Tips For Summer Internships

Congrats on your summer internship!

As you prepare yourself for your new role, remotely or in the office, you may be unsure what tips and tricks there are for making a good impression.

The first day of your internship is coming up.

What do you do now?…

• Prepare your knowledge, dive into the background of the company, the CEO’s story, and any articles you can find on top VPs, go back into your notes from specific classes to refresh your memory, and study any material you can get on your company or your role 
• Find the dress code for the company and dress accordingly (if unsure always lean towards dressed more dressed up than dressed down) and show up early.  

How to excel 

• Go above and beyond your own tasks,
• Do your tasks efficiently and to your best efforts,
• Ask to do more.  Be intuitive, anticipate where others may need help, and offer your assistance.
• When you finish your work ask colleagues if you can help with anything. 
• Ask questions when you don’t understand something.  
• Don’t just leave the office when you’re done… if other people are still there ask if there is anything you can be helpful with before you go
• Network with your colleagues and superiors. Ask them to grab a coffee outside the office. You are there to build relationships as much as you are to learn new skills. 
• Once you have made a great connection with someone in the company ask what you could improve on. Take it as factual advice and never criticism. 

Seek out mentors 

• Ask if they could go back to the beginning of their career what would they have done differently? What would they have done more often? What would they have wished they asked? What they wished they had studied more? Any and all information will be helpful. 

Be on time, professional, courteous, friendly, and be sure to have fun. This internship is an opportunity for you to see what you want to do. Go into it every day as if this is your job… see what you enjoy and what you don’t.  Remember, every learning experience is a good one, even ones you may not enjoy.