{"id":5980,"date":"2015-05-26T19:00:36","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T23:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=5980"},"modified":"2018-08-22T10:39:49","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T14:39:49","slug":"six-ways-to-start-off-on-the-right-foot-at-your-summer-internship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2015\/05\/26\/six-ways-to-start-off-on-the-right-foot-at-your-summer-internship\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Ways to Start Off on the Right Foot at Your Summer Internship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy of TalentEgg.ca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Early mornings, long days, quick lunch breaks and a whole slew of other things you didn\u2019t expect. That\u2019s right; you\u2019re an intern now and no longer can you strategically schedule your classes so you don\u2019t have to get up until noon.<\/p>\n

Internships come in all shapes and sizes. In other words, all internships are different. Some internships are full time while some are part time. At some internships, you might work 10-hour days, while others only need you for three to five hours. You might be interning at a local business right down the street, or you might be traveling across the country or beyond to live and work in a foreign city.<\/p>\n

Regardless, if there\u2019s anything I\u2019ve learned from the 10 or so internships I\u2019ve had so far in my college career; it\u2019s that you get entirely different experiences from every place you work. Most importantly, you gain something from each and every organization you work for, every team you work with and every supervisor you work under. Here are six tips on how to get a good start at your internship this summer to maximize your professional experience:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Make a good first impression.
\n<\/b>You have about seven seconds to make it or break it, according to an article<\/a> by Business Insider. This is a classic, textbook rule, but it can oftentimes be more challenging than expected. Arrive early, dress snazzier than the job you are there for, have a confident and assertive handshake, be sure to smile and make sure your elevator speech is on point. Look the part, play the part and soon you\u2019ll find that you are the part.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Introduce yourself to just about everyone.
\n<\/b>Repeat step one about 1,500 times. Just kidding!\u00a0 But in all seriousness, the more people you meet, the more of a connection you are likely to make to the company or organization as a whole over time. Start memorizing names and a thing or two about each person to possibly bring up in conversation later. The more people you know, the more you learn, the more you grow and the more you fit into the culture of the company or organization.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Develop a connection with your boss.
\n<\/b>Producing high-quality work in an efficient manner is paramount, but those \u201cextra\u201d personal connections can take you from being \u201cjust an intern\u201d to an actual member of the team. Your boss is the one you are likely going to be working with the most, so that\u2019s obviously not a bad place to start. Stay professional and malleable to the new and unfamiliar work environment. Act intuitively to pick up on the office dynamics and general atmosphere to see what is customary, acceptable, risqu\u00e9, etc. in all facets of the department.<\/p>\n

However, at the same time, you have to differentiate yourself by showing a little bit of personality more and more over time to break that surface-level work relationship. Be yourself, of course, but be someone who you would want to work with. Slowly but surely, your supervisor can evolve from just being your \u201cboss\u201d and end up being a mentor and possibly even a friend.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let yourself get bored.
\n<\/b>Assignments come and go, and at times, you might find yourself with an empty work plate. It can sometimes be effective to pause and reload, but sitting around the rest of the day twiddling your thumbs and posting selfies on Instagram isn\u2019t getting you anywhere. Show some initiative.<\/p>\n

Those people you introduced yourself to earlier? Make your rounds and ask employees in your department if you can somehow help out or pick up a task. You have to prove your worth, and submitting high-quality work from projects you sought out shows just that. In essence, demonstrate that you can be a valuable asset to the team from the beginning because those smaller start-up assignments can turn into more legitimate portfolio builders later on.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Stay \u201cBeyonc\u00e9 fierce.\u201d
\n<\/b>Take chances, try new things and challenge yourself. Queen B herself likes to change it up and be her own \u201cirreplaceable\u201d self.\u00a0 Granted, she \u201cwoke up like this\u201d so I\u2019ve heard, but still, internships are excellent gateways to becoming seasoned professionals because you are exposed to so much in an abbreviated amount of time that you otherwise would never have experienced in a classroom.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s kind of like bowling with the gutter rails up. If you act professional, respectful, \u201cflawless\u201d and you display evident self-motivation, you are likely going to be working on some kind of legitimate professional work. The key is you have some guidance, some assistance and some leeway to ask questions and learn as you go. Try to test yourself while utilizing the resources around you to gain more responsibilities over time. Employers will certainly take note of that, and who knows \u2014 they could end up being \u201ccrazy in love\u201d with having you around.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Actually BE \u201cthat coffee guy.\u201d Well, metaphorically speaking.
\n<\/b>Don\u2019t legitimately go out every single morning taking orders on who wants the grande white chocolate mocha and who wants the venti low-fat iced coffee with two shots of espresso. Instead, prove that you care. Show that you are appreciative for every new learning experience you are given, no matter how big or how small. Show that you\u2019re grateful to have even been given the opportunity to be with the company or organization in the first place.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned generosity and sincerity go a long way in the workplace. Just like the office \u201ccoffee guy,\u201d don\u2019t take your job for granted; take a step back to see just how much this internship can help you in the long run to either secure a full-time position later on or serve as a launching pad to the next opportunity or perhaps even your dream job.<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Adam Piccin is a senior at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, studying public relations and health communication. He is immediate past president of the\u00a0<\/i>Otterbein PRSSA<\/i><\/a>\u00a0<\/i>Chapter, and served on the PRSSA National diversity & ethics subcommittee.\u00a0Piccin will be working as a full-time marketing communications assistant at Bricker & Eckler LLP in downtown Columbus, Ohio, this summer.\u00a0More information on Piccin can be found on his\u00a0<\/i>website<\/i><\/a>. Follow him on <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i><\/a>\u00a0<\/i>@adampiccin,\u00a0or connect with him on <\/i>LinkedIn<\/i><\/a> or by <\/i>email<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early mornings, long days, quick lunch breaks and a whole slew of other things you didn\u2019t expect. That\u2019s right; you\u2019re an intern now and no longer can you strategically schedule your classes so you don\u2019t have to get up until noon. Internships come in all shapes and sizes. In other words, all internships are different. Some internships are full time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2894],"tags":[630,401,2146,2155,2154,564,28,849,363,1383,372,41,1261,15,1925,40,885,2153,287,1894],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5980"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9144,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980\/revisions\/9144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}