Tips for your summer internship

Each summer, thousands of college students will depart the comforts of their respective college campuses to embark on an incredible opportunity, their summer internship.

This year, as our Hub (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Louisville) class of 70 summer interns begin their internship, I wanted to highlight what the summer internship can provide. During my tenure, the personal traits I’ve seen that have led summer interns to thrive, grow, and excel at the firm include the following:

Have a positive attitude - it’s natural to surround yourself with individuals that will have a positive impact in your life. It’s no different at KPMG or anywhere else. A great culture begins with you and how you approach and view your role, but most importantly how you interact with others.

Build relationships - invest time on building relationships with other summer interns, and the professionals you encounter during your internship. Like all things in life, the more time you invest and put into it, the more you will get out of it.

Raise your hand - I know it’s a new environment, but don’t be shy to raise your hand to ask a question or to volunteer for or take on an assignment.

Be willing to learn - we don’t expect our summer interns to know every technical aspect as it relates to one of our functions (Audit, Tax, and Advisory), but not knowing is different from not taking the step to learn and grow. Along those lines, embrace feedback, the learning curve can be steep. Also, take advantage of the numerous training programs provided – our programs are tailored for interns.

Go the extra mile - nothing should be too big or too small to be involved with. Take the initiative to be involved.

Have fun - this is your summer, so enjoy all the activities that our campus recruiting team has organized for you during the internship program.

Wherever you begin your summer internship, just remember, we’re all here for YOU, and we want each of you to excel and grow. So don’t hesitate to reach out to anyone for a helping hand.

Have a great summer!