It is near the end of the summer and you might be thinking, I haven't really used my internship like I want to. Or maybe, how do I add some extra polish to the end of this experience?
Whether you have done some of the items on this list or none at all, be sure to tackle the end of your internship with appreciation for the community that has hosted you and the intention to start planning the next step in your career after the internship.
Join an Employee Resource Group
If your host company has this community resource, and you aren't already engaging with one, you should! These groups are a benefit to all employees, and as an intern this usually means you have free access as well. The key to this resource is networking. As a brand new face the people around you will automatically be asking about your history and background. This is a great chance to segue into your future goals, as well as finding mentors/leads on next steps.
Talk to your mentor and their managers
If you have been assigned a mentor or a manager or both, be sure to have a sit down conversation with them besides talking about your project. Maybe you can work this into your regular one on one meetings or schedule another meeting. The types of things you would talk about are the possibility to convert to a full time position, and if not soon, then in the future. You could also ask for a formal letter of recommendation/evaluation if it has not been made clear you will receive one. Or you could go over your accomplishments, ask for advice on how to explain what you did to those outside the internship and thus, remind your manager of all your great accomplishments as well. Another meeting you can ask for, if appropriate, is with your manager's manager. The reason you would want to do this is to make sure your contributions to the team have visibility up the ladder. The more people who know your skills and what you do, the more people who can recommend or agree to your hire. I would do this only as long as your direct manager knows.
Create an address book
Most likely when you leave the office on your last day you will no longer have access to a work email or the employee directory. So you should create a list of all the people you interacted with or want to keep up communications with after the job. You might let them know you will be emailing them from a personal account in the future if they already agreed to keep in contact. Another option is to use LinkedIn to connect with your colleagues.
Connect with fellow interns
Your peers will always be your peers. So wherever you go, however far you go, the friendships you make now have the chance of connecting you to people who will be in similar positions at different companies and be another bridge for you to access opportunities. Connect with your fellow interns over a meal, get their phone numbers or connect on LinkedIn. Try to create genuine friendships here that will be viable four or five years from now. Depending on the situation, I will follow my intern friends on Facebook or Instagram too. It provides a good reminder that I met this person and they are still doing cool things!
Bring back memories from the places you have been
By sharing photos that you took with coworkers or of your workplace and by wearing the company t-shirt or jacket, you add clout and credibility to your professional journey. But that won't help unless people know and hear about this. So don't be afraid to immediately update your LinkedIn with any important skills, talk about your experience with those who ask or even write a blog about it.
Leave something behind
When it comes time to hand off your project to the person who will be responsible for your work or archiving your work, make sure it has your name in it. Create a slide deck or other documentation that explains your previous work and make sure your name is on that too.
Finally, you can also choose to leave something behind besides your project and that is a very simple thank you card to your manager and anyone else who had an impact. I am pretty sure this will make you stand out to those who will appreciate this gesture and it will be another thing with your name on it. I usually opt to include a picture of my intern cohort as well.
