How To Ace Your Internship
Let me start with an honest confession — I did terribly at my first internship.
I didn’t understand half of my project objectives and started off nonetheless because I was afraid of asking too many questions and looking stupid. I spent the first week or so Googling business terms I should have known like the two times’ table but which were two notches short of Greek to me. I balked at the idea of taking a survey (me, calling people a zillion times senior to me and asking them to fill up a form? Are you kidding me??), and my mentor literally had to get on the phone with people and ask questions on my behalf. I came to office half-asleep, spent every minute out of my mentor’s supervision reading PDF novels and rushed home guiltily at 6:30 telling myself I should do better tomorrow and knowing that things wouldn’t be any different tomorrow. The only reason they even passed me was that I put together a fairly decent presentation for them in the panic-fuelled last week. So on paper, I did what they wanted. But in reality? I learnt virtually nothing and contributed virtually nothing.
While I did slightly exaggerate in the account above, my internship performance was, in all honesty, substandard. As an older and somewhat wiser professional, I can clearly see where I went wrong and how I could have fixed things back then. But I also see how being scared of looking stupid can hold bright interns back from performing their best.
A workplace is entirely different from a college. There are no staunch pals and supportive teachers to help you out with projects — there are only colleagues and bosses who expect you to be professional, professional, professional. And while a mistake in class can be laughed off, a mistake in office could cost you your professional image and lead to a less-than-glowing review and a black mark on your CV — ouch! Of course, not every workplace is out to trouble its interns, and it’s perfectly possible to have fun at work. But there are certain common blunders that newbies tend to make (and most of which I made) in this intimidating new setup — all of which can be avoided with a little forethought and a good dose of confidence.
Here’s some candid advice from the horse’s mouth on how to handle internship jitters like a pro.
Induction day
This is that one day where department heads get to talk about themselves to people who have to listen. Like most interns, I doodled and daydreamed those sessions away, but I’d advise you to at least note down the bullet points on each slide they show. It’ll help you get a basic idea of what each department does (and in most cases, a basic idea is enough). Plus, that way, when it’s time for them to throw out the dangerous “Are there any questions?” line, you can at least appear to have paid attention by asking “Could you please explain what (bullet point) is again?” Works almost every time.
Agreeing on the project aims and objectives
At some point after the induction, you’ll be assigned a project mentor and handed a sheet covered with detailed bullet points on what you’re supposed to be doing for the next several weeks. The best way to get down to the essentials is to ask your mentor — what is the main thing that they expect you to do? Schedule time for a detailed conversation during which you understand what’s expected of you and come to an agreement on how you will proceed. I cannot emphasise how important it is that both you and your mentor are on the same page about this — you do NOT want to realise in the last week of your internship that you’ve done one thing while your mentor was expecting something else.
Asking your mentor for help
This is where so many interns (including myself) trip up. We think that asking for help is a sign of incompetence. Believe me — it is not. Your mentor will appreciate you asking questions far, far more than you acting like you’re in control and then screwing up at the end. Ask questions whenever you feel stuck — and ideally, schedule an hour’s session each week to talk about how it’s been going and how the next week can go. If your mentor is even halfway committed to helping you do a great job, he/she will welcome requests for help from you.
Approaching others for help
You’ll often have to work with other colleagues, whether for answering a questionnaire, getting contacts, help with setting up a web page or anything else. In all likelihood, these people will view you as an interruption to their own busy days, so the best way to get their cooperation is to be cheerfully direct about who you are and what you want. Tell them clearly how they can help you, and ask them to block out some time for it. Follow up politely a couple of times, and thank them nicely once the work is done. Oh, and pro tip — for things like surveys, hand them out at least ten days before you need the results and tell them you need their response in five days. That, plus multiple follow-ups, is the only way you’ll get a substantial number of responses.
Making mistakes
The two fundamental truths of your internship can be laid down as follows. One — you will make mistakes, and lots of them. Two — the sun will keep rising and setting regardless. Trust me when I say that almost no mistake you make is irreparable. Even if you completely forget to send an agency an image set they need for tomorrow’s media launch (yep, I did that), it is NOT as big a deal as you think it is. Sure, your mentor will give you a talking-to, and you’ll feel as small as a baby ant for a few hours. But after that? Absorb the lesson you learnt, take extra care to not do it again, and move on. It’s as simple as that.
Preparing the final report
This is where you use as much corporate jargon and as many stylish PowerPoint templates as possible to show that you’ve done a marvellous job. It forms the major portion of your final evaluation, so leave no stone unturned to make it as impressive as possible. Get your mentor to spruce it up as much as possible, and download the fanciest templates you can find. Obviously, don’t compromise solid facts for fluff. And make sure you triple check each and every point you mention with your mentor so that you can handle any question your evaluators throw at you.
Presenting your report
Most internships will require you to talk about your project and your recommendations in front of an evaluation panel. While the presentation will lay out the skeleton of your talk, you have to substantiate it with enough verbal explanations, examples and data. Ensure that you practise at least a couple of times with your mentor beforehand so that you can be ready with answers to the questions likely to be asked. As for the talk itself, don’t worry too much about stammering or using fillers in your speech. While you should speak as calmly and confidently as you can, what matters more is that you explain your points clearly and answer questions to the panel members’ satisfaction. Do so, and they won’t mind the occasional pause or filler!
Asking for feedback
After your presentation is over, your panel should ideally provide you feedback on the spot. If not, ask them for it. While they won’t immediately reveal all the results of their evaluation, they should give you some general pointers on what you did well and where you could improve. In addition, have a one-on-one session with your mentor afterwards and get some more detailed feedback. Since he/she has been working extensively with you the past several weeks, he/she will have a good idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are, how you approach problems and handle tough situations and your general suitability for the role you were working in. Most importantly, make sure you stay in touch with your mentor even after the internship is over. He/she will be a great person to ask about career advice, help with professional projects or just general life advice.
Your first internship is one of the most valuable experiences you will have. Done correctly, it can open up a whole new set of opportunities for you and give you a lot of clarity on what kind of career is most suited for you. What’s crucial to remember is that there is nothing to be scared of. Yes, you are new; yes, your performance won’t be perfect; but also, yes, this is your chance to test your skills in the real world and learn an immense amount. Keep this in mind, take a little extra care with all the stages of your internship from induction to final presentation, and you’re sure to do a great job.
All the best!
Note from the publication: At maice, we are creating a marketing platform that prepares writers and marketers for the future of content marketing. Register on our website to know more when we launch. Follow us on LinkedIn here. Interested in writing for our publication? Click here to submit your details and you will be added. We reward good stories too.
