For most college students in the world today, the learning process goes far beyond the classroom. Instead of just relying on the lectures of our professors, and old outdated textbooks, more and more students are now becoming required to spend some pre-degree time actually working in their respective fields. That’s where internships come into play. Internships are temporary, often non-paying, work positions within various corporations/companies etc. where students are given the opportunity to work closely with professionals in their field in order to discover if they are on the right track career-wise. Internships can last anywhere from a few short weeks to, in some cases, a year or two.
More and more, they are becoming one of the most important factors in separating students from the competition in terms of post-graduate job placement, and prestige. But while claiming an internship on one’s resume can do nothing but help, some internship experiences are better than others. So what makes for a good internship? And how can one obtain success within that internship? Following these simple steps will guarantee that you have the most successful internship one can possibly have.
Step One: Start Off on the Right Foot
Just as you want to start off on the right foot whenever you embark on a new journey in life, the same applies for when you are starting off at an internship. The key to starting your internship on a good note is to first be friendly, personable, and professional. First impressions are key, and you don’t want someone to automatically get the wrong idea about you. If your boss is initially not impressed by you, it affects your entire internship experience because now their expectations of you have minimized. With decreased expectations, you may not be offered, or assigned, the really cool opportunity you would have been if your boss had some faith in you.
[pagebreak]
Step Two: State Your Purpose
Everyone has heard internship horror stories where the appreciation was lacking, and the only assignments being given were coffee and donut runs. DON’T LET THAT HAPPEN TO YOU! When you first get to your internship, sit down with your supervisor and have an open and honest discussion about what your goals and expectations of this internship are. Don’t come off as demanding, rude and forceful, but let them know that you’re there to work, and learn the business, not deliver the coffee. If your boss knows ahead of time what your goals, interests and strengths are, they’ll be more likely to keep you in mind when deciding who to give that really cool new project to.
Step Three: Be a Sponge
The purpose of an internship is to learn, so be a sponge and soak up as much information from as many different sources as you can. And don’t be picky about who you can learn from either. Sometimes, some of the most important people in our lives are the ones we originally deemed irrelevant or unimportant.
Step Four: Take the Good with the Bad
There are going to be things that you love about your internship, and then there are going to be things that you hate. It’s important to remember that every experience you go through is pushing you one step closer to where you want to be in life, so don’t sweat the not so great aspects of your time at your internship. Take them for what they are…learning experiences.
Speaking as someone who just underwent a ten week internship this past summer, I can assure you that following these steps will guarantee that you get everything you need from your internship. My internship experience at Philadelphia International Airport was an excellent one because I had clear, concise goals set for myself, I was willing to learn as much as I could from whoever I could, and I managed not to piss anyone off while I was there. It’s really that simple. When it’s all said and done, an internship is what you make of it. You are the one who’s going to determine whether it’s successful or not.
Photos courtesy of:
fisher.ocu.edu
internqueen.com
sfcc.edu