Ahhh, summer. For some, this means summer classes (yuck), study abroad programs, or volunteer work. For most college juniors and seniors, summer days filled with lazy afternoons under the sun disappear and are replaced by an office desk and many, many cups of coffee. As a rising college sophomore, I have been fortunate enough to obtain a marketing internship at a local investment bank. This meant saying adios to my plans to lifeguard all summer (and say goodbye to the prospect of an amazing tan) and saying hello to 40-hour work weeks and hectic deadlines (eek!). While challenging at times, internships are a fantastic way to gain experience and build relationships with professionals in your field. Keeping this in mind, below is a list of the tips I have found to be most valuable while on the job. Happy interning!
1) Never, EVER, show up late.
This is especially important for the first day. There is nothing worse than starting off with a bad impression: if your boss can’t count on you to show up on time, how can he or she expect you to get things in by the deadline? For the first week I recommend showing up 10 minutes early to get yourself accustomed to office life. As they say in the professional world: if you’re on time, you’re late.
2) Asking too many questions is never a bad thing.
If you don’t know how to do something, speak up. Please, for the love of all that is good, do NOT pretend like you understand how something works if inside you are screaming for help. Even if it sounds mundane and simple (like how to work the copy machine), ask for help if you don’t understand. There are no stupid questions and your boss(es) will appreciate your effort to learn even if it means you are asking a new question every five minutes.
3) Always take advantage if a coworker invites you to lunch.
Even if you made a super awesome turkey sandwich that day and you’re feeling especially antisocial: go. Lunch with coworkers is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the people you are working with and get some fantastic career advice. I was recently told I probably wouldn’t like a prospective line of work because my personality wasn’t a good fit. And, looking into it further, I realized the person who told me this was absolutely right. Lunch with coworkers also means you could get a free meal that is probably 10 times better than that turkey sandwich you brought to work, so it’s really a win-win here.
4) Dress well.
For some this may seem self-explanatory, but I’m still dedicating a section to it just to drill it into your heads. You know the saying, “dress well, test well”? This applies to work as well (shocking, I know). Even if your bosses treat every day like casual Friday, show up dressed and ready. Looking good is half the battle, people.
5) Go above and beyond.
After a long day, literally nothing sounds more appealing than driving home as quickly as possible and cuddling up with some Netflix. But if that project isn’t finished, stay late and get it done. Nothing shows more disinterest that peacing out at 5 o’clock if there’s a deadline and everyone else is scrambling.
6) Crave more than just a resume booster.
Internships look fantastic on resumes and in many cases will land you a job afterwards. But they are also trial-and-error; this is your time to make a two- or three-month commitment to something and find out if it’s actually what you thought it would be. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn, whether this be sitting in on conference calls or just asking your boss for advice. Recently, I was able to sit in on an investment proposal and totally geeked out over how cool it all was. And if you hate it, no sweat! You’re still getting valuable experience and it’s better to find out now that finance or advertising (or whatever) isn’t your true calling.
Above all else, appreciate and take advantage of your internship. The more experiences you gain, the happier and more fulfilled you will feel. Have fun, and enjoy it!