Your first internship can be intimidating. You spend months applying to internships, with the hope that you’ll end up having a meaningful summer experience. So when the first week of your internship actually arrives, you feel the pressure to make a good impression and to prove yourself.
I just experienced all of these feelings myself, as this was the first week of my summer internship. I can’t begin to explain how great it has been, and how excited I am for the rest of the summer. In fact, I’m already saddened by the thought of it ending in a couple of months. Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned thus far, I’ll share below.
First, don’t psych yourself out going into it. I felt sick with nerves for the entire two-and-a-half-hour commute on the first day. But the second I walked in the door, got a tour and met everyone in the office, I was completely at ease. It’s human nature to spend time worrying about the unknown, and oftentimes, the worrying is much worse than the unknown itself. People want to work with a person, a human. They don’t want to work with a robot. So as much as you want to impress your bosses and colleagues, don’t forget to let your personality shine.
Next, make the most of every opportunity. Whether you are one of many interns at a large corporation or the only intern at an early-stage startup, there will be opportunities all around you to learn and grow. You must always remember that you are serving an important role and you never know who you will meet through networking. I used to hate the pressure of networking until I realized that it is really all about making a connection with someone. This connection can be made through hometowns, sports, even favorite foods--it doesn’t have to be about work.
Finally, have confidence in what you have to offer. This goes hand-in-hand with the above advice. If you take pride in your work, it will show. And the better your work, the more responsibility you will be given. While it is great to get praise and acknowledgement from others, the most important thing at the end of the day is that you are proud of yourself and what you have accomplished. There won’t always be someone else to pat you on the back, so you’ve got to learn to do that for yourself.
Internships are an amazing learning experience, in so many ways. If you keep an open mind and take in as much as you can, you will walk away from your internship with something far more valuable than a paycheck or another thing on your resume – real-world experience and a better sense of direction for your life.
