Getting the Most Out of Your Internship
How to get the most out of your internship this summer, when you are looking for more.
Today is National Intern day, so as my way of honoring the time you put in, I’m sharing some tips and tricks about how to make the most of the last remaining weeks of your summer internship.
It’s no secret that internships provide benefits to both the interns and the companies who employ them. The intern gets invaluable experience working in their field and with a little luck gets paid well on top of that. The employer gets extra help to tackle projects during the time of year when most people go out on vacation and they don’t have to pay interns nearly as much as they would pay someone with a completed degree. It’s a win-win all around!
Well, that’s in theory. Yes most of that is true, except the part that every internship provides invaluable experience to the intern. Sadly, I still hear stories every day of interns primarily making copies, filing paperwork, reviewing documents for spelling and grammar errors and yes, getting the coffee. This sounds like my worst nightmare and probably a nightmare for any college student who is hoping to learn more about their field and possibly land a job interview or offer from that company down the road.
Let’s talk about what an internship should do for the intern:
It should provide a safe and structured environment for students to learn new skills and apply the knowledge they have gained thus far in their coursework.
Give them a leg up on the competition who did not complete an internship after graduation.
Provide them with pay or with college credit for their time and experience.
So, let’s say that you are in my described nightmare situation from above. Actually, you don’t even need to be in that position to get help from this post. You may find yourself wanting to take on a different facet of a project or try your hand at another part of the job that you haven’t had the opportunity to do yet- this is for you…all of you who are wanting a little bit more (or a lot more) out of that internship this summer. There is still time, so let’s do it!
Here is my list of ways that you can maximize the remaining weeks that you have to get the experiences you want out of your internship placement:
Be honest.
While we would all like to believe that our boss knows why we are annoyed (or even that we are annoyed), chances are, they don’t. Same thing applies here. If your supervisor doesn’t know what you want in your internship experience, they are just going to give you whatever they think you might like.
Have the hard conversation.
It’s not easy to talk to supervisors about things that are bothering us in the workplace- they can be intimidating or seem unapproachable. But, you’ve got to take a deep breath and walk in their office and have that hard conversation.
If you want to work on a new project or a different facet of a project, try saying “Mrs. Palmer, I believe I’ve had some good experiences completing XYZ tasks, and with the remaining time I have here, I’d like to get some experience doing QRS and T tasks. Is there a way for me to join that project team?”
Be open to feedback.
We all like to think that we are rockstars (I’m sure we all are as we sing in the shower,) but maybe not when we are brand new to a field or a company. I know no one likes to hear that, but you are on an internship to learn, so you aren’t going to be perfect at everything right out of the gate. When you have the hard conversation (sample above), and the supervisor comes back and says that they would like you to improve in your current area more, don’t immediately shut down! Ask them if they have specific feedback for you and take the time to honestly reflect on what they said. Even if you disagree, it is still likely good feedback to have for down the road AND it shows that you are open to feedback.
Seek out others who may be able to mentor you.
You might think that you don’t really have time to think about anything else at your internship site, but take a few moments at some point to think about if there is someone else who might make an additional strong mentor for you. Having multiple mentors at an internship site (not more than 2-3) is critical as you gain exposure to different ideas and different ways of processing and solving problems. Not to mention that having another set of ears you can talk to means that you might be able to ask them if you can assist them on something that they are working on that you would like to contribute to.
Ask for another internship before you leave for the summer.
As long as you were more than just the coffee server and paper filer, it’s safe to say you learned something. If it was a positive experience, be sure to ask about their process for hiring repeat interns or hiring new graduates if you are entering your senior year.
I hope you’ve found this helpful. If you are looking for more information, please visit my website- Higher & Hire. If I can be of assistance to you, please reach out to me here.
Many Thanks!
Valerie Palmer - Career and College Admissions Expert
