Don’t Be Afraid to Talk to Management!

Interacting with management as an intern is the equivalent of walking on a taut tightrope. Say the wrong thing and you instantly fall out of favor with the group of people who decide whether you leave or stay at the end of the summer. Yet, if you say whatever you think your managers want to hear, they’ll (rightfully) assume that you’re nothing more than a ‘yes man’, which won’t do you any additional favors (and could possibly hurt your near-future prospects similar to the first scenario).

One wrong move and you're done for!

Luckily, I don’t view chatting with my managers like I described above. Where I work, a culture of openness and respect form the basis of our interactions with one another. They may be higher in the pecking order, but they are still people who I can have a genuine, brief conservation with as we run into each other form time to time. Every time one of my bosses pops into my cube, I get the opportunity to show them how far I have progressed in performing structural analysis on the part that I have been assigned. 

These chats have led to sitting down in a meeting with one of my managers to discuss the current state of the internship. 

The Preparation: Setting The Stage for A Successful Meeting

The most important action I took was to reach out to my manager to set a time and date for a meeting. I felt I had to take the initiative to set up this meeting because my manager is incredibly busy managing multiple projects at once, including mine. I wasn’t banking on him reaching out to me other than at a scheduled time to sit down for a chat, so I decided to bring the opportunity to him instead.

I promptly sent him a message after our last chat to request a meeting, which he immediately agreed to for the following day, later in the afternoon.

Knowing What I Wanted To Talk About

Time for the two of us is too important to waste in aimless conversation. Knowing how busy my manager is, I wanted to make sure that I focused on few, but specific topics to discuss:

• My current progress within the internship
• Future opportunities at the company

Limiting the discussion to these particular items would allow us to stay focused and allow for substantive talk on the issues that are relevant to both of us. 

The Meeting: Time to Talk!

The next day came, and late that afternoon, I’m seated face-to-face with my manager across the small coffee table. Pleasantries are exchanged; business is conducted. Although I won’t go into particulars, I can proudly say that the overall meeting went well. I was able to openly convey my excitement for how well my internship is going; specifically, I talked about how I’ve come to understand my role as a stress analyst and how my efforts contribute to the project as a whole. I’m happy with the work that I am completing – making sure that supporting parts that will eventually be machined and installed on the Commercial Crew system are structurally sound and safe. My manager too was excited and pleased at hearing of my progress as a budding stress engineer. We then quickly switched subjects to focus on my future opportunities with the company.

Some would say that it is too early to discuss potential full-time employment – after all, I’m only a third of the way into my internship! Others would suggest to revisit the topic in another three to four weeks – that way my manager could get a better sense of my performance and whether I would be a good fit for the team and project.

I could not disagree more with those sentiments. If you, as an intern, are interested in working at a company for another summer internship, co-op, or full-time after graduation, go ahead and indicate to management your interest in doing so! It is much better to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later.

You can do this one of two ways: 

1. Verbally let management know that you would like to be considered for a full-time position. (I don’t recommend this option on its own, especially if you don’t feel you’ve been a top or strong performer in your work. Also, this is somewhat redundant considering that the company has brought you on for an internship in the first place – this is their opportunity to see whether you would make a good full-time employee.)
2. Be or become a great performer and an awesome team player in the work you are assigned to do. By letting your excellence instead of your mouth speak for you, you’re bound to catch the attention of management at some point. (This is a much better option and I strongly suggest following this way.)

A combination of the two ways (preferably the second way before the first) will not only make you look proactive and confident, but also will jolt management to get the wheels turning to secure your talents via an offer of employment.

Back to the meeting – again, my manager was impressed and eager to insights on the full-time hiring process for interns as well as helping look at the variety of options I could take within the company.

Overall, I walked away from our meeting with confidence and energy! Not only did I make a strong impression, but also I felt reassured that my manager is looking out for my best interests as well.

The Takeaways

1. I took initiative to open up dialogue between my manager and myself.
2. I now have management actively helping to shape my career in the short and long term.
3. I am more comfortable talking with management about any issues and/or concerns relating to my work.

How have your conversations with management gone? Let us know in the comments below!

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Frederick Daso will be a senior this fall the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is interested in learning more about or exploring opportunities in engineering, technology, management consulting, and/or journalism. Feel free to contact him at [email protected].