Now that the summer has come to an end and we’re all back in K-Town, many students have wrapped up their summer internships. Whether you were working for just one month or all four, and whether you were working on Bay Street or at a summer camp, I’m sure you all took away at least one thing from your time with the company, your boss, your clients, and your colleagues. Summer internships are such a great way to get “real world” job experience, make some extra cash, and put your 4 months off to good use. It’s an amazing opportunity to put what you’ve learned throughout the school year to use, while also developing skills that you can’t develop inside the classroom.
This summer, I worked at Skytek Success Centre in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The company offers private office space for businesses and entrepreneurs, along with back-office support, such as taking phone calls, completing admin work, taking care of the mail, etc. Essentially, our purpose is to help businesses succeed by allowing them to focus on doing what they do best, which is running and growing their business. We had about 70 private offices on our floor. Our other main clients included virtual clients (those who didn’t have a private office but wanted our other services, such as our phone and mail plan) and our boardroom rental clients (those who wanted to come in and use our boardroom and meeting room office space). While I helped out with business operations, my main responsibility was working on a project with my boss that was focused on changing the way people live their work lives by revolutionizing virtual and remote work. What I loved most about the company was the culture, which my boss described as a “mix of Disneyland and Mercedes Benz.” You have to be the best at what you’re doing, but you need to have a TON of fun doing it. Every day was a new day and because of the amount of businesses we were serving, I got the chance to meet so many new clients.
Here are 6 big things that I took away from my summer internship:
1. Never Make Assumptions
There was a lot of unpredictability in my job. I learned very quickly that it’s important to not make assumptions and to speak with absolute certainty, rather than using phrases such as “I think” or “I believe so.” If you don’t know something, it’s better to say that you will double check and follow up later, rather than passing on inaccurate information.
2. Your Internship is Really What You Make of It
This one couldn’t be more true. I know we hear this said about our time at university too, but you really are going to get out of your summer internship exactly what you put into it. You can choose to do minimal work, or you can take initiative to wow your boss. You can choose to stay in your own work space and close yourself off, or you can choose to get out there, get to know the people in your workplace (whether it’s your co-workers, your boss, or your clients) and form friendships. Part of the reason why I loved my job so much was because of the people that I saw every day, which all came from pushing myself outside of my comfort zone to meet as many of my colleagues as possible.
3. Always Do Your Homework
By homework, I mean your due diligence. This was probably the most important lesson my boss taught me. You never ever want to be unprepared. For example, if you have a client meeting tomorrow, you need to research the client and their company and make sure you know what they do. Even before your start your internship, do your homework and educate yourself about the firm’s culture. Always doing your homework will show that you’ve thought ahead and that you’re prepared for anything that is thrown at you.
4. Make use of your commute time!
It’s an unspoken fact that the commute, especially during rush hours, will sometimes be very long. Everybody will sit in some traffic from time to time, and you definitely don’t want that precious time to be wasted. I realized halfway into the first month of my internship that the hour and a half I spend in the car everyday could be spent doing something else. So I went on iTunes and downloaded some hilarious podcasts. I’ve been listening to AdultSh1t all summer, which is hosted by two women (Kelsey and Kate) who talk about a variety of topics ranging from heartbreak to mental disorders to relationships. They’re always so entertaining and definitely made the morning drive much more enjoyable.
5. Don’t be Afraid to Start Over and Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
Sometimes you’re going to be a given a task and you’re going to do it one way, but then you’re going to be asked to do it again another way. Don’t be afraid to start over if it means that it’s going to be better. It may seem frustrating and like you wasted your time, but in the process, you’re learning something new and you’re learning what you can do better next time. Especially in the beginning, you will likely fall on your face. You’re in a new company doing a new job; it’s inevitable. Don’t be afraid to fail and ask for help if you need it to pick yourself back up. It makes you stronger for what’s to come during the rest of the summer.
6. See Opportunities in Everything
With your internship, you will be given a lot of opportunities. Some may be obvious such as presenting in front of a client, sitting in on a meeting, or leading a project. But many of them, and sometimes the best ones, are hidden. For example, this summer I was asked to help one of our biggest clients with their filing system. I didn’t think much of it at first and just wanted to get it done as quickly as possible, but as I was going through it, I not only got to know the client and their company a lot better, but I also felt like a consultant. I had to evaluate the client’s current system, understand their needs, and then recommend a new system that would be a lot more efficient. You will get the most out of your internship if you try and see (or even create) opportunities out of everything, whether it’s meeting somebody new, getting another project, or just having an informal conversation with your boss. Remain open to things, be optimistic, and the good will follow.