Tips for a successful internship

Internship season is winding down as the summer winds down. If you’re like me, you’ve probably been spending your days waking up in the sixes and sevens in the morning, made some crappy drip coffee, and ran out the door. Or maybe you’re the type to wake up at 5 AM and run four miles. However your summer has been going, review these tips for this internship season. Make sure you’re on the right track and ready to finish strong, or bookmark this to come back to next summer!

Show up: HI! You’re scared of the unknown, of the corporate world, of whatever your personal fears are. But make sure you get there, on time, and keep on getting there. You won’t make it anywhere if you don’t make it out the door!

Show up with a smile to the meetings you don’t want to attend. Show up even though you’re intimidated and don’t think you have anything valuable to say. The more you show up = the more comfortable situations like that become = the more you feel able to voice your opinion.

Glow up: sure, you’re going to feel intimidated on your first day/week/month, but embrace it! You’re a beginner and that means there’s so much room to grow. By the time you’re a month in, people won’t even remember the awkward kid that strolled into the office with a sweaty forehead and shirt tucked in. You’ll be glowing with a positive radiance from all the knowledge you acquired.

(Note: while it’s great to feel comfortable and confident in your role, do not become that arrogant ass who thinks they’ve learned everything.)

Smarten up: Whether you did research before your first day or not, it’s not too late. After your first week you’ll know more where to target your research. You’ll know more about the company, their software, the things they deem most important. With that going for you, you can search for blogs (like this!) or sites to help you learn the tools and tips you need to be successful there.

Suck up (a little): do what anyone needs you to do. Remember that you’re lucky to be there and you can learn from doing anything. Even if it’s filing paperwork, maybe you can learn something about the way they organize their important artifacts, maybe you can find trends in the company that no one else noticed.

Last of all, congratulate yourself for entering the real world. Ya did it!

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