Congratulations on landing that coveted internship opportunity! But now what?

From a student’s perspective, the first goal for an internship is to get that return offer so you can come back as an intern or full-timer next summer. With five internships at five different tech firms under my belt, I’ll share my guidelines for receiving a return offer during an internship in this text.

Prepare beforehand

Within the months leading as much as your internship, it all the time helps to check up on what you shall be working on during your internship. In case you weren’t aware of it after going through the interview process, research what the corporate does and the tools they use. If you’ve the knowledge, it’s best to achieve out to your team members or your manager to get a grasp of the specifics of the tools you’ll be working on and the context of your problem. That is the most effective technique to understand what you’ll be working on and prepare for those things.

Be Intentional

Firstly of your internship, remember to set your goals and intentions. Really think concerning the explanation why you might be about to commit the next X variety of months to this job. What do you wish to get out of it? For instance, it is best to understand what working on this particular industry, role, or company is like. Then, think of the way to attain the belongings you got down to do. For instance, in case your goal is to discover the roles you wish to work in, perhaps you can arrange coffee chats with people in your team or in your organization who work in numerous positions to get their perspectives. As an intern, you’ve more people and resources available to you than you’ll otherwise.

Practice Effective Communication

One in every of the elemental elements of a successful internship is maintaining open and proactive communication. Often update your supervisor and team members in your progress, ensuring they know the tasks you’ve accomplished and any challenges you’ve encountered. You possibly can establish yourself as a reliable and responsible team member by demonstrating transparency and professionalism.

Be prepared to elucidate the reasoning behind the selections you make during your internship. When presenting your ideas or suggestions, clearly communicate the thought process that led you to a selected conclusion. This communication demonstrates your critical pondering abilities, analytical skills, and skill to make informed decisions — an important quality for a priceless team member.

There have been a couple of instances where I had to actually communicate my opinions and feelings on decisions. At stand-up meetings, I learned to elucidate my work concisely and never to undermine my exertions, regardless that it’s easy to feel insignificant as an intern. Through disagreeing with people at my company, I needed to learn to speak my perspective effectively and professionally. In hindsight, I feel communication skills — explaining yourself and advocating for yourself — are critical to securing the return offer.

Embrace Curiosity

As an intern, you’ve to keep up a learning and growth mindset. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, especially within the early stages of your internship. Clarifying any uncertainties will enable you to perform your tasks more efficiently, display your commitment to the role, and show your eagerness to grow and improve. Do not forget that as an intern, you might be primarily there to learn!

Take Initiative

While fulfilling your assigned responsibilities, seize opportunities to contribute beyond your core tasks. Offer assistance to your teammates, participate actively in team projects, and display your willingness to tackle additional responsibilities. By showcasing your initiative and flexibility, you display your value as an intern and highlight your potential as a priceless long-term team member. For instance, I ran a team joyful hour for my mentor (who was speculated to run it but was busy due to on-call duties). I volunteered to run this joyful hour regardless that I used to be just the intern because I felt like I could do it without having even been to 1 and thought it might be interesting. Later, I learned that my manager noted the initiative I took in volunteering to host this joyful hour and wrote about it in several of my feedback notes.

Seek and Apply Feedback

Actively seek feedback out of your supervisor and colleagues throughout your internship. If you receive feedback, rigorously consider it and take the crucial steps to implement the suggestions. Show your dedication to private and skilled growth by consistently improving your skills and adapting to constructive criticism. This motion demonstrates your commitment to self-improvement and skill to learn from mistakes.

Don’t Be Afraid to Participate Actively in Meetings

Even though it could also be intimidating, it is important to make an effort to talk up and contribute during team meetings. Sharing your thoughts, ideas, and insights demonstrates your engagement and lively involvement within the team’s projects. Your contributions showcase your knowledge and creativity and highlight your commitment to the team’s success. What initially stopped me from participating in team meetings was the fear of sounding silly because I didn’t feel like I had the knowledge or context to contribute. Nonetheless, it’s admirable to contribute any ideas you’ve while admitting the potential holes in your understanding. These meetings are supposed to be discussions in any case, they usually did hire you on your opinions.

Documentation Documentation Documentation!

Maintaining a record of your progress, feedback received, questions asked, and their respective answers is crucial on your personal growth and future discussions together with your manager. Documentation helps you reflect in your achievements, discover areas for improvement, and have tangible evidence of your contributions. It also serves as a helpful reference when updating your resume or discussing your internship experience in interviews.

Honesty and Integrity

Honesty is critical when faced with challenges or unfamiliar situations. In case you encounter something you don’t know, being transparent slightly than pretending to be knowledgeable is important. Admitting your limitations demonstrates your integrity, humility, and willingness to learn. By searching for guidance and support when needed, you show that you simply are proactive find solutions and repeatedly growing.

Have a Positive Attitude

Last but actually not least, maintain a positive attitude and be nice to work with. Show enthusiasm, gratitude, and respect towards your colleagues and superiors. A positive work environment fosters collaboration, productivity, and camaraderie. By radiating positivity, you’ll leave an enduring impression and increase your possibilities of receiving a return offer.

“Reap the benefits of your intern title.”

What?? You could think that being an intern puts you at the underside of the totem pole. You’re a small fish in a giant sea. While that’s true, being the “intern” will be a bonus when attempting to learn. As an intern, there may be more leniency regarding standards of labor. You’re allowed to make mistakes.

Moreover, it’s so much easier to achieve out to people you wish to refer to. In just about all of my internships, I’ve had conversations with people high up in the corporate and even the CEOs due to my intern position. So don’t be afraid to achieve out and introduce yourself as an intern who would love to speak!

“It pays to be opinionated around here.”

At certainly one of my internships, certainly one of my coworkers encouraged me to talk out based on their very own experiences. They told me that having opinions and voicing them is find out how to succeed at this company. This quote really stuck around with me. I noticed how lots of the people I like or who’re successful at work are very opinionated and vocal (while voicing their thoughts professionally). They’ll afford to be opinionated because they will not be afraid to be improper and easily admit it once they are improper.

” What’s the purpose of this?”

During certainly one of my intern presentations, someone blurted out “What’s the point of this?”. Initially, I used to be a bit of shocked at such a blunt query. On the one hand, this query will be seen as attacking and rude, almost as in the event that they were telling me that my project had no purpose. Then again, there was real curiosity behind the query, which made me realize that I may not have explained the aim of those decisions well. Thankfully, I knew exactly why I made the selections I did and had good answers to their questions. After defining “the purpose” of “this,” the person understood what I used to be doing, and I felt like explaining the purpose of all my decisions was more fruitful to the discussion than had that person not asked that query. This experience taught me two fundamental work lessons: know why you’re doing things very well and don’t take things personally.

Securing a return offer out of your internship requires tact. Following the following tips, you’ll be able to position yourself as an exceptional intern and increase your likelihood of receiving a return offer. At the identical time, you will not be in command of all of the selections made, especially once they’re made on account of economic fluctuations or from higher-ups. At the tip of the day, you’ll be able to only do your best with the things you can control, and this list is a very good start.