5 Things Every Intern Must Do

You may picture intern recruiters as big bad bosses who sit at their evil thrones in the corner office with the big window. They look down on the street below and laugh at desperate students as they yell, “Please, please, please let me work for you for free!!!”.  Then, they rub their palms together in the most menacing of ways and say “Let the ‘hiring’ begin”.

Internships have a bad rep.  Gruesome stories of coffee fetching and copy making circulate like crazy… but it doesn’t have to be like that. 

It’s hard to imagine an employer who genuinely wants to offer industry experience to an eager newbie, especially when we tend to think that all they want is to have Chinese food delivered to the office without having to tip the driver (AKA you).  Our resumes beg for numerous internships and our future job interviews depend on them, so why must we dread them as soon as the application goes out?

 Whether or not your internship will be beneficial relies on your mentality.  Yeah, it sucks to have to pick up lunch for the office and have the only thing you learned that day be “Karen in Accounting is allergic to sesame seeds”, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get an amazing opportunity the next day.

It’s never too early to start mentally preparing for internships because they carry more weight for your future than you might realize.  And, before I say anything, I’ll enforce the fact that there is and “I” in “Internship” (actually two, but whatever).  Each internship experience is different, and you essentially need to do what’s best for you.

1.  Don’t restrict yourself.  Your job aspirations may be crazy specific (I know mine are!), but that shouldn’t have complete control over what internships you apply for.  If you want to work in fashion, don’t hesitate to intern with an interior designer; if you want to be a pediatrician, why not see if you can shadow a veterinarian?  You may find that some of your key skills are transferrable between fields…and you may even like your experimental project more than your initial goal.  In this economy, it’s better to have a more versatile resume than having, essentially, the same job listed over and over again.

2.  Constantly think about asses.  And by that, I mean make sure you are either kicking it or kissing it (or both!) at all times.  No one likes a show off or a suck up, but still make sure that you never accomplish a task without it being the best you can do and that you take requests from your superiors (i.e. everyone) seriously.  As long as your labor rights, or basic human rights, aren’t being violated, you really shouldn’t feel like you are too good for whatever is thrown your way.  And if you can’t handle it, there’s a line of eager students behind you who can.

3. Ask questions & take notes.  It seems like a standard thing to do – we’ve been told to do so since, like, preschool – but asking questions at internships is the most crucial part of having one.  You may feel stupid asking your boss to explain something in more detail, but if you go through a task cluelessly then you’ll just end up having to do it all over again and looking even more stupid.  Also, always physically write down your assignments and take notes at meetings.  Only then will you have a tangible way of showing your boss how you interpreted what they said (and prove you were listening), should you end up needing to ask them questions later on.

4. Be honest.  This is the number one thing I wish I knew going into my internship.  I was a Public Relations intern who was learning that PR wasn’t really my thing – but writing was.  When I opened up to my boss about it, rather than shunning me for not being the PR type, she taught me how I can use the PR industry to expand my writing skills and hooked me up with opportunities to get more published writing for my portfolio!  So, the moral of the story is that you never know what can happen when you speak up.

5. Think about your future.  Will this look good on your resume?  Do you want to have this employer as a future reference?  Can this count for university credit?  These are all things you need to ask yourself when taking on an internship.  It may seem like you’re applying to have this “job” for just a few months, but in reality, it will follow you around for the rest of your life.  Make sure you go in with a positive mind and leave with an office full of people who genuinely like you.  Filling a spot on your resume only goes so far – you can’t forget that there is substance behind internship culture that is likely to determine whether or not you get the job after graduation day!

P.S. If you haven’t applied for summer internships yet, better get a move on (even you, freshmen!).  The more you apply to, and the sooner you apply to them, the better your chances of getting an offer…or two!