments piled up so you have to prioritize and plan ahead in order to successfully complete each task. Also, don’t be afraid to send multiple emails. One of my responsibilities is to request product images from stores and sometimes it takes two, three, even four emails before they actually get the image to me. Be polite, but be direct and let them know you’re on deadline.” – Erica, University of Michigan
[pagebreak]
“I think what I took away from my fashion internship at Teen Vogue was an intense work ethic. Fashion internships have long hours and not a lot of gratification but the work ethic I gained there has helped me to stand out at my current internship.” – Amber, Hollins University
“I am an editorial intern at Boston Magazine and I’ve learned the editors are a lot friendlier than I would have imagined, but every day is still a fashion show at the magazine and I struggle to keep up.I have learned that I have a much better work ethic than a lot of people my age. You’d be surprised how many people show up late, leave early, or just don’t show up at all. I had to laugh when one of them decided to give herself a manicure at work. I show up on time and often I’m the last one there. I take work home with me and stress too much. But I’ve learned you really need to prove yourself to get a job or just a good recommendation these days, so I figure I should make the most of every opportunity I have.” – Caitlin, recent Emerson College grad
Solidify that this is what you want to do.
Take a moment to let all of the things you are experiencing sink in. Do you enjoy what you’re doing? Is this the life you’ve always dreamed of having? Think about what it is about your job that you love, and acknowledge what it is you haven’t been enjoying.
“I work on the web side of things where I do a lot of photo research, cropping and editing on Photoshop [at Louise Blouin Media], and I even get to put up the photos on the site myself, as well as caption and credit them. I’m definitely being trained in the art of working under pressure, and it’s awesome to see the ‘behind the scenes’ of how a daily-updated site functions.” – Regina, Emerson College
“I’ve learned that sing-a-long books are still fun when you’re twenty-one and great illustrations can make or break a story.” – Stephanie, Emerson College, former Editorial and Production Intern at Barefoot Books
“My job is to assist in a program teaching physical and reflective skills, manage four teens and teach workshops. Besides learning the practical skills of self-defense, I have learned how to supervise, take leadership, conduct meetings, create agendas, manage time better, stand up for myself and handle conflict. I’m not sure I’d want to stay in this exact position full time. I love the organization, but being in charge of teens can be tiring. I want to do something related to women and girls’ empowerment, maybe even within the same organization.” – Katie, Pitzer College, former Team Leader and Teaching Woman at Girls’ LEAP Self-Defense
[pagebreak]
Be persistent.
During your internship, you’ll have to be in contact with other people. You’ll be working on deadlines, but not everyone is as prompt or diligent as you’d like. Be persistent with people, but don’t forget to be kind, too.
“So far, I’ve conducted interviews and research for articles, and written some short features that have been published on the magazine’s website. I also write a lot of emails and make the occasional Starbucks run. I’ve learned that a ton of work goes into writing magazine articles, even the ones that are 100 words long. There’s negotiating interviews with publicists, calling and emailing people who seem unreachable, writing, editing, and fact checking…it can take a long time! But with deadlines, you rarely get a long time to do anything.” – Caroline, Emerson College, former Editorial Intern at Boston Common Magazine
Ask for help.
You’re new; you’re not supposed to know everything! Sometimes we are embarrassed or too shy to ask questions, but as clichéd as it may sound, no question is a dumb question — it’s much better to ask once and get the assignment done correctly than to get it wrong.
“I’ve learned to ALWAYS ask for help if you’re not sure of how to do something. I’ve spent way too much time trying to figure things out on my own but it’s a learning experience and that’s where the focus lies. Also, I’ve learned how to prioritize my projects.” – Jessica, Emerson College, former Marketing Intern at HarperCollins
Internships aren’t there just to pad your resume. They’re learning experiences and not only do they show you what it’s like to work in your field, they also provide valuable life lessons. What have you learned from your summer internships, collegiettes™? Let us know in the comments!