#internship advice

1. Carry a notebook everywhere!! As someone brand new at a company or in an industry, almost everything you know is going to be brand new and trying to absorb all that information, complete assignments, make a good impression, and remember it all is a lot to ask. So don’t try to remember all the little details - write it down. Get a notebook (I recommend a professional one like a Moleskin that’s easy to carry around and looks clean) and diligently write down the titles of meetings your in or assignments that your manager gives you. Under those headers, jot down bullets of the main points of the meeting, unfamiliar terminology so you can look it up later, or you can write down the things that people did in the meeting (maybe the tools that they used -- like if they used certain special software or how they structured their powerpoint). All of these things can help you remember not only what happened, but it will help you remember what type of work your coworkers are expected to produce in that role!

2. Document your progress. Every week, spend a little bit of time and jot down some bullet points of your accomplishments. What meetings did you sit in on (and most importantly what did you learn or what were you exposed to in those meetings)? Did you identify a problem or a process that could be improved? Did you take a training that could help you in your career? Even if you didn’t fully finish something you can document if you started working on something! Although no one else may see these bullets they can help for a lot of things like making strong bullet points on your resume or writing your performance evaluation at the end of your internship. This can also be helpful when your manager asks you what you accomplished in the last week. No one else is going to keep track of all the amazing things you do and learn during your internship and at the end of the your internship you need to sell yourself (whether it’s to the company you’re working at or another one) so make it easier to sell your value by diligently documenting your progress. 

3. Communicate with your manager regularly. Set up regular touch points with your manager so that you can discuss progress on assignments, ask questions, and build a relationship. It doesn’t have to be very long - even just 15-30 mins regularly goes a long way. If you’re official manager isn’t able to do it, then maybe someone you work closely with on your team can meet regularly with you. Keep in mind that some managers/coworkers may like to regularly check in with you but they keep it informal, so as long as you’re regularly touching base don’t stress so much about putting an official meeting on the calendar. 

4. Conduct Informational interviews (lots of them!). Your internship is a great opportunity to show a company you’re interested in, that you’re a good fit for them and to gain more experience BUT it’s also a great opportunity for you to explore what a career at this company could look like. Informational interviews are a meeting to learn about someone’s career path or experience at a company. Try asking people you work with if you could ask them about their career path or send requests to people in the company so you can learn more about their current/past roles. Informational interviews are an easy way to build your network and gain valuable career advice. Want to learn more about informational interviews? Read about them here. 

When I started the internship hunt as a first-generation college student I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing.

I looked around on the internet and saw tips that said to check out internship search sites (I did), go to career fairs (I did), and to join tons of clubs (I did) and now I wish I could go back and shake myself.

While those were good advice and harmless in some respect, they didn’t tell me how to get an internship. They just told the very first teeny tiny step.

I’m gonna be brutally honest with you are probably NOT gonna find an internship at a career fair or on an internship search engine.

While some people get lucky, most people spend HOURS doing those things only to turn up empty-handed.

That was me.

After following that ineffective advice I decided to figure out my own way to get an internship and that way has landed me 2 internships all before my junior year. It didn’t matter that I was a freshman in college and it didn’t matter that I had little to no experience.

This is my secret sauce to finally start landing your dream internships.

In this article I’ll go over:

How to prepare before looking for an internship

Where to look for an internship and my steps

Application tips to get you hired!

So buckle up, its going to be a long one!

Take a look at your experiences

The very first step any future intern needs to do is do a complete audit of all your experience. You will need this information for ALL the steps of your application process from your resume to the interview.

I broke down the areas that could impact your application:

Past Jobs

Conferences

Hard & Soft Skills

Relevant Classes

Volunteer Work

Relevant Class Projects

Certifications

Clubs

It’s perfectly fine if you don’t have something for every category but those are some of the major categories where you can show your competencies and your skills.

The trap with most people who don’t have “any experience” is that they’re limiting themselves to what they consider to be good job experience. 

You see especially when you’re looking internships or an entry-level positions EVERYTHING is experience. You just have to know how to communicate it. That what the industry professionals call *transferable skills*

When I applied to my first round of internships I had ABSOLUTELY no formal experience but how could I? I was a full-time student.

I figured there had to be things I had done in the past that would still be applicable to the job so I sat down for one hour and I brainstormed that list that I included and I wrote everything I did that was of note and not just what I thought they were looking for.

Sometimes you get an internship and it’s exactly what you dreamed of, or better! Good for you! So far I’ve been super lucky, but this year it’s turned out to be something I’m not that interested in. How do you get the best of an experience like that?

Consider why you applied for it

There’s probably a reason you applied for this internship - remind yourself of it if you’re feeling stuck in the daily grind. Is it to get experience, to make contacts, to learn a skill...?

If you wrote a cover letter or formal application, read it through - what did you want to learn? Are you learning it?

Equally, maybe you said something about what you would bring to the place of work - are you?

Think about why it’s less than you expected - is it how one specific company works, or do you actually not like a fundamental part of the job, like working alone/data analysis/lots of reading (etc.)

Reflect on what you want to learn at the end of each week

When you’re studying, it’s easy to see progress in just a day or two, and sometimes it gets frustrating if you don’t seem to be making much of a difference in a day of work

Take some time on a Friday afternoon to think about what you’ve achieved that week, and what you want the next week to bring

It can be a small goal (take minutes in a meeting, learn 5 new words in my target language) or a detailed plan for each day - whatever will help you keep track of your progress without feeling overwhelming

It doesn’t need to be the goal you’d expect! Last summer I worked in a data-processing company, but I learned how to take minutes and perform audits while I was there. There will almost certainly be something you can add to your CV at the end of it

Personally I find a discussion with someone else in the office really helpful - you don’t need to promise something unattainable, but it’s good to have someone to hold you accountable. Try telling someone at home if you think that will be easier, or writing it down in a planner/journal

Branch out

There’s probably a lot more to the place you’re working than just your job

Ask if you can shadow someone in another department for a day, or try a new skill instead of watching someone else

Don’t feel like you have to stick entirely to what you applied for - if it was an official internship position they couldn’t cover all bases with their description, and if you approached them more informally it’s completely natural to change direction as you get more experienced

Talk to people

This is the most important part!

Talking to other people you’re working with might help you approach the work in a different way. Can you appreciate what you’re doing from a new angle, or with a new level of understanding?

Even if you don’t think the work you’re doing is something you’d be interested in in the future, contacts are always really useful to have, especially when people now are less likely to stick to just one job throughout their lives. Ask to connect on LinkedIn, or at least make sure you each have an email address

If you tell your supervisor or colleagues what you’re unhappy with, chances are they can fix it! Maybe they can explain something, give you information in a slightly different way, or even move you to a whole new area!

If you’re not enjoying it because you don’t feel safe, tell someone high up immediately - being unfamiliar with a company might make you feel less powerful or intimidated, but it’s always important to speak out as soon as possible. You can use email if it makes you feel safer, or talk to your favourite colleague instead of the official channel if you wouldn’t mind them doing it on your behalf.

Hey, check out these two posts, they’re really helpful!

I applied for a job and haven’t heard back, what do I do now? Helpful even for internships.

Internship Tips (for when you do get the internship)

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