Intern Help Guide Week 1 💪🏽 How To Get The Most Out Of Your Internship

This new series on my blog is going to share some helpful insights into making the most out of your internship experience. Internships are an amazing opportunity for you to get real-world, hands-on experience in the area you’re studying or interested to study. They are also considered your 10-week interview for the company you’re working for. It’s the company’s way of seeing if you’d make a good fit and also for you to see if you’d want to work there. Companies typically will send an offer to come back or a full-time job within 2-6 weeks after your internship is over but every organization is different. I am going to start this series on my blog to share my insights on my internship. These insights do not include any sensitive company information and only reflect my opinions, observations, and insights.

I’ve had 3 internships so far and a handful of other jobs so I’m pulling in insight from those experiences as well. I’ve worked in fin-tech/the financial services, consulting, and technology but my understanding of internships can be applied to any industry.

Week 1 Guide: Tips and Tricks to Master Your Internship 

Internships can be overwhelming. You walk in not knowing anything, not knowing anyone, and will probably get lost. It’s like the adult version of the first day of school. But congrats if you secured a solid internship! This is huge and important so congrats. Keep in mind everyone’s experiences are different so my advice and insight is intended to help you. If you have anything that I may have missed, comment down below I’d love to hear from you.

Whether this is your very first internship or you’re an intern pro, there’s always room to grow and learn more.

• For the first few weeks, be a sponge. Absorb as much as you can and LISTEN.
• You won’t know everything and that’s okay. Honestly, you won’t know anything but again that’s perfectly okay because no one expects you to know everything.
• Dress professionally but comfortably. I made the mistake this week to break in new heels on my first real day of work. My feet are still screaming. You want to make a good impression and dress presentable but be practical. I wear slides to work and put my heels on in the car. Being comfortable will make you feel better and make you look a lot more presentable. Even if your team is a bit more lax, dress business casual.
• Bring a notepad or journal with you everywhere. If you hear something you don’t know, jot it down and ask the question later. Keep track of your tasks, people on your team, take notes, etc. It’s great to have and taking notes helps keep you engaged.
• Ask questions. If you don’t know, ask. But keep in mind people are super busy but are willing to help you. Use Google to your advantage. Most internship programs will have a mentor system so you can always reach out to your mentor to ask the “how”/”what” questions.
• Finding a routine that works for you can be hard. Waking up at 6 am, working a whole 8-hour shift, working out, meal prep, social life, self-care, all of that will somehow need to fit into a 24-hour timeframe. If you go from staying up late and waking up at 10 am like I did, you are in for a rude awakening. It’s going to take awhile to get used to a routine that makes sense for YOU. Some of my fellow interns can wake up super early and workout, good for them but I can’t. I’m sure I could but I don’t want to. I like my sleep. But be patient and try to figure out what looks the best for you. Be flexible and be open to adjusting. It’s not going to be easy at first but it’ll click within the first 1-2 weeks.
• Schedule 1:1’s with your manager every two weeks. Feedback is super important and if you’re in a 10-week internship it’ll go by fast. You want to set up times with your boss or whoever can accurately give you feedback on your performance. This will help the learning experience and also gives you a chance to build a relationship with the people you work with.
• Shadow someone on your team that does what you might be working on. Sit with them for an hour or two (if they are willing or have time) and be like “hey, I was wondering if I can see how you organize or what things you use” or “Hey I’m interested in learning more about x,y, and z. Can I shadow you for an hour to learn more about it?”
• When you get home and a topic/concept is confusing, do some research. You shouldn’t expect the company you’re working for to teach you everything. You want to do as much research on your own to be prepared. Google, UDemy, Youtube have a bunch of free resources for you to dive into and get a good understanding of things that you might be confused about.
• If you’re overwhelmed– trust me, everyone else is too. You’re not alone. Everything is new and new can be intimidating. Lean into what you don’t know and be honest with yourself. It’s okay if you don’t know something, you aren’t expected to. You’re new to the job. People are a lot more understanding than you think.
• Use every opportunity that may be intimidating as an opportunity to learn something new. Be invested in the 10 weeks you’re there. You might be at this company for only a short amount of time so use their resources as much as possible to enrich your professional life.

These are some of the things to keep in mind as you start your new internship. Again, congrats! This is a big deal and you should be really proud of yourself. Companies see THOUSANDS of applicants and YOU got chosen. Use your time as best as you can and don’t be too pressured to know everything. You won’t and that’s okay. You’re there to learn. It’s a learning-ship. LOL I tried.

I will be sharing my insights every week so keep coming back. We can go through this together 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽