This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.
Our days of frolicking in the summer sun and laying poolside every day are sadly
over. As we age into our twenties, it is time to enter – cue gasp here – the working world. It’s
time to trade those bathing suits for business suits and pool days for work days!
Walking into the office for the first time can be heart clenching; mistakes are often made.
During our interning years, it’s imperative to remember that this time is synonymous with learning
and sometimes that means messing up. The good thing about mistakes while you intern is it is
easy to correct them… or at least have an entertaining story to tell.
Don’t worry; you are not the only one who has an internship horror story. Below are stories from
three interns who have experienced rookie mistakes as well.
“I just started working at Navy Pier a few weeks ago. I have slowly been meeting everyone
on my staff and getting to know my fellow interns. However, one day I saw a woman who I
had not yet met before. I approached her and professionally introduced myself. The woman
shot a quizzical look at me before saying ‘Lisa*, we’ve already met’. I was mortified. It was my
co-worker, but today she had worn her hair naturally curly instead of straight!”
Forgetting names and mixing people up is a common mistake. All it takes is a simple
apology and for you to play it off with a smile. You can even turn it into an inside joke with
them. As you get acclimated to your job, say hi to people everyday to practice their names.
Remember, the people you meet in your internship are the people you want to network
with in five or ten years so it is imperative to learn their names now.
“My work was having a huge celebratory gala and at the end they were doing raffles. When
my boss went to begin, he realized that he forgot the key to the box of tickets in his office.
So guess who he asked? The intern. I had to run all the way to his office to retrieve the key.
After I got it, I had to weave through the thousands of people at the gala while my boss kept
calling out for me in front of everyone saying ‘Do we have a Mary West* in the audience?
Mary West?” That was one experience I never want to repeat.”
As an intern, sometimes you have to do the dirty embarrassing work. Interns get to file
paperwork, stamp envelopes, and even get the occasional cup of coffee. I promise you, it
does go uphill from here. Most of the time the tasks you are asked to do are stepping-stones
for more advanced work in the future. Even when your boss requests you to do the most
mundane thing, do it with a smile. One day, your boss will remember you as the girl who
completed any task given to her and he will write you a killer recommendation letter for your
next job.
“After running countless weddings all summer in St. Louis, I believed I had mastered the art
of marrying elated couples. I worked for a botanical garden so the weddings took place in a
gorgeous garden. One wedding, the couple was saying vows underneath the gazebo when all
of a sudden, the sky began to darken. We had checked the forecast numerous times and there
was not a drop of rain on the radar. All of a sudden, before the bride had a chance to say I do,
rain and hail started falling so thickly you couldn’t see your hands in front of you. Having the
wedding in the gardens was a hazard so we had to move all of participants inside. While I was
shuttling each wedding guest under my tiny umbrella, I accidentally kicked the stereo system and
it rolled down the pathway, getting soaked by rain. I was responsible for the destruction of an
expensive sound system. I didn’t think that I could show my face in the office ever again.”
When this happens, keep in mind: you are human. Mistakes will happen and there’s always
room to make up for them as long as they weren’t an act of carelessness. As an intern this is
your time to learn, to grow, and to eventually flourish. Once the mistake is made, give a
sincere apology to your boss and then focus on moving forward. You can’t dwell on the past.
Now is the time to work even harder to show your true colors. You want your boss to
remember you as the girl who owned her mistakes and sought to fix them, not as the one
who ruined the stereo.
Internships are the reason we avoid many of these mistakes once we get an actual job.
Just remember, while these mistakes may seem like the end of the world to you as an intern,
it happens to everybody. One day, these embarrassing stories won’t be anything but a funny
reminder of your challenging intern days. This is the time in our lives to make mistakes and
learn from them so that someday we can navigate the working world flawlessly.
*Names have been changed to protect identities of interns interviewed.