3 Tactics to Own Your Internship

Every year, students all over the world search extensively for internships where they can prove their value and learn something new. This is not only an opportunity to be fully immersed in a brand new environment, but a chance to earn an income (often better than their campus jobs) to pay for food better than their go-to taco joint. But before these interns get ready to leave well-fed and weighed down in company t-shirts and gear, let's talk about what they should be doing to get a full time offer and, more importantly, what they should take at the end of the summer. 

Let's start with a seemingly simply tactic, networking. 

1. Network effectively and ask those who know you well to introduce you to others. 

As I prepared for my first internship, professors and experienced professionals all shared the same advice with me: "talk to everyone you can!" While this advice was ambitious and had great implications, it was misleading. While it would be ideal to learn about everyone you work with, you have a limited amount of time as an intern. You have to grasp as much as you can from specific people whose interests align with yours or people whose passions could resonate with yours. This way, instead of having quick, shallow interactions, you form more solid and lasting relationships. 

My advice is to be conscious of your time and get to know your manager or whoever is directly responsible for you as best as you can--when appropriate. Spend time asking them questions about what is challenging in their work and what they wish to spend more time learning in their role; ask them anything that allows you to learn about the kind of person they are and how much of their personality has been able to flourish in the workplace. Your goal here is to learn as much as you can about what is important to your manager and share with them pieces of your life that are similar. Maybe even add some insight to what they share with you so that you can maintain a connection post-internship.

After you've built a relationship, you can ask your manager to connect you with others who share similar interests as you or have accomplished some of the goals you hope to cross off your own list down the road. By using this tactic, you utilize your time more effectively and meet with people who have something in common with you and who you can have a more meaningful conversation with.  

2. Your perspective is different, share it in a useful and respectful way.

When companies and businesses hire interns, they look to provide these young individuals with an opportunity to learn about their organization and find out if this is a place they could see themselves working. They also hire interns for their fresh, unique perspectives. As an intern, you are not only seeing many processes for the first time, you are also providing a new set of eyes for individuals who’ve spent several hours focused on finding a solution they may now be numb to. 

Your perspective is invaluable. Take the time to learn about solutions the business has created by asking questions about how and why the solution works, who created the solution and what assumptions they made, and, when appropriate, offer your own twist to the solution to challenge their thinking. Ask questions like “have you thought about…” or use your own experience to challenge a portion of it by stating something like “on campus, we have X machine that does Y, and this eliminated the need for …”. There will be people within the organization who will host town halls to solicit your feedback and there will also be indirect opportunities for you to suggest your own innovative ideas that could be groundbreaking for the company. Use every opportunity to dig deeper and share your insight where you see fit. 

3. Take notes, ask questions, and be resourceful. 

As an intern (and full time professional), it's important that you are thoughtful of other people's time and that you complete your work with precision in a reasonable amount of time. One of the most frustrating aspects of adjusting to a professional environment is when people ask you to do something and you have no clue where to start. Your manager may spend an hour explaining something to you and then ask if you understood his or her explanation. For some odd reason, you will nod and say “yes” when you actually have no clue what they just said. But it’s okay, it happens to the best of us! What you do next is what separates you from someone who cares and someone who definitely won't get that full-time offer. 

Sometimes you may be given a task to complete and it may not make sense right away. As taxing as it is, you have to spend enough time up front asking questions to understand what the deliverable should be and what issues it needs to address. During this time, it is critical that you take notes and be candid with your manager about your understanding of what they are asking. Your manager may not always have time to answer all your questions right away (or ever, really) but part of adjusting to a work environment is learning how to be resourceful and find the answers on your own! Dig around in internal sites and any documents you may have access to and see what you can piece together. If there are people on your team or other interns, leverage those people and see what they think before going back to your manager. Taking the time to figure things out before asking for help goes a long way.

One tip I learned as an MLT (Management Leadership for Tomorrow) fellow was the 20/80 rule: spend 20% of your allotted time trying to create a solution yourself before going to your manager to make sure you’re on the right track, and then use the remaining 80% of the time checking in again with your manager to see if any additional adjustments are necessary. This tactic is not always necessary but gives you the chance to demonstrate that you’re capable of working independently without wasting too much time spinning your wheels. It also gives your manager an opportunity to redirect you or make sure anything they may have forgotten to mention is included. Give this a try and see how it works for you!

Bam! Those were three quick ways to make an impact and take full control of your internship. 

At the end of your internship, you want to be able to walk away knowing that you did everything you could to leave a positive impression. You'll know you made it when people say, “I really liked having Amjed around, can we bring him back?” The people you work with are going to be your advocates for the full time offer you had your heart set on. Before we jump that gun however, everything starts with delivering the best quality work you can and doing your best to exceed the expectations you and your manager agreed to. Those expectations in your review should be how you gauge your success and at the top of your to-do list everyday.

While an internship may be a company’s chance to test you, this is also your chance to test them. Take advantage of every opportunity available to you and don’t hesitate to tell your coworkers if there is anything else you need to be successful; the answer will always be no if you never ask. 

Have an amazing internship!