The Best Advice for a Successful Internship
Global: An Extraordinary Guide for Ordinary Heroes
Internships are an essential part of progressing into your career – an internship could even unlock the potential of your future career. I am a huge believer in internships because, not only can they lead to a job, but they can also help you understand what you’re most interested in to pursue in future employment. It’s kind of like dating – you can have a few internships before committing to a full time job. Early in my career, I had two internships turn into jobs. The first was one I had with Mercy Corps while in college, when I was getting ready to graduate, I convinced them to create a position for me. The second was while I was in grad school – I had interned with InterAction my first year of grad school and then applied for a job with them my second year and had the advantage of already being a known quantity. Intern, learn, grow, and succeed!!
1. Define what success means to you. Does success mean landing a job at the end of the internship? Learning a new skill? Gaining references for future jobs? If you understand what you want to get out of your internship and have your intention set at the beginning, it’ll be a lot easier to achieve it. Any internship (and job for that matter) is just as much whether it’s a good fit for you as it is whether you are a good fit for the company or organization. Figure out what you want and strive for it.
2. Be open and receptive to learning new things. If your internship boss or mentor asks you to do something don’t say “no” – especially if the reason is because you have self-doubt or haven’t done the task before. Better yet, ask for more tasks and challenges. An internship is an opportunity to learn and also to show the company your capacity to learn. And, along those lines, ask for guidance and advice when you need it – that’s a good way to learn and ensure you’re doing a good job.
3. Follow up after the internship. The people that you worked with during the internship can point you to future job opportunities and/or be professional references for jobs you’re applying for. Stay in touch with them: send regular friendly emails, have coffee with them, don’t let them forget what a great asset you are – you never know, your lucky break might come from them! Having the internship on your resume and what you learned during the internship are obviously important, but the people you work with might just be the greatest resource you’ll walk away with.
4. Last, but not least, the most important thing is to have faith in yourself. Your internship is an important part of the foundation for an awesome career that you’re building. Know that it’s part of the process and that, one day, you’ll look back on your internship and see how far you’ve come. Little by little, you’re building a fulfilling career and you will succeed!
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