The We Are Next Internship Guide Vol. 1
Helping you have the best internship ever
The beginning of June is here. All over the advertising industry, fresh talent like you are starting their summer internships. If you’ve graduated, it’s your shot at finding a place to start your career and land a full-time job come August. As a student, it’s a chance at actual experience and mentors/connections that will bear fruit when you graduate.
To help you be the kind of intern who gets hired, navigate some of the hey-they-didn’t-teach-us-this-in-school aspects, and be more comfortable and confident overall, I gathered advice pulled from our Weekly email, the We Are Next Podcast, and more. Cheers to your best summer ever!
Good Habits That Get Interns Hired
To help you slide into a full-time position, or squeeze the most value from your three month stint, here are five good habits of high performing interns, including: scheduling one-on-one coffees, thinking one step ahead (this is an important one IMO), and getting a read on how you’re doing.
“[The intern] came prepared to every single meeting. She always had a point of view. […] And afterwards she would pull me aside and say, ‘This is what I thought about this.’ And what that said to me is that she’s looking ahead, she’s understanding what these meetings are about, she’s doing her homework beforehand and doing her homework afterwards. That is such a powerful thing. And you sometimes expect for interns to just show up and do what it is they’re asked of, not necessarily plan ahead.”
Gaining More Control Over Being Hired at the End of Your Internship
One big question that causes endless amounts of stress: are they going to hire me at the end of the internship? The worst thing is feeling like you have no control over the situation. And yes, there are things outside of your control, like whether the agency has budget/enough business to bring you on full-time. But there are things that can help you take the reins over the situation — or at least make you feel like you’re not just waiting around passively for the decision to be made.
If you take one thing away from this article: schedule a meeting with your manager Week 1 to set expectations for your internship and regular check-ins to see how you’re doing against those expectations.
A common thing I hear from interns is that they aren’t getting enough work. Don’t wait for things to come to you—proactively ask people how you can help and support wherever you can. This will help you maximize the amount of experience you gain on different types of clients.
If your workload is light, identify things that could be made better around the agency. Alphabetize the reference library, create a template for a commonly-used deliverable, build a repository of stats about Millennials and mobile usage. Think about small things you can do to add value.
If you’re stuck on something or don’t know how to do something, ask for help. Interns fall into the trap of spinning their wheels and coming back with little to show for their effort, when simply asking someone for help would have solved the roadblock. The best interns are honest and self-aware of what they don’t know.
Handling Meetings Like a Pro
Meetings are part of the day-to-day when you’re an intern— to the point where sometimes it feels like you’re spending more time in meetings than actually working. Helping to make meetings more productive is a great way to get noticed as an intern. Here are five tips to make you more efficient and effective in meetings, whether you’re setting one up or participating in someone else’s.
“I would encourage people to pull the newbie card and use it to your advantage, and try to get time with leaders of your organization. Because that’s a missed opportunity if you don’t. And that’s what the leaders like to continue to do, because it gives them a moment to reflect on how the agency’s grown and bring back that human element. Definitely take that chance and reach out to people who you don’t think you have the right to [contact] — but you really do! Because they’re people as well and they love to have these conversations.”
[Hear Leo discuss common intern hurdles.]
5 Tips For Conquering The Fear of Speaking Up
It’s natural to err on the silent side at first — you’re in a new place with new people, most of whom are more senior, feeling the pressure to prove yourself. We’ve all been there. Hearts thumping, palms sweaty, our brains shouting, “Say something! Just say it! Now!” which only makes things worse. Here are five tips to help you conquer the fear of speaking up. They’ll make it easier to jump in and contribute, so you’ll get the reps in and build confidence — until it becomes second nature.
Check out all of We Are Next’s resources at we-are-next.com, and subscribe to our Weekly email for advice and insight from the industry, delivered Mondays.
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About WRNXT BTS
As a first time entrepreneur and chronic writer, I’ve been wanting to document the experience of building We Are Next. WRNXT BTS is an open account of the highs and lows of starting and growing a resource for the next generation of advertising talent.
