When we sign up for internships- whether they are paid or unpaid- there is at least a little shred of hope that we will turn this internship into a job. Sure, the experience itself looks good or feels rewarding, but at the end of the day everyone else is walking home with a lot more money in their pocket. Today we are going to look at how you can get there as well, how to turn your internship into your job. Turn your internship from a learning experience into an extended interview with a few simple tricks.
Let them know. If you want to work for the company make sure the company knows this, preferably right off the bat. This will mean that they will watch you with that in mind. If they see you excelling they will know to think of you next time a position opens up.
Do your research. An intern that knows the company well is a lot more impressive than one who does not. Before you start you should research everything you can about the company. Know what struggles they’ve had lately, what kind of management philosophy they have, who their clients are, et cetera et cetera. The more you know the more they will like you.
Work hard. Interning, by design, usually means that you are doing bottom of the barrel work. This often breeds a bit of a slacker culture amongst interns. You will likely be doing jobs that other people do not want to do- but that does not mean that you should not put all of your energy into completing those tasks quickly and effectively. If they see that you can improve productivity for the company while working at the bottom, they will be excited to see how well you can help the company if you had a more important position.
Learn! If you do turn this into a full time job, everything you learn working there will be useful, and if you don’t- it still will be. If you focus on learning you will come out of the experience a better hire for any company.
Make and keep friends. Everyone who works at the company can help you land a job there. Be friendly and helpful to everyone. If you are invited to a post-work function be sure to go. You want to create close bonds with everyone. These friendships could land you a job at the company, or at least be a spring of useful information. Everyone who works at the company got their job, so they will know at least little bit about how to do the same, so even if they don’t end up getting you the job at that company, they can help you find similar work in the future. Keep these friends after the internship ends, they may end up being very useful in different ways down the line.
Having an internship is a great way to get your foot in the door of a company. If you follow this advice you will find yourself with a full time job, or at least a solid reference to use on your resume’. Work hard, make friends, and learn as much as you can!