So it’s summer intern season again. Internships are a great way for a student to get experience, skills, and a professional network. And they are a great way for employers
to tap into a potential future employee and get new ideas.
I’ve had many summer internships myself and managed many summer interns. There’s a lot to learn there so I’ve written my top 5 tips for summer interns.
Here we go:
- Dress like the office – A simple rule that many interns mess up. This isn’t college so dress what everyone else is wearing. If people wear shoes, wear shoes not sandals. If wear suits, then wear a suit. Also, I would argue that it is also bad to overdress. I knew an intern who wore suit and a tie every day when that wasn’t work dress code…it got old after awhile.
- Work hard and ask for more – Sometimes interns goof off. Sometimes they are good and move quickly and don’t know if they can ask for more work. The key is to do good work and go back to your boss when you are done. Honestly, managers have a hard time figuring out how long anything takes work wise, yet alone for an intern. One caveat – if it is slow at work for a week and you’ve already asked twice for more work, let it slide and don’t be annoying
- It’s called networking – The real value of an internship is getting a number of people to vouch for you and want to help you get a job. So go to everything you can. Work lunches, coffee breaks, work gatherings, etc. People want to help out people they spend time with so spend time to get to know people at the office
- Ask for what you need – There will be some core work that has to be done for the summer in the division you were hired. But maybe there are some other goals you have – you want to meet someone from the International division, attend a leadership meeting, visit a field office. Don’t be afraid to ask – as the intern, they’ll probably let you go
- Have fun and be professional – Nobody likes the mopey intern. Everyone loves the fun, bright, and energetic intern who is sooooo excited to be working. Because for everyone else this is a job they do every day. Half the battle in life is just showing up on time, professional dressed, with a good upbeat attitude. Do that and you’ll be just fun.
What’s your intern tips?
Check out some of my other “Top 5’s”
– Top 5: Gov’t Shows That Should Exist
– Top 5: Tips For Summer Interns
– Top 5: Best Places to Have a Government Job
– Top 5: Worst Places to Have a Government Job
– Top 5: Reasons You Didn’t Get the Promotion
– Top 10: What Works in Social Media
– Top 5: Ways to Handle a Boring Meeting
– Top 5 Signs You Need a New Job
– Top 5: Ways to Look Important at the Office
photo credit: Mark Warner via photopin cc