This year I had the privilege to work at an incredible engineering company for a few months of summer. When I got the internship I was excited, but I didn’t exactly know what it meant to be an intern until now. Here are five things you should expect from your first internship.
1. The awkward first day speech.
It’s likely that on your first day nobody will know who you are. It’s time for you to present that elevator speech that you now wish you had practiced more. You may be nervous, but just think, in a few weeks’ time these people will become your friends … and if you’re doing your speech at the end of the meeting … nobody is listening to you anyways. Don’t sweat this one too much.
2. The “what am I supposed to be doing right now” feeling.
On day one you seek guidance from literally anyone in the office to give you your first assignment. If this does not come immediately after your morning introduction, then you will have no idea what to do. This is where you can set yourself apart from the five other interns that just gave their elevator speeches. Go to your boss or one of your team members and ask them what you can do to help them today. Worst case scenario is they will point you in the direction of someone who will give you an assignment. Be proactive … first impressions matter.
3. The “I know I’ve met you three times but what’s your name again?” question.
This one is easy. You are sure to run into this problem, and I’m here to tell you that it is not a problem. It only becomes a problem if you are in your last week and you don’t know the person’s name who sits next to you. Again, these people will soon be your friends, and they are not going to remember if you asked for their name a few times. Last resort, ask someone else for their name in a crafty way.
4. Learning enough for a whole semester in one day.
Hopefully you will learn a lot from your internship because the good companies know how to make you learn a lot in a short period of time. One strategy is to overload you past any conceivable capacity on the first day so that you are driven to do part of the research on your own. Pro tip: Bring a notebook and pen around with you wherever you go and write everything down. If someone says an acronym that you don’t understand, write it down and look it up. Modern age businesswomen/men speak in acronyms; get used to it.
5. Doing something incorrectly.
Unless you are a Godsend you will probably make a mistake or two over the summer. This could be a small error in a calculation or it could be a project done completely wrong. The point is that it is OK. Mistakes are going to happen, and it is best to share those mistakes with your superior ASAP so you can develop a creative solution together. Always remember that these people are part of your team, and that means where you may fall short … another team member is sure to pick up the slack.
