How To Crush Your Internship
It’s finally arrived. You scored your internship a few months ago; now it’s game time.
An internship can be an important stepping stone to landing a full-time job. You may get an offer from that firm or leverage that experience to get an offer from someone else. Or maybe both!
So, that raises the question: How do you maximize your chances of getting a full-time offer from the firm you’re interning with?
Today, I’m going to answer just that question.
What’s more, I surveyed 80 professionals across multiple industries, asking them to share their thoughts on the best and worst traits of interns they’ve seen, and I incorporated their responses into this email.
1. What Does Great Look Like
You won’t be shocked to know that doing a great job is an effective way to increase your chances of getting a full-time offer. But how do you know what that looks like?
1. The first step is to observe people who do your job but are full-time.
Who are the people who seem highly regarded internally? What are they doing that makes people think highly of them?
2. Another effective approach is to directly ask people who do your job full-time, “What do people who are great at this role do that makes them so good?“
3. Access to more senior people is also usually part of the summer experience. Ask them what they have found, over the years, are the common themes in the top 10% of people who do your job full time.
The very important next step is to do your best to go do that once you find out what great looks like. Some of it takes experience, but the very fact that you’re thinking about it increases your chances of doing a good job in your internship.
2. Demonstrate Basic Work Skills
I get it.
It can be jarring switching from school mode to work mode.
Even so, it’s important that you demonstrate that you’re capable of making the leap.
Work Hours
There are a couple of schools of thought on timings.
The first is that you should never be the last to arrive or the first to leave.
There’s nothing wrong with this perspective. You’re likely staying within the norms of the place, and it won’t cause you to stand out.
I have a slightly different take.
I think of an internship as a golden opportunity.
And you have a choice.
Would you rather be known as someone who works as hard as everyone else?
Or would you rather be known as one of the hardest-working interns they’ve seen?
We hear a lot about work/life balance, and there is definitely merit to that.
Succeeding at most jobs is a marathon, not a sprint. What gets lost is that balance is not an everyday thing. There are periods in your life when you will be working really hard. Other times, there will be more focus on other things in your life.
And before you get the wrong idea, I’m not talking about putting in face time.
You have A LOT to learn. And you probably don’t have the family responsibilities, client responsibilities and admin responsibilities that many of the more senior folks have. This leaves you more time to really dive in and learn everything you can.
And by the way, there’s another big upside to working a bit harder than the norm.
You’ll stand out as someone who gets things done because you’ll finish your work faster and get more done.
I encounter many people who want to achieve extraordinary success in their careers, which typically means doing extraordinary things.
What To Wear
Be sure to dress appropriately. Most places have a typical approach. Ask what’s typical and stay within the guardrails.
This is one area where there seems to be a gap between what younger folks think is acceptable and what the much older people who make the hiring decisions think is acceptable.
It’s situational, but my recommendation is to observe the norms where you work, dress slightly more formally than what’s typical, and ask your peers or the person you report to what’s expected when there’s an unusual situation, like a client meeting.
It’s easy to stand out in a bad way so stay on top of it.
Master The Software
One advanced tip I’ll offer is to identify the one or two most important software programs used in your role and do your best to master them.
I don’t mean just learn how to use them; I mean aim to become the person everyone else in the office goes to for tips.
It’s hard to master software in an internship, but there’s a good chance people will notice that you’re getting good, and it’ll help you get more work done faster.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Learn keyboard shortcuts to save time and be more efficient. I’m not kidding. You will save yourself days and even weeks a year by using keyboard shortcuts. Learn them.
3. Listen to Industry Podcasts
This is a great one and will make you stand out.
Use podcasts to understand the industry better. It will make you more conversant if you happen to speak with more senior people, and you’ll also pick up the lingo of your industry faster.
Do it while commuting, doing dishes or working out.
If you want to really level up, take brief notes summarizing the key points of the podcast and share them with peers.
This can be the foundation of a regular email you send out.
I can’t emphasize enough how valuable it is for your career/job search to have a regular, valuable newsletter you send to people.
You will 1) level yourself up big time, 2) create a network of people who can potentially help you, and 3) develop valuable skills along the way.
4. Take Advantage of Access to Senior People
There are often opportunities where more senior people will be available to interact with interns.
Take advantage of those opportunities.
Ask them to lunch or coffee and learn about them, their career path, things you should be focusing on etc.
This is the foundation of your professional network, so take advantage of it.
Prepare a list of questions in advance. If you’re worried you’ll forget them, have them on your phone, duck out of lunch to use the washroom, and scan through them then.
After lunch, write them a quick email to say thank you.
5. Help Set Up Onboarding For Next Year
Everybody appreciates a little help, and it could have been a long time since the person helping/supervising you has been in your position.
If the company’s onboarding process could be improved, offer to do it as a side project.
Obviously you don’t want to suggest this until you’ve seen what it looks like in your first couple of weeks.
Maybe even something as simple as creating an intro email that contains important links to the resources you used most over the summer, important websites, and people you need to talk to for your job.
Then, create that email for them to use with the next intern.
You’ll have done them a favor and made life easier for the next intern.
6. You're Always Being Evaluated
I don’t want to spook you, but it’s important that you realize…
You are always being evaluated.
Consider that as you decide whether to have that third or fourth drink at the company offsite, for example.
I’ve seen the most junior person in the department drink WAAAYYYY too much at an offsite, make a fool of himself and then puke all over the hallway of the hotel.
Don’t be that person.
It also applies to simpler things.
Successful people are usually pretty good at reading situations. Let’s say, for instance, there are 15 pretty senior people in the department you’re working in for the summer and there’s a meeting that everyone’s expected to attend.
However, the board room only has about ten seats around the table and more around the walls of the room. Should you
A: Get there early to make sure you get a good seat at the table? or
B: Grab a seat around the outside regardless of when you get there?
B is, of course, the answer. While some might say it’s no big deal either way, I 100% guarantee there’ll be senior folks there who think it’s bad judgment that you grabbed a seat at the table while they are sitting around the outside.
I hope you’re sitting down for this revelation, but it’s not ideal for senior people to think you have bad judgment.
I know, shocker, right?
7. Connect With Other Interns
One of the best parts about your summer internship is connecting with other interns from other schools.
Career leverage comes from a broad network of people who you know and know you.
Take advantage of this opportunity.
There are some pretty simple ways to do it. For example, you could organize a social night for all the interns outside of what’s happening with the formal intern program. Alternatively, you could take the lead in connecting everyone on LinkedIn or set up a What’s App group.
You’d be amazed how many people are too shy to do stuff like this but love it when someone else does it.
Many interns are new to the city, so having some sort of social group could be great for them. You’ll stand out, be remembered, and have a solid network, all while doing good stuff for others.
Don’t take it too far since you do have a day job but don’t miss out on the opportunity.
Growing my newsletter
As you might imagine, I’m hoping to grow The B-School Hub newsletter. If you know anyone who’d benefit from it, please forward them THIS LINK.
That’s it for this week…don’t be shy to reply if you have any questions.
