As we get older and move closer and closer towards the (*deep breath*) real world, a lot of my friends and I are getting accepted into internships that we'd never dreamed could be possible. It's amazing and nerve-wracking all at the same time, and we can't help but feel very grown-up. Internships are especially exciting because it can be a way to get your foot in the door of the industry in which you'd like to work for the rest of your working life. After sending your application out to approximately fifty businesses, interviewing for about five, and finally scoring the one that was your total reach, it's almost time to start! Here are five major keys to success for your spring internship.
- Service with a smile.
No task is too small for an intern. If you have been asked to fill the copy machine or set up lunch for the CEO’s meeting, then do it just as enthusiastically as you would if you were asked to assist on a huge project for the company. Try to remember that everything you do will affect the overall image of your company, and a company can never tell the public that something went wrong because the interns messed it up. It might seem like a silly task to you, but for somebody else, it’s a career, and they’re counting on you to cover the little things so that the big things can appear as flawless as possible. - Dress to impress.
I was pretty bummed when my job invitation told me that dress was casual; I'm not going to lie. However, this rule can still apply. Chances are, no matter where you scored an internship, people outside of the company will be coming in and out on any given day. You never know who you are going to meet, so always try to look presentable. If your job calls for you to arrive in jeans and sneakers (sigh...) then make it the best jean and sneaker combination that you have. - Be on time.
Not only will constant tardiness negatively affect your advisor’s impression of you, but it will also affect what your coworkers think. Nobody likes the person whose slack everyone else has to cover because Johnny was late to work yet again. If you are surrounded by decent people, then they won’t rat you out immediately to the advisor, but God forbid you have to fill out an evaluation of each other at the end of the internship. Nip that possibility in the bud and catch the earlier train to work, even if it means having to kill an hour in the city. - Check, double check, and triple check.
I once went to an interview for an internship and the man who was talking with me told me that his number one pet peeve for interns is that he asks them to do something and they get so excited to get it done quickly and show their competence that it gets done all wrong. When you are given a task, be sure that before you move on to the next job, the first job is done and done correctly. Before handing in a project, go back and review the instructions given to you at the time of the assignment. It might be true that everything that you do well appears to go unnoticed, but believe me when I say that the one job that you do incorrectly will never go forgotten. - Positivity is key.
Aren’t coworkers lifesavers sometimes? People your own age who are in the same position as you are, being asked to get coffee and locate seemingly impossible objects so that the higher-ups can go on with their days. You’ve been living the same lives with the same boring tasks and sometimes it’s nice to have someone to vent to who just understands. Right? Wrong. TRUST NO ONE. Remember that most of you are in this pool looking for a job and that the atmosphere is competitive. If someone is bad-mouthing your boss, then put your head down and keep your mouth shut. Assume that anything you say will get back to your boss, and never fall into that trap.
