When the internship season comes around, thousands of ambitious students embark on a journey to gain industry experience at great companies, hoping to convert into a graduate position the year after. During your internship, you are going to want to do everything in your power to stand out from the crowd so that you give yourself the best chance possible of receiving a graduate offer.
Being offered a role as an intern is a huge achievement in itself, but there are more steps you need to take before you can transition to a graduate in any firm. This article will cover some basic principles you should follow as an intern as well as some extra tips on how you can approach your internship.
Be proactive and take initiative
Before you begin your internship, make you sure you are fully prepared. Take the time to make sure you have followed all of the steps required for you to start so that you begin smoothly. Furthermore, throughout your internship, be proactive when completing projects and asking for help because it can go a long way. It indirectly tells the company that you are willing to go above and beyond your role to ensure that your work product is of a high quality and that you care about your output.
Get to know your manager
There are two ways you can get to know your manager; personally and professionally. In an internship setting, it's important that you find time to learn about them in both ways. If you build a good professional relationship with them, they will give you more ownership over your work and more opportunities may open up as a result.
Additionally, establishing a personal relationship with your manager by getting to know them better will help you improve the working culture and ultimately increase the enjoyment you'll get out of working with them.
Present yourself well and take care with the little things
In some cases, the little things make a huge difference for managers or recruiters when it comes to deciding who to select for a graduate role. Since you only have a limited time to prove yourself, there isn't much to fix a sub-optimal first impression.
Most of these things are applicable in most workplaces but here are some important behaviours to avoid:
- Consistently arriving late to work
- Having a excessively laid back attitude
- Unnecessarily staying back later than everyone else
- Being too informal in the way you converse or the way you dress
People notice these kinds of behaviours or attitudes because it will translate into the work you do in the future. It's all about gaining trust with others and having a great work ethic. Your seniors or supervisors are looking for people they can work with and rely on and if you can't prove that to them during your internship, your likelihood of receiving an offer might not be so hot.
Treat your fellow internslike you allies, not your enemies
One thing that will stand out to you in your time as a clerk is the cooperation and friendship among the other interns that are working with you. Having this positive mindset and outlook on your internship will improve your experience because you are increasing your network with valuable connections and also proving your firm that you can work well with others.