Internships are often called the bridge between college and the real world. Recently, I wrapped up my time as a communications intern in local government. It was a wonderful experience that gave me hands-on exposure to skills that I can use in my career and daily practices. Some were obvious, while others were concepts easily explained, but entirely different when you encountered them in real life. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from my internship that I think anyone should know:Â
- Time Management- This one feels like a no-brainer, but as a college student, it’s so important to keep track of your time and commitments. While in college, this means making sure you don’t double-book yourself for events and hand in all your assignments on time, translating this into a workplace setting means balancing projects and deadlines. This can get overwhelming, especially with the added pressure of always wanting to perform to the best of your ability. In my internship, there was an element of spontaneity where we could have events that we found out about the day of, and had to adapt our schedules accordingly. I’ll never forget one morning at 11 a.m. when we suddenly learned about a work event half an hour away that our team needed to attend at noon. We dropped everything and raced over. Learning to adapt quickly and reprioritize taught me how to manage issues under pressure.Â
- Communication- This is another easy one, but as someone working in communications, I cannot stress this enough. When you’re working with a team, everyone must be on the same page. Knowing how to write an email or communicate an idea properly helps to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. Providing context and hearing something from someone else’s point of view can help give you a wider understanding of a task or an event.Â
- Networking- In an internship, who you meet is just as important as the tasks you perform. It’s always important to make a good first impression in any new space, and there is so much you can learn from asking questions. I gained so much knowledge just from speaking with and shadowing some of my colleagues. Forming connections now with colleagues and mentors can help open doors later in your career. Â
- Embrace Change- Throughout the summer, the phrase “roll with the punches” became something my boss said often. Whether we had projects changing, reorganizations or other unexpected challenges, staying adaptable and positive was much more helpful than getting frustrated or resisting change.Â
- Mistakes Will Happen- Aside from networking, this was one of the most important things that I learned this summer. Mistakes are inevitable and happen in any job, from an entry-level position to senior management. As an intern, you are still learning, so mistakes will happen, but how you respond to those mistakes shows character. Being able to bounce back from a misstep and adapt to solve a problem will outweigh a small mistake in the long run. There was one report I had to resend to the entire department three times because I kept messing up the event details. It was humbling, but it taught me resilience and the importance of double-checking my work. More importantly, I learned that bouncing back and fixing the mistake gracefully meant more than the mistake itself.Â
Over time, I became more confident in taking the initiative. Instead of waiting for instructions, I learned when to step up with ideas or volunteer for tasks in meetings. My internship was a safe space to learn new things and try out the skills I was developing. Every day I left work feeling energized rather than drained, which was a clear sign I was in the right place.Â
In the end, this summer gave me the tools to handle pressure, work with others and trust myself in more professional settings. I’m especially grateful to my mentors and colleagues who welcomed me into the team and encouraged me to take chances. I learned as much from them as I did from the work itself. I know now that the bridge from college to career is less intimidating when you’ve already taken those first steps across.