This summer I decided it was probably time I did something a little more worthwhile than catching up on copious amounts of television and trying to soak up every second of what very little sun we actually saw. As financially beneficial as it may be for me to spend my spare time pulling pints in my local pub, I also realised that as I graduate next year my CV was in a dire need of a little plumping up. With all that being said, I decided that an internship was something I really wanted to do. Fortunately, I lucked out and got a 6-week stint at a fashion PR company in London. Among all that I learnt in terms of the business itself, here are a few things I learnt more generally about internships and starting off somewhere new.
It’s a cliché for a reason: sometimes it really is about who you know
I totally understand the pain of sending your CV out a hundred times to simply have all your emails ignored.Although this technique should not be totally rejected as it can and does work, you should definitely start asking around. You never know who may know someone that works in the industry you want to go into; family, friends, neighbours, the postman… honestly though ask, ask, ask. This is exactly how I got my internship; my cousin knew someone that worked at the company and the rest was pretty easy!
Use your common sense
There were so many times where I saw an intern really struggling with something that should have been relatively simple. Not that the task was difficult, they were just overthinking it and too worried to get it wrong. I found that just using your initiative can get you a long way.
…but don’t be afraid to ask questions
With that being said, if you really don’t know about something you’ve been asked to do then you really should just ask. Everyone is far happier for you to ask and get it right than make some horrible mistake and makemore work for them in the long run.
Be someone they can trust & be as helpful as possible
Many of the interns that I worked with I LOVED and were absolutely brilliant. There were some however, who let’s just say, were not. You do not want to be the person that is unapproachable and hostile – I am not sure how anyone thinks this could ever work. As an intern you want to be the most helpful person around! Offering to help people when you have spare time and making sure the tasks you do are as good as you can get them is so important. That is precisely why you are there.
Lastly: MAKE FRIENDS
One of the best parts about an internship is connections! You want to fill up your phone with as many numbers as possible, as many emails as you can get and as many people that you are going to be able to ask favours from in the future! Apart from this – no one wants to be the person sitting alone at lunch.
I cannot recommend doing an internship enough. Although it is slightly painful working for free, it is invaluable experience and you will definitely stand out more because of it.