What do you do if you want to further your career after finishing an internship?

?? Catalog the skills you've acquired or improved upon during your internship. These may encompass technical proficiencies tailored to your domain, like coding languages, laboratory methodologies, or expertise in design software. ?? Additionally, contemplate the soft skills that are universally applicable across diverse sectors and positions. These include effective communication (both verbal and written), adept time management, flexibility, and leadership capabilities. ?? Review moments in which you successfully applied these skills and their influence on your tasks or collaborative endeavors within the team.

?? Your resume acts as a condensed overview of your qualifications and achievements, enabling prospective employers to swiftly evaluate your fit for a position. ?? Although updating your resume independently is feasible, consulting professional CV writers or career coaches can offer valuable insights and expertise.

Some jobs aren't advertised to the public. Instead, they're filled through recommendations or referrals from people who know about them. Networking helps you find these hidden job opportunities by connecting you with people who might know about them or can introduce you to the right people. So, by talking to others in your field, you might hear about job openings that aren't advertised anywhere else.

?? Occasionally, we may overlook certain behaviors or habits that impact our performance. Input from supervisors and colleagues can pinpoint these blind spots, enabling us to make necessary adjustments and improve our effectiveness at work. ?? Career professionals objectively assess your skills, background, and career objectives. Their feedback can serve as a neutral supplement to and elaboration on the perspectives gained from internships. ?? With the guidance of career professionals, you can craft a strategic career roadmap aligned with your ambitions, strengths, and insights gleaned from your internship experiences.

The job market is very competitive, and having current knowledge and skills gives you an advantage. Employers want candidates who bring the latest ideas and practices to their organization. By keeping up with industry advancements, you make yourself a valuable asset who can contribute effectively from the start.

A strategic plan helps you set yourself up for long-term success by aligning your career actions with your long-term goals and values. It gives you a clear direction by defining what you want and what principles are important to you. This plan breaks down big goals into smaller, manageable steps, making progress in your career easier. It keeps you focused and motivated while allowing you to adjust as you learn and grow. A strategic plan ensures you stay competitive and ready for new opportunities by emphasizing skill development and intelligent use of resources. Ultimately, it helps you build a sustainable and rewarding career that aligns with your professional and personal aspirations.

During your internship, I would suggest creating a "professional accomplishments" document....a brag sheet. Be sure to include things that you've accomplished, participated in, achieved both within the scope of your internship and outside of your "regular assignments". This document is a great way to demonstrate your "deliverables/outcomes" and a perfect example of how you contributed to the organization, it's goals, and your own professional gains. This will also be beneficial as you update your resume/LinkedIn and as you prepare for interviews. It's also leverage if you have an offer from your internship because you will be highlighting things that perhaps your supervisor didn't know about you and your impact at the organization.

Nearing internship completion, consider collecting recommendations. They can be written on LinkedIn or as a letter document. They can come from those of superior rank [manager, employee, etc.] or at your peer level, fellow interns. These are people willing to publicly vouch for you well into the future since recommendations live on past work timelines. Recs are underestimated; I’ve used them since undergrad and served me well beyond jobs. They: 1. Allow others to advocate for you from a distance. 2. Strengthen credibility being mentioned for skills and character. 3. Show examples of your influence within groups. 4. Demonstrate positive impact on people’s lives. 5. Reveal how you actively sought to become a service-oriented person.