Internships:
Tips and Suggestions
- This is an audition for a full-time position – present yourself as someone seeking full time.
- You never want to be anything but pleasant to work with.
- An internship is a resume builder and a way to develop interview material.
- Get a project that is tight and results oriented.
- Take ownership of the project.
- Get to know people – past interns, etc. Be very specific when you ask them for information.
- Find people to have lunch with and get to know personally (probably more toward the end of your internship).
- Ask your manager, “Who should I get to know?”
- Understand your boss and how he/she likes to communicate.
- Does he/she like e-mail or communicating in person? Is she more visual? Does she like to get information and then
think about it?
- Early wins: How can you make your boss look good…milestones and tasks. Think of early wins that you can market (but
not too much).
- When you know that you will be meeting senior people, be prepared to give a quick summary of what you have been
working on and what your hypothesis is about how to solve a problem you’ve been dealing with (if applicable).
- Increase your visibility!
- Ask to attend a big meeting.
- Sometimes WHO is in the room is more important than the topic.
- Be conscious of whether or not you should speak. Were you doing work on the topic? If in doubt, check with your
supervisor ahead of time.
- Go above and beyond the responsibility of the job (if you think it adds value and is something you can be known for.
Be careful – make sure it will NOT change their opinion of you in undesirable ways – ex. If you are in marketing,
don’t be doing hard core IT work).
- Evaluate your progress.
- Have those “check in” meetings. Ask “What have I been doing well?” “What should I be doing differently?” Be open to
feedback!
- After that, set goals. What will you work on next? What do you need from your boss to make it happen?
- Journal your accomplishments and update your resume along the way.
- Have some kind of exit interview(s) and say thank you, wrap up, look for seeds to plant for future opportunities. If
the company does not have a formal process, write up a summary of what you have worked on and get their feedback. You may want
to ask if they can provide you with an introduction to someone you want to meet or a group you want to learn about.
- Ask for a reference. It does not need to be written. Ask your boss “Would you be comfortable being called as a
reference?”
- A written reference is less powerful than if a company you are applying to can call your former manager.
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