Why Communication is Crucial for your Summer Internship

By: Alexander Lynn

Embarking on a summer internship is an exciting opportunity for professional development. As you enter the professional world, you soon learn how important effective communication is. Whether it’s collaborating with co-workers, working on a team, seeking guidance from mentors, or presenting a project, focusing on your communication skills will definitely improve your chances of having a valuable internship experience. In this blog post, we will explore why communication is an essential skill for your summer internship and how it can positively impact your work and reputation.

1. Building Relationships: Effective communication will be the foundation of your relationships with your co-workers, managers, and maybe even clients during your internship. By developing a strong relationship with your co-workers, you can create a positive work environment and improve teamwork. Through consistent discussions, teamwork, and group collaboration, you’ll establish trust and respect, which can lead to more effective end-results at work.
2. Expressing your Thoughts and Ideas: Internships are an opportunity for you to contribute innovative ideas to the company. Without the ability to effectively communicate, your ideas may not receive the attention they deserve. At Skillsoft, interns are proud to be real contributors to the team and have our ideas matter.
3. Being a Learner: Internships are incredible learning experiences, offering insights into the professional world and even industry specific practices. Effective communication plays an important role in maximizing your learning potential. If you constantly engage in conversations, ask questions, and seek feedback, you can demonstrate a strong desire to learn. Clear communication also allows you to ask questions and make sure you understand what’s going on around you in a professional environment. At Skillsoft, we are constantly encouraged to ask questions about things we don’t know, and you need good communication skills to feel comfortable doing so.
4. Problem Solving: Every work environment has their own challenges. The ability to express ideas effectively is crucial when faced with these situations. Strong communication skills allow you to express concerns, negotiate compromises, and find effective solutions. Knowing how to problem solve is a separate skill in its own way, but effective communication is certainly an important building block to start with.
5. Professional Growth: Communication skills are highly valued by employers in all different industries. By focusing on these skills during your summer internship, you are investing in yourself. Strong communicators can set themselves apart from others and boost their personal brand, both of which are very helpful when it comes time to hire new employees.

A summer internship serves as an important step before someone’s future career. By building relationships, expressing new ideas, being committed to learning, and demonstrating problem-solving abilities, effective communication will allow you to excel in your internship and the rest of your professional career.

At Skillsoft, the entire 2023 intern class has strong communication skills. Whether it’s communicating with our managers, our teams, or even other interns, this skill has allowed us to make the most of working here. Being the best communicator you can be unlocks limitless opportunities in not only your career, but even in life outside of work.