Top Tips to Have A Successful Internship: Manager's POV
Across my decade of experience, I’ve gone through several rounds of hiring, be it for full timers, interns, seniors etc. What I’d like to focus a little more in this article today is about interns. How does an intern thrive in his or her short stint with their company of choice, and what should they look out for and avoid? How can one set themselves up for success from the beginning?
Here’s my take after personally hiring and working with countless interns:
Tip 1: Know exactly what you’re looking for as measure of success in your internship
As part of onboarding, I always ask my interns the same question:
Define what success will look like for you in this internship. What will it take to make you say “I’ve done a successful internship”?
This is a very crucial part of any internship because as I’ve always emphasised, internships are not for the employers, tbh, but they’re for the intern who has decided to spend 3-6 months in a company to learn and get maximum exposure to a potential field that they want to venture into. Hence, it’s on the intern to also provide their necessary inputs into what they want to see and get out of the internship itself. While there are internship programs that are more standardised (perhaps in finance, banking etc), but there are several fields out there that will require 2 way communication from both the employer and intern to make it the best experience for both parties.
So, don’t be afraid to let your line manager know what you’re looking out for, and what you’re hoping to achieve as part of your internship stint, because that will help managers plan out the scope, role and opportunities that we can then provide for each individual intern to thrive in their role for that period of time. Sometimes, what you go in as and what you leave as will surprise you, if you play your cards right!
Tip 2: Ask to do more than your original internship scope
One thing I always appreciate about my interns is when they take ownership of their progress and go above and beyond their role. Which I’ve had the pleasure to mentor several of such talented interns. It doesn’t mean that they have to be the only ones asking for feedback and checkins, but it’s the attitude and the willingness to take on tasks and projects even if they’ve not done it before, and willing to learn the ropes.
And one of the key things that interns should take note of, is that if you’ve had the chat with your line manager prior, you don’t have to be afraid of stepping up to take on more. Because your manager will protect you in the event if anything goes terribly wrong. Not to say that we will 100% shield you from the storm as you should get that exposure as well, but you will have a layer of protection from the original impact. And when things go well, we will look at you shine bright and proud from the side! So if you’re in a position to be able to learn and take more, go ahead, have a chat with your manager and maximise your learning opportunity because it’s really for YOU.
Tip 3: Treat yourself like a full time employee, not an intern who shreds paper
This is also a very crucial point about internships generally. I’ve heard many stories from my interns prior about their previous experiences in other firms, and not all have been positive. One tip I’d give to all interns, is that if you find yourself in a situation where your potential is not maximised or challenged, you should evaluate if its a stint worth completing. Especially if you’ve had chats and talks with people and managers with no real change to what you’re doing. I’ve fundamentally believed that interns have massive potential when given the right opportunity or challenge, and if you don’t feel it in your stint, you should definitely have a chat with your manager on the role and what you’re hoping to do more (or less) of.
Growing massively from my own previous internships, it doesn’t happen automatically without effort put in both ways. So, it’s integral for each individual to feel like they have completed and done something significant in their stint, or what I’ll usually deem as the ‘ownership project’. By doing so, this not only presents yourself in a positive light to your current and prospective employers, but also helps you gain confidence personally to take on bigger and tougher projects in time to come. Afterall, who wants to always be on the sidelines, right? ;)
I hope that these simple but direct tips are helpful coming from a manager’s POV, and all interns should take their stints in their own hands and do something that they can be proud of (and vice versa from the manager!).