How to Rock Your Internship: Notes on Networking

Its Summer Internship Season! The excitement, nervousness, and enthusiasm is something I feel even today as I remember this day 8 years ago. Some of you reached out asking how to make summer internships successful, and since I could not find anything specific to B-School grads in India, sharing the collective experience of my friends from my Symbiosis and Mahindra-GMC batches of 2013. We have all played the role of interns and later on as project mentors, and here I will show you both sides!

I understand that building relationships remotely can seem difficult, especially when we have not even met the people we are supposed to work with. Getting their time and commitment when you are “just an intern/project resource for a few months” can seem even more daunting, especially when there is so much riding on it. Here is a checklist of things to keep in mind, to make sure you rock your 'remote' internship!

1. Building your personal brand

This is your first professional experience, and while you are representing your college as an intern, you are also beginning to carve your professional identity. Build your LinkedIn profile as this is your opportunity to share with the world what you are all about, chances are your profile will be looked up after a meeting or if you send a connection request, share not just your accomplishments but also what drives you.

Here is a link on how to build a strong profile as a Student https://ptdrv.linkedin.com/4vj5uz7

• How to introduce myself?

Your chances of getting a meeting and your recall is going to be much higher if you are introduced through a friend or an ex-colleague, not only does it break the ice smoothly there is a higher level of trust, therefore, openness in that conversation.

Try to find points in common like their alma mater, past organizations, interest items, or even articles they have written. You can easily do this by studying their LinkedIn profile.

• What should be my elevator pitch?

You will have a few minutes to set the context, practice a 2-3 liner that effectively summarizes what your project is, which team you are working with, why you reached out to them, and what you seek to achieve from the call.

• How can I stand out?

Everyone adds something to a situation by virtue of being themselves. Internships are basically a way to figure out whether you can add differentiated value to a situation. So bring a little bit of you to your project. If you're a psych major, bring that element. If you're an accountant, bring in that skill. If you are a people's person, bring an interpersonal element into the picture. Find a way to leave your stamp on the project, above and beyond what was given to you.

2. Engaging with Key Stakeholders

• When should I start working on the project?

Don't wait till the project starts, as soon as you know who you will be working with, seek their time for a quick call. The advantage you have today is that since you will not be going to the office physically, it is not customary for your first interaction to be on the date of joining – rather it's now the day you first speak!

• Who to build relationships with?

You should not limit yourself to building these relationships just with your project buddy and mentor. Since you are not constrained by the office setup of cabins, this is an excellent chance to introduce yourself virtually and seek time to align yourself with other employees across departments. 

• Should I follow up if I do not get a reply?

You might not get a reply immediately but understand that they might be preoccupied, especially now when they will be juggling personal work as well so do follow up in a couple of days and don’t get disheartened! Following up only shows your seriousness, doing so respectfully sends a positive message!

• How frequently should I aim to connect? 

Keep a tracker of all key stakeholders you need to be in touch with, and make sure you have a cadence of 1-2 touches in a week depending on how closely involved they can/want to be.

• How to stay engaged?

You will be doing a reasonable amount of research, so if you come across articles of interest or insights that you hear from customers that are relevant to them, send it across with a note mentioning why you feel they would find it relevant.

• What value can I add in meetings?

Just because you are an intern, don’t let that hold you back. There is so much value you can add to the conversation even when speaking to leaders or experts. I would have notes from reading articles relevant to that person’s company, to be able to grasp what they mean and mention what you read to get their perspective.

• Do a mid review check

I cannot stress enough on the importance of this, trust me you do not want to be in a position when at the end of the project you are delivering what they do not need - always align with what they expect from you, overcommunicate!

3. Defining your Project Objective

• Should I be flexible on my deliverables?

Getting on the same page with your manager might mean, revisiting your project objective such that it can be valuable to them in the short term. Ask them what is the biggest thing on their mind and offer help. 

My project was to make recommendations for the pricing strategy Mahindra Retail but soon heard from various teams they were in need of a Brand Study. Since I was doing customer research, I added this to the scope. I presented my findings at the Leadership meeting as it was aligned with one of his top operating priorities and that was one of the reasons that led to instant visibility and a PPO offer to join the GMC batch of 2013.

• How can I make my project more current/relevant?

Make sure that the question that you are working on, the project, matters to someone and answers important questions.

If within the first 3 days, you either feel that your project is not important or it doesn't solve a tangible problem, work on changing the project. People don't know it, but it's doable and there is no harm in trying.

A lot of organizations will be undergoing change management and every department will find themselves navigating digital transformation - something they are probably not prepared to handle at this scale. Feel free to make suggestions or recommendations for what you know is relevant to their industry.

• What defines the project's success?

Business, at the end of the day, is about, well, business. Nothing makes as much impact as the money an idea makes/saves. That is the universal language of the corporation, learn to translate each problem and solution into its monetary impact.

• What makes a good presentation?

Since the final output is always in the form of a presentation to a few stakeholders, make sure that you are touching upon the points that matter to them. We often end up emphasizing the most on the points that we worked the most on but remember that this is about what they think is important. You've got to tailor the output to meet the expectations of the decision-maker, even if that means something close to you has to take a backseat.

4. The Cultural Fit

• Find out what makes that organization tick

Find out people from your network ( alma mater, friends, etc) who have worked there or know people who have worked there to get a sense of the culture. This can help you in a big way so you can stop guessing or overthinking your every move and start acting.

• Find "your people" in the company

One of the easiest yet somewhat overlooked resources - you must talk to seniors from the batches before who interned at that company, to learn what their experience was like! 

Build a neutral person as a sounding board for yourself who has been through that same process in the same organization. External perspective helps.

• Remote working Etiquette

Make sure that the calendar has no clashes, be on time, structure your conversation because if you ramble or don't engage the stakeholder, they can very easily lose focus, you aren't even in front of them to read their body language.

Here is a collection of free resources from LinkedIn Learning for being an effective remote worker: New to Working Remotely? These Resources Can Help

Wishing all the interns all the best! Let me know in the comments if you would like me to cover other topics. We are #inthistogether!

P.S. Shout out to Tapas and Amogh for contributing to this article!

#internships #projects #summerintern #jobs #relationshipsmatter