Being An Intern: How To Handle The Real World
By: Mary Bowers
Allegis Group - Summer Intern
Graduation is right around the corner, you're doing good in all of your classes, think you've got a good grasp on your future, and have a definite interest in a certain field but no way to get your foot in the door, what now? You could give up and settle into a career that does not require any prior experience, or continue going to college until either you have found a new field that sparks your interest and may let you in with no experience or until you have gotten so many degrees that people on campus begin mistaking you for a professor. Think about this though: summer internships allow you to work in the field of your interest, gain real world experience, and continue working towards your degree with the possibility of being employed by graduation. If you decide you don't enjoy working in the position you have an internship in, you can get another internship, or even change your academic path so that you don?t end up graduating with a degree in a field you don?t want to work in. Some colleges will even offer class credits towards your degree just for participation in an internship.
There are things to take into consideration when working as an intern though. Just because you aren't technically an employee of the company doesn't mean you aren't important. Your co-workers and bosses will look at you as one of the team, somebody they need to be able to rely on, trust, and somebody they know will take the work seriously, and show total respect to everyone around them. You may still be a college student, but internships are not on campus and the people you work with will not be students, and they probably have more experience than you do. It is important to realize how lucky you are to be able to come to work everyday. Once the company sees that you are dedicated to the job and competent enough to handle assignments as well as learn new material, you may be given tasks of high importance, possibly even given the opportunity to work on assignments representing the company to outside sources or people holding executive positions within the company. There is no limit to what you may be doing and you will be surprised at what you are actually able to handle in the real world!
It can be quite intimidating the first time walking into a professional business setting, but there is no need to stress over anything. The people working in the office started in your shoes when they first entered the work field and will be well informed about the arrival of an intern. Always be friendly, greet people that pass by you throughout the day with a smile, and above all never be afraid to ask a question regardless of what it concerns. Your co-workers and bosses are there to help you understand what the business world is like, and how it functions. Without asking questions you will learn very little and fall into the shadows amongst the office crowd. As an intern it is important to stand out, but not to go overboard. Do not go out of your way to find someone to talk to just to appear social. Everybody is going to be busy doing their assignments during the day and won't want to be bothered unless there is something about an assignment you need to know. Lunch would be the appropriate time to seek people out to talk to if you felt the need.
As an intern it is a possibility that the work you are assigned will not be constantly coming in. There may be times when you have no new assignments, and have completed all previous assignments. Never allow boredom to come into the day, and never stretch an assignment out longer than necessary just to pass the time. Ask your boss or anybody who has given you an assignment to do recently if there is anything they need you to work on. Do not come across as desperate, aggravated that there is no work for you at the moment, or whiney, and never turn an assignment down. Most of the time, somebody in the office will have an assignment for you to work on as long as you communicate with your team. Being an intern, the type of work you may be doing could vary. Don't be surprised if you are doing a spreadsheet, creating a company photo album, proofreading articles, and learning a new element to the job all in one day. Not only will you be able to learn more about what goes on in the office you are working in, but you will also learn what you like and don?t like doing while your bosses observe what areas you excel the most in.
Also remember to keep track of anything you learn during an internship as it will be important reference material later on in life. There are no downsides to having an internship. The majority of them are during the summer when college classes are out, and there are paid internships available so that you can still afford to pay basic student bills. If you have an interest in a specific field, or even in a few different fields that are related to each other, an internship may be a good option to consider. It is challenging to find a decent job without having prior experience and having a good educational background will not substitute for what the real world demands.