Internship, PPOs and Beyond

For B School students a summer internship is an important rite of passage to their future career. At least this is we all like to believe. As students get ready to test the waters through their short work stint as 'interns', their minds are clouded with uncertainties; what kind of project? what kind of people? fieldwork? sales calls? et al. And then the bigger worries; will I be able to convert my internship into a PPO? What should I do to convert my internship into a PPO? Clearly, there are no straightforward answers and the questions are endless; sometimes as fundamental as, will I be treated with respect? Here are few pointers to make your internship opportunity a real career opportunity by aligning your work strategy with the expectations of the firm and your supervisors.

There is only one rule to follow: let others treat you as an intern, you treat yourself as an employee who is there to be productive and newsworthy(internal, not for newspapers :) ). There are few markers that firms look for and it is in your best career development interest that you demonstrate all such capabilities.

Some of these are discussed below:

1.      Sincerity: Be sincere in everything that you do as an intern. Take your job very seriously as if you are going to make a big contribution. Let that be palpable to people around you.

2.      Punctuality: ‘First in last out’ is a good idea. Be there on time and extend your work hours for meaningful engagements. Do not just hang around.

3.      Enthusiasm: An intern must display excitement for learning opportunities. Complete each task with that spirit of learning and do not settle for anything less than a great output. Exceed expectations; that’s the keyword here.

4.      Stretch: Managers notice interns who are willing to do more, beyond the set assignments. Look for such opportunities to help/assist your mentor in any of his/her projects. Can I be of some assistance; that’s a great attitude to carry.

5.      Ask (intelligent) questions: Learn the basics on your own. Try and get information from published resources including company/customers websites. Ask questions to communicate that you want a deeper understanding. Take time and prepare your questions and do not expect ready answers. Offer your time if some data crunching or research is required to find answers.

6.      Research Skills: If you did your research method course with full involvement ( you understand what I mean), you are carrying few important skills with you. Use these skills to surprise your mentors. Appear resourceful, gather data and generate insights. Help your mentor to do things with data that he/she wanted to.

7.      Be Professional: Build relationships but respect the distance. Remember, the only way you can create value for yourself is by creating and delivering value for your mentor. You are competing with several other interns from different B-Schools; your winning mantra is to deliver superior value!

One more point: before you report for your internship ask this question to yourself; are you willing to craft a strategy to turn your internship into a great learning opportunity? I am sure you are going to be affirmative. As Robert De Niro movie suggested ( The Intern ), the experience never goes out of fashion and therefore, focus on the project that you get and deliver the best to exceed expectations.

Give it a great start and work your way up.

Best of Luck!