Getting the most from your internship
Written by Abi Broda, Assistant Director.
Set clear goals
The first important thing to do is set goals with your supervisor. Without clear expectations of your job requirements during the internship you will end up floundering around and might not learn much. Setting goals with your supervisor sets you both on a path for success while working together. SMART goals are a great tool to use while setting these.
Ask questions
This is something I did not do enough of when I was in my internships, but I now realize the value. “The hallmark of an intellectually curious, diligent colleague is the quality of their questions” – Harvard University. Without asking questions, whether they either clarify expectations, create transparency, or just to get better, we cannot grow or work with others well without asking questions. It is better to admit that you don’t understand something than to blindly try and figure it out on your own. An open line of communication will save you and the company time.
Own mistakes and fix them
Everyone makes mistakes, even your supervisor. When this happens, it is best to be honest and own it. Bring it to your supervisor’s attention as quickly as possible and ask what you can do to help rectify the situation. If you are told there’s nothing you can do, ask if later your supervisor can talk you through ways to prevent the instance from reoccurring.
Practice collaborating with others
While in school you probably have had many group projects, but doing a project with others in the workplace is a little different. School group projects usually have that one person who does not participate in the work. While in the workplace everyone there has more at stake and is usually more accountable for their work. There are many benefits in collaborating with employees during an internship: getting to know them, their job, and learning if it is something you would be interested in doing. An added benefit is having the opportunity to build your professional network and showing them your professional capabilities.
Take on more work without being asked
An intern who continues to ask for more work shows their supervisor they are there for more than course credit and that they want to learn. However, it is important to know your own bandwidth and not take on more than you can handle. If your supervisor does not have anything specific for you to work on, observe what the other employees are doing and learn from what they are working on. Ask them if they need assistance or if you can shadow them.
Begin building your professional network
Something that is talked about in college is the importance of building a professional network. An internship is a fantastic time to get to work on this. Chances are you have already made a connection with your supervisor, but for an entry-level position after graduation, making connections and friends with the other employees and interns is just as important!
