The elusive internship. Every college student’s biggest stressor. It seems as though it’s essential in order to get a job after graduation, just adding to the pressure of locking one down.
Worst case, it’s a two/three-month commitment. Best case, it’s the perfect trial run where you can learn an industry, make meaningful connections and create professional experiences. Therefore, it’s important to find the right internship fit for you.
Here’s some tips on how to set yourself up for success throughout your internship, starting from the very beginning.
In your search process- Start early and start smart.
Take some time to think about what you want your internship to look like. What are your expectations for the program? What size company or team do you want to be on? Do you want to be in a role with defined responsibilities or do you want flexibility to create your own experience? Weigh these options and come up with some major priorities. Mine were:
An organization where I can do meaningful work – not just the girl who gets the coffee.
I want to be challenged and stretched to constantly learn new things.
It is important to me that there is cohesion and connectivity between team members. Not only do I want to fit in to the culture, I want to add to this culture.
Search like crazy. Search through older peers, your campus’ career center, your personal connections and on the internet. Even if there isn’t a position, reach out anyways – who knows, maybe you’ll be the person they never knew they needed.
Culture fit is SO important. Make sure that you really mesh well with the team. Check out the company website before applying and ask yourself if you fit in. For me, I even prepared interview answers with examples of how I fit Pioneer’s values- Humble, Hungry, Connected.
While you’re there- So, you’ve researched, interviewed, and accepted an internship offer- congratulations! Here are my tips to make your internship experience more memorable, meaningful, and mind-blowing.
During your first few weeks, meet with everyone you can, take 30 minutes to not only learn about their position, but what makes them special and what they do outside of work. I was even lucky enough that my Pioneer leaders encouraged me to do this. It’s not something I would have thought of on my own, but I’m so glad I did.
The pros, the cons, and what you learned. Not only will this help your organization develop a better internship program in the future, but these learnings will help you nail down your own professional insights. I have a digital sticky note application that serves as a constant reminder to always be making note of what I’m doing
You’re the intern, it’s basically a free pass to ask as many questions as possible. Everyone knows you are learning and young – use this to your advantage.
Take this period to learn as much as you possibly can. Ask to sit in on sales calls, to help redesign spreadsheets, to prepare the decks for presentations, anything you can do to get involved in more projects. This will help you learn more and build up more connections with the team.
Outside of professional tasks your leader has outlined for your summer, create 3-5 goals of what you personally want to learn or accomplish in this internship. I prefer the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) method of goal setting. Here’s some goals I set for myself:
1. By the end of the summer, I will have created connections with at least three Pioneers that can serve as mentors or professional resources.
2. At the end of each week, I will add to my running list of projects I worked on, skills I gained, and improvements to be made for both parties.
3. By the end of my internship, I will have determined which size company I prefer to work for.
Check in with yourself halfway through your internship and measure your progress – and make sure to do this at the end, too!
Before it’s over- You’ve reached the end of your internship, here’s a few things to do when you’re wrapping up.
You’ve done some great work throughout your internship. Make sure to save this and use it to your advantage. Add your best projects to your online portfolio, LinkedIn or resume. But first, make sure to ask for clarification on what you can take away from your org.
Discuss what went well as well as areas for improvement for both you and the company. If you enjoyed your experience, this is also a good time to talk about your future with the company!
We’ve all heard the saying, “It’s not about what you know; it’s about who you know.” Well, you did gain experience this summer, but most importantly you grew some professional contacts. While it’s fresh, ask your leaders to write you a recommendation letter. Whether it’s for a future job, a scholarship, or just to keep in your back pocket, get this before you leave.
By no means am I an expert in internships, but I wanted to take my experience and help out some of my peers to make the process a bit less daunting. By following these steps, I found myself in an internship that exceeded my expectations.
To current and past interns, what have you done to secure an internship? What takeaways do you want to pass along?
Katie O’Connor is an intern this summer at Pioneer Management Consulting, an organizational change management, business strategy, business operations and data analytics firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She also is looking forward to her senior year at the University of St. Thomas in the fall.