Nice to see you again. Follow me, @SydneyOwen. Thanks for being here!
So you got the internship because you rocked the interview. Congratulations! Now, you need to be the best intern they’ve ever had. Ever. Now, I’m not saying that I was the best intern ever, because I know for a fact I wasn’t. But I do know what lead to my success in getting a job - I strived for intern excellence. You should too.
It’s not just about doing tasks and doing them well. Being the best intern is a mindset. You have to be eager to learn, and let people know that you are. You have to understand that, depending on what industry you’re in, sometimes no news is good news, and good news is great news. One of the hardest things for me to adjust to was not getting constant praise.
Growing up, we hear praise for everything. You make your bed, you get praise. You do your chores, you get praise. You get an A on a test, etc, you get the idea. In corporate America – if you work in a busy place, there isn’t always time for constant praise. So assuming you work for a well-organized and efficient company that communicates well, if you aren’t hearing constructive criticism, you’re probably doing alright. Like I said, that was a tough one for me. Here are a few more tips on how to be the best intern ever.
- If there are other interns at your organization, make friends. Not just with each other, but with full-timers as well. If you want a shot at getting a job here, you better have some people to be your cheerleaders when/if a position becomes available. You want to be on the top of everyone’s minds when they’re hiring.
- Learn social media. This should be number one, technically. All of the skills we learn here are important, but social media is increasingly important. You probably already know this, because we talk about it ALL THE TIME. So make sure you “get it”. If you have questions about what that means exactly, talk to people on the digital team. Talk to me. Just figure it out. Your career depends on it.
- Find your person. Like on Sex and The City – everyone needs an “in case of emergency” person. Who is your person? Find someone that you can bounce ideas off of, vent to, ask questions, etc. Your person will make your time that much easier, and you’ll probably make a really good friend out of the deal. And if your person has an office with a door – you’ve hit the jackpot.
- Learn how and when to say “no”. If you think that saying yes to every single project is the way to get noticed, chances are, you’re wrong. Better to say yes to a couple and really do some quality work than to get way too much on your plate and do poorly. Learn how to say no, or how to ask about saying no. Get in touch with your mentor if you have too much going on and don’t know how to say no. They’ve been there – they can help you.
- Work with as many people as you possibly can. The more people you get to work with, the better. You’ll get to have a lot of different experiences. And, when it comes time for your review (monthly, mid-point, etc), you have more people to call upon for feedback – which will help you learn that much more about the business and about yourself.
Coming up next: why you need to be continuously networking your face off.
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as well. If you want a shot at getting a job here, you
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