By: Mercedes Cant
You’ve nailed that elusive dream; the perfect summer internship. You’ve met your team, signed all the forms, figured out where the coffee machine is hidden, and finished your very first assignment, and maybe you find yourself thinking: now what? You’re not alone! Thousands of students are in the same boat as you, and we’re here to offer you a paddle in the form of some friendly advice on how to deal with the middle and end of your summer job.
First, you should be prepared for lulls and boring periods. The first month of a summer internship is usually super busy, yes, but you will most likely not being maintaining the same pace throughout your entire internship. Lulls where you only have a few things to do, or even nothing at all in between assignments, are a thing that happen even though you don’t tend to hear people talk about them. So, what are you going to do about it? Well, this is the time to bring out your inner psychic! Think about what your manager and the rest of your team is doing – is there something you could do to help that they haven’t asked for yet? An especially good candidate for this kind of thing is background research. Make yourself useful, and your team will love you!
While we’re on the subject of being useful, let’s talk about overtime. It’s definitely a good idea to put some in if it’s needed. If your team or supervisor is working on an important project, offer to stay an hour late or come in a bit early. You wouldn’t believe how much the offer will be appreciated, whether your team accepts it or not! Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of though, always make sure that you get paid appropriately for any overtime!
Another important thing to do throughout your internship is to take advantage of all the resources around you. By that I mean your co-workers and supervisors! Don’t just squirrel yourself away at your desk during lunch; go to the communal office areas and introduce yourself to people outside of your core team. The vast majority of people you’re working with will be thrilled to give you some pointers and tell you all about how they’ve progressed throughout their careers. Try to seek out the other interns in your office as well. They’re in the same situation as you and you can all help each other out!
As you come closer and closer to the end of your internship, you’re probably thinking about an extension into the school year. But when on Earth do you ask for that? To be perfectly honest, there’s no one best time. It all depends where you’re working, who your supervisor is, and what your employer’s student hiring policy is. The one piece of advice I can give here is to raise the subject after a big win for your team that you had a big role in! Everyone will be happy after a big project is finished or a tough deadline is met, so it’s a perfect time to ask about an extension.
Or maybe you don’t want to ask for an extension; that’s cool too! You should definitely ask your supervisor for an exit interview though. This will give you a chance to get a debrief on what your manager thinks your greatest skills are, and what you need to improve on. An exit interview is also your chance to let your manager know what you thought of your employer. Don’t unleash your deepest grievances, but a few constructive criticisms about their internship program will leave you looking thoughtful and intelligent! Not to mention you’ll definitely stick out in your manager’s mind, since very few students know to ask for an exit interview.
Good luck with all of your internships this summer, collegiettes!