Internships can be a way for you to get the relevant experience required to be hired for a job position, as well as an opportunity to meet professionals and establish key business relationships and networking contacts that will last a lifetime. By understanding the importance of becoming a successful intern, you will be well on your way to discover what it takes to become a valued employee or entrepreneur, and that it will be only on your power to make it happen and succeed.
Internship Success Guide:
1. Do what you love.
You will not truly be successful unless you’re doing something you love. It is passion and dedication that people put into their jobs what makes a job successful.
2. Establish short and long-term goals and write down your objectives on how you plan to reach those goals.
Goals are extremely important for achieving success; but, without objectives, you will not have a map on how to reach your goals. One of the biggest keys to success is knowing where you are going and mapping out how you will you get there
3. Don’t be afraid to do the grunt work.
Don’t complain if you begin your career doing errands and making coffee. For highly prestigious or competitive jobs it is the person who can focus on the goal, rather than the immediate task at hand, that will get them through having to do some grunt work.
4. Always be willing to go the extra mile.
Coming to work earlier and leaving a bit earlier can alert an employer about the fact that you have a strong work commitment. In addition, it’s important to understand the work culture and know what’s expected of employees who work in that particular company. Anticipating the needs of your supervisor can also take you a long way into achieving a huge success on the job.
5. Learn something new each day.
Being an active learner on the job will help you to become a major contributor during meetings and individual discussions you might have with supervisors and management.
6. Be sure to ask lots of questions.
Asking questions as an intern is extremely important. Internships were designed for interns to learn and take in as much as they can during the time they spend working for the company. A good supervisor or mentor will encourage questions from their interns and will view them as individuals who are motivated and who are willing to take the initiative to learn as much as they can about the company and the job over the course of the internship which could end up in a full-time job offer.
7. Find a good mentor.
Finding someone early on in your career to act as your mentor can help you avoid many of the pitfalls people encounter during the first year of any job. A good mentor is someone who takes an interest in helping you to become successful and is a relationship that grows over time and becomes mutually beneficial to both parties.
If you are able to prove your motivation and professionality, you will likely receive positive references, or you may even be offered a job after you finish!!
