Advice
Don’t be afraid to ask a million questions. Be curious! This is a learning experience for you. Everyday you should try and learn something new about your job or the business. This is a great opportunity to expand your network so reach out to employees who’s jobs interest you, ask them to get lunch or something similar so you can pick their brain. Meet with managers and get their advice. People will love having the chance to help someone new and young and just starting their career. Some businesses will have an intern mentorship program. Get up in that!! Get a mentor and bug them like crazy. They most likely chose to sign up to be a mentor so they know what they’re getting into. They want you to ask them questions, they want to help you, and they want to be a resource for you. That’s what they’re there for. Mentors can be anyone and can come unexpectedly too. I met one of my mentors while volunteering with Collins.
Try and stay active in the company if you like working there. This may give you a higher chance of them asking you to come back.
I get A LOT of anxiety at all the things I mentioned above: putting myself out there, reaching out to strangers, asking lots of questions in the fear I’ll come off as annoying or pushy. But I had to keep reminding myself that it’s okay to do all that stuff, it’s almost expected for someone in the position of an intern. People will like that you show interest and initiative. And, yes, there may be times where you crash and burn. Maybe someone doesn’t have the time to answer your questions or get lunch or seems annoyed, but you just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again! It will be okay and it will help so much in figuring out what you would actually want to do after you graduate.
If theres a time where you feel like you don’t have a lot of work on your plate or you’re bored, don’t just sit there and wait for someone to give you work. Go ask for something to do. Constantly ask your coworkers if there’s anything you can help them with. Or are there tasks you can do to help alleviate their workload. Sometimes this may get you doing something boring (They know it’s boring but it’s probably something that needs to get done regardless and they will appreciate that you did it for them), but it will get brownie points in the end.
It’s also really good to use this time to figure out what you definitely DON’T want to do with your career and that’s what can be so fantastic about internships. Most places encourage you to shadow other roles and learn about the different paths you can take. Take advantage of that.
And one last thing, SPEAK UP. If you come into your new role and realize it isn’t for you, say something!! Most managers will not take it personally if you realize you don’t like what they have you doing. For example: you applied to be a project engineer and after doing it for some time don’t enjoy it, speak up! At Collins they encourage interns to speak with HR and their managers if they aren’t enjoying what they do so they can see about getting them into a role they will like. HR will tell you on the first day they want to make sure you get the most out of this experience so go to them if you feel like you’re not being challenged or your not enjoying what you do.
