Make The Most Of Your Internship

>> Hey everyone, it's Billy from [inaudible].com and today we're going to talk about how to make the most out of an internship. Despite what you may have heard, internships are much more than just making copies and fetching coffee. Thank you; cream and sugar? [ Music ] School is great for teaching you how to learn but it's an internship that's really going to teach you how to work at a job and the more people you meet at the internship is only going to increase your chances of landing a job in the future. Here are some tips that are going to help you make the most out of any internship. Network and build relationships with as many people as you can, professional relationships, especially your immediate supervisor. At some point down the road, HR will likely be contacting them for recommendations on whether or not to give you a job. >> I think it's about building a relationship with the manager you're working with and really convincing that person that you can do a great job. They are the ones who are going to tell -- talk to HR and tell them, yes, I think you should hire this person or no, you shouldn't. >> You should also try to arrange informational interviews with other high ranking employees in various departments. You'll learn about other aspects of the business and it's another opportunity to make a good impression. >> You have an opportunity to go meet with some of the senior leaders of that business, kind of go interview them and sit and ask them what do you do, what's your team do. It's your opportunity to learn and the company's brought you in because they want you to join them full time afterwards typically, and so they want to invest in you to do that. >> Always have a positive energy and attitude and eliminate any sense of entitlement. Show up early and stay late. >> I remember just staying a little longer than I needed to and coming in on Fridays when, you know, they were summer Fridays and I wasn't -- you know, they didn't need me in and I stayed a little longer than I had to so at the end of my internship, everyone across the board, every one of my reviews were he's the best intern we've ever had. >> And most importantly, stay out of any office politics, gossip and what they call the rumor mill. >> You know, I've had a lot of interns in my companies of the years, you know, stay out of the politics and the, you know, the stuff that people can pull you into, particularly interns for some reason can be pulled into some of this drudgery in a corporation and I would say just stay away from that kind of rise above it. >> Don't be afraid to have a candid discussion with your supervisor about your roles and responsibilities; are you there as part of the team, are you there simply to shadow. It's very hard to do your job and make a good impression if you don't know what your expectations are. >> It's okay to come in and ask am I a part of the team or am I job shadowing because there's a difference between the two; a job shadow is where you pretty much are assigned someone or you're assigned a position where your role really doesn't impact the day to day operation. At my company and many other companies, you have responsibility and you want to be clear what will my responsibilities be and if I feel at any time that I'm in over my head, what are my -- what's my recourse. >> And all along the way, ask smart questions. An intellectual curiosity is a good sign of a developing passion. >> You can't necessarily be passionate about it; you're an intern, you're there for three months but you can definitely be curious and, you know, an intellectual curiosity and asking people why they do what they do, why they like what they do, what's this end up doing for, in our case, for our clients; I think that's really important. So not just looking at it as a task, looking at, you know, what's trying -- what the organization is trying to achieve. >> Your internship is the perfect opportunity to gather portfolio fillers; these can be copies of completed projects, positive reviews and letters of recommendation. You want to be sure you hang onto all of those things. >> Take on a project that, you know, maybe it sounds like drudgery or, you know, it's some analysis and really do a bang up job on it. I mean make sure you communicate it clearly, ask to communicate to, you know, more people than a few, if you can so that you can be noticed and then try to show the relevance of what you're doing to the people you're communicating with. >> If you really want to make the most of your internship, take on a difficult project, nail it and communicate it clearly to more than just your supervisor; that's how you make yourself known and that's how you land a job. [ Music ] You guys see that intern with my coffee?