The Full-time UST MBA class of 2014 embarked on more than 30 different internships this past month, many of which were outside Minnesota's borders. As the days continue to fly by, Graduate Business Career Services would like share a few internship tips before the green leaves of summer change to autumnal shades of fall.
Hopefully you are enjoying your summer internship experience. By now, you know what you are expected to do and when it needs to be done. And, you are doing a great job, exceeding expectations.
But wait, there’s more to the internship than doing it well. Here are some suggestions to ensure you make this a great summer internship experience.
If you haven’t done this already, do it now: Sit down with your supervisor to review your progress towards the goal(s). Share with her the successes and the challenges you have had and ask for her feedback. Ask how you can make your results exceptional.
Is the experience turning out as you had hoped? Will the description be what you had wanted to include on your resume? If so, great. If not, how can you enhance the project to better fit your vision? Can you add an analytical piece or customer research piece to it, even if it is not required? It may be a bit more work, but the broader scope will give you a more robust story when you’re interviewing in the fall.
Have you taken every opportunity to learn more about the industry, the company, its customers, etc. that you can? You are on the inside looking out which gives you easy access to people and information. As an intern, you can request meetings with key players in the company, a chance you will not have when the internship is completed.
Are you networking in the company? Are you networking outside the company? It’s tempting to take it easy and not worry about meeting others during the summer. However, now is the time when you can focus on exploring options in your areas of interest over lunch and after work.
If you know the type of work you want to do, the companies, and industries you are most interested in, you have your target organizations to learn about and work to make connections. If you don’t, now’s the time to explore to gain more clarity about your next career steps. Your career coach can help you craft a strategy and jump-start your networking.
Oh yes, have fun too!
