When someone asks me how my summer internship went, I reply with the standard, “It was great. I worked really hard and learned a lot.” In two vague sentences, I’ve summed up 385+ hours of my summer.
Just because we’re back on campus doesn’t mean that our summer internship experiences are behind us. We gained skills that we can transfer to the classroom and our careers. Here are ways to capitalize on our internships now and in the future.
1. Send a thank you note.
An email is thoughtful, but you’ll really impress your former bosses with a handwritten note thanking them for your summer. They’ll remember you if you get back in touch about a job down the line. The Career Center has free stamps and Davidson cards just for this purpose!
2. Make a summary of your internship.
Spend time listing everything you accomplished this summer: goals you exceeded, projects you initiated, reports you wrote. Sketch out what you did every day. List what skills you gained from your work. If a future employer asks what you did at your internship, you can share your day-to-day tasks and major achievements.
3. Update your resume.
Once you’ve brainstormed bullet points, add your internship to the top of that resume!
4. Update your LinkedIn profile.
Do the same for your LinkedIn experiences.
5. Expand your LinkedIn network.
After hearing about friends receiving job offers at the end of their internships, I feel like I have nothing to show for my networking efforts. But don’t forget all of the connections you made in the office! Add your coworkers on LinkedIn with a note thanking them for the summer. When job hunting time comes around, you’ll have a larger pool of relationships on which to draw for support.
6. Keep an eye on the company.
A new position might open up. Someone you worked with might leave the company, giving you a contact in a new network. If you stay abreast of industry news, you’ll appear business savvy in future interviews.
So even if you feel like this kid:
Don’t worry, something will work out.
If you are interested in writing an article for Her Campus Davidson, contact us at davidson@hercampus.com or come to our weekly meeting Tuesday at 8pm in the Morcott Room.