A summer internship can be a highly inspiring learning experience, or it can be an insanely boring disappointment. Either way, you never quite know what you’re going to get and whether or not you like it, but you can always benefit from doing your best. Whenever you have a job, you want to do your work to your best ability so that you can move up the ranks as quickly as possible, or leave on good terms and get a recommendation for the next job. If you have an internship coming up this summer, you want to be sure you really get something out of it. Here is how to make the most of your summer internship in college.
Always Show up on Time
If you want to have the best work relationship possible with your superiors and your fellow interns, then you want to be on time every single day. If you start showing up late, you will start each day feeling like the weakest link, and if you are always late, then you very well might be.
Be Extremely Reliable
Once you’ve arrived to work and you are settled, you want to make sure that you are always on your toes and ready to get to work on any task. If you say that you will do something and if you have a deadline, you should always do everything in your power to meet that deadline and to do your job with excellence. This is what you want to stand out for, not for anything else.
Pay Attention
Whenever anyone around you is talking, pay close attention to what they’re talking about. Get an understanding of the topic they are discussing about and how they address one another. You want to try to adopt this manner of speaking and you want to talk about all the particulars of everything as though you’re equals, rather than superiors. If you start ruffling feathers, back off, but keep your ears open.
Remember That it is Temporary
Most people don’t expect to have the most exciting time in their internships when they are studying for UIC’s health informatics degree online. However, if you start to feel like you hate your job and you’re not getting along with anyone, just remember that it is a very temporary job that could be a stepping stone to a much better career. If you don’t nurture your relationships in an internship, though, then it is harder to get a good reference for the next job. So just keep your eye on the prize and try to shrug any disappoints off.
Follow-up
At the end of your internship you want to be sure that you thank your superiors formally with a hand written letter or personal email. You want them to know how much you appreciated the opportunity to see the workings of a business in your chosen industry from the inside. You want them to know that you would either love to apply for a paying job with them in the future, or you can ask for a letter of recommendation. Either way, the last thing you want to do is finish that internship on a bad note.
