6 ways to get the most out of your internship experience

Internships are an absolute must during your college experience. You are able to take some of your baseline knowledge from the classroom and apply it to a real-world experience. Not only will it help engage you in some relevant work, but It’s also going to help give you a sense of what you really want to do after you graduate. Internships can also help you build some long-lasting connections with your fellow interns, colleagues, managers, and leaders. These connections will teach you a lot about working with others and can become very valuable to that next step in your career.

I interviewed Michele Dye, founder of Dyenamic Career Goals, about how to make the most of your internship experience. Michele knows a few things about internships...she’s hired, trained and mentored 300 interns in her career!

Here are 6 ways to thrive in your internship.

Get the timing right

It’s all about timing. Getting a proper amount of internship experience will help prepare you to join the workforce. Don’t overload yourself with internships to the point where you’re not getting to dive in deep at a location because you are spread so thin.

Some students also make the mistake of waiting until their senior year to complete an internship. A good rule of thumb is to do an internship every year you are in school, NOT when you are about to graduate.

“I’ve seen so many students struggling to get hired after college because they did not do any internships,” Michele said. “For certain applied fields like public relations and marketing, internships are essential to getting a full-time job. It’s never too early to look for internships. If you’re a freshman, look for an internship on campus. It’ll be easier to balance your schedule when you don’t have to drive somewhere.”

Understand what is expected of you

“Unlike your courses at school, jobs and internships don’t have a syllabus that spell everything out for you,” Michele said. “You need to be proactive in having conversations with your supervisor to understand what they are expecting of you during your internship experience.”

Some things that you need to understand: What are the things they want you to do? What does it take to be successful in this internship and at this company? That’s a great conversation to have to prepare yourself for what’s to come.

Set goals for yourself

#Internshipgoals. Consider what you want to achieve during your internship and what exactly you want to get out of it. Come up with some goals and share them with your boss. Seek out their insight by asking them if they think the goals are appropriate. Ask them if there are any goals that they think are more important than the others, as well as what ways they can help you achieve these goals.

“When you set goals, you can determine your priorities and understand the exact steps you need to take to be successful,” Michele said.

Give it your all

You always want to do your best to produce quality work in order to be successful in your internship and to potentially open up future opportunities. Continue making a good impression on your supervisor and colleagues by:

• Being dependable

• Showing up on time

• Communicating professionally

• Being detail-oriented and thorough with your tasks

• Double-checking your work

“There is real money at stake for companies when you are doing work for them, so you want to make sure that you are doing everything correctly and to the best of your ability,” Michele said.

Ask for help

If you need clarification on something, try figuring things out by exhausting your resources before you ask for help. Avoid asking your boss questions that you could have easily found answers to on the company’s website or Google.

This does not mean stressing yourself out. If you start feeling overwhelmed, speak up.

“Ask for help before things before a challenge becomes a bigger problem,” Michele said.

Request feedback

Don’t be scared to ask for feedback. Some bosses will be really good about giving feedback on your work, and others won’t--not because they don’t care, but because they have so much going on that it may not be on their radar to give you thorough feedback on your assignments.

In this case, just ask. Ask if you can request 15 minutes of their time to go over the work that you’ve been doing. This will help build a relationship between you and your supervisor. Your boss will develop an understanding of what you need to be successful.

“Your success means your supervisor’s success, so don’t be afraid to ask for help and feedback,” Michele said.