Internships and Apprenticeships give students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience and dig a little deeper into their field of study. The internship experience will also set you apart from fellow students when looking for jobs after graduation. We coach students who walk away from an internship even more excited about their chosen field or want to make changes to their major or career path. For example, we had a recent student client who is an accounting major. After an internship, he realized that public accounting was not what he imagined and we coached him on other jobs to use his accounting degree. His focus for his next internship (yes, you can and should do more than one internship) will be to continue to focus on more finance-focused roles.
Many students have never held a formal job or one in a professional environment, so the first day of an internship can be overwhelming. Students need to realize that an Intern title allows you the opportunity to do a lot of things a regular employee may not be able to do. We encourage students to take full advantage of the opportunity. Here are some tips to maximize an internship.
Review the job description – Check off the things you’ve done so far. If there are duties or projects you haven’t been able to do, then take the initiative to ask about those tasks/projects.
Have regular touch base meetings – Ask for weekly meetings with your manager. Come prepared to discuss what you are learning and working on. Ask about what they are currently working on and see if there is anything you can take off their plate or assist with. Ask about meetings that they are attending and if there is an opportunity for you to attend as well. This is a great way to get exposure to more departments and people.
Don’t sit idle – If you find your internship slow and not really engaging, it’s time to take it into your own hands. Your manager might not be the best at thinking of projects for you to do. So speak up and offer to assist with what they are working on. Don’t be sitting idly and playing on your phone just because you complete your tasks really fast. This might seem attractive for a day or two, but will get frustrating and make the overall experience bad.
Branch out – Set up appointments to find out what other people do in their roles. (Clear this with your manager first.) If you meet someone new in the cafeteria or hear them speak at a meeting, add them to the list of people to get to know them better. If you have time, get to know more about your colleagues and the company you are working for. You never know, this may lead you to a role you might be more interested in. At the very least, someone will appreciate the interest in their role and/or their career track.
LinkedIn – Add new connections to LinkedIn continuously. You want to keep hold of the connections that you are making and LinkedIn is the place to do it. Ensure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and reflects your online resume.
Keep track – Make a list of projects that you work on and big wins or savings that your work leads to for the company. These are the types of things that you need to put on your resume and LinkedIn after the internship is over.
Just remember that internships are to help you determine which roles are best for you. Take advantage of these opportunities and maximize your time.
