When starting your internship, it’s important to make a good first impression and set yourself up for a good year. These are some things I wish I had known the first week of my internship to get the most out the experience.
1. Get to know your role
It is important to know how your role fits into the company and what your responsibilities will be. It will help you meet and exceed your manager’s expectation and show that you are dependable and responsible. If not entirely clear from your job description, it’s perfectly okay to ask for clarification of what tasks are expected of you and the projects you will be working on. By learning what success looks like in your role, you are much more likely to achieve it and put forward your best work.
2. Start a ‘success’ document
Start creating a document for recording projects and tasks you have particularly enjoyed or succeeded at and how it impacted the company. It will help keep track of your achievements and can be used for a number of reasons. Firstly, it can be used when having check-ins with your manager, to show what tasks you have accomplished or how you have helped other team members. Alternatively, it could be used to reflect at the end of your internship, to demonstrate how you were successful in your role and how it has benefitted you and the company, to help gain a return offer. It could also be helpful for updating your CV after your internship or giving something to talk about during future interviews.
3. Introduce yourself to everyone
Try and get to know people during your first week. One way to remember everyone is by writing down their name and a brief description of their role after meeting them. People will appreciate you learning their name and it will help build friendships. It will also make it easier to initiate conversation in the future, such as when asking for guidance or advice, and help you to work better in a team.
Learning about peoples’ roles will help you learn more about the structure of the company and how it operates. By networking with others, you are more likely to be given the opportunity to work with other teams and gain new experiences and skills.
4. Learn the structure of your day
The first week of your placement is the perfect time to establish a good routine at work. To do this, learn how often to check-in with your manager, whether that should be daily or weekly, as well as other team members when collaborating. This will help you stay organised and better plan for these meetings.
As well as this, set up a routine for your own day for maximum productivity. This could be creating a list of daily objectives each morning, checking your emails at a certain times and using your most productive hours to complete more difficult tasks. This will help you stay focused and maximise your time.
5. Volunteer for projects
When possible, volunteer for projects at work. This will help you learn new skills and gain experience you might not otherwise get. It will show your enthusiasm for the role and your willingness to learn. You are also more likely to be remembered for future projects which could lead to more opportunities with the company. Your placement is what you make of it and you can get more experience by putting yourself out there and expressing what you want to do.