Internships as a First

People tend to relate first experiences to infantry and early childhood, in actuality first experiences occur throughout life– we just become better adapted and more experienced at responding to these new situations.

In my mind the internship is under-recognized as a first experience in a tremendously new and often idiosyncratic job world. A failure by employers to recognize the transitional role of the internship for students at times leads to a disconnect and an under-utilization of an intern’s skills. With 80% of college students interning once during their college years and 50% at least twice, this is roughly 2.58 million students who are juggling their college life with a very different professional working environment. For many students this means first staff meetings, first handshakes (instead of fist pounds), first networking events (instead of career fairs), first getting dressed up and sitting in an office all day long, and many more novel situations.

Interns have proven time and again to learn these new skills and embrace this new environment incredibly quickly– but with minimal investment or effort employers can really make this river crossing much easier. I wanted to post a few tips to make this first experience better for all parties:

Employers:

• Give intern evaluations early and often– formalized feedback is one of the most effective tools to help interns quickly learn which of their work skills, styles, and habits are succeeding and which are less helpful… and why.
• When assigning work projects start with the general to paint a picture of the broader initiative, then hone in on specifics so an intern understands the full scope of their work projects.
• Throw interns a fastball every now and then– if you give a more challenging or high-level project to an intern, oftentimes you will be surprised with the skill and competency at which the first draft comes back– then give feedback and improve.
• Figure out what skills your intern has which you are lacking (Excel pivot tables, tech savvy, social media, etc.) and get advice from them on these areas of expertise.
• Take the time to help a new intern feel comfortable.

Interns:

• It is very important to actively focus on learning and improving while in the office.åÊ This is an opportunity to gain incredible insight into how a professional work environment operates– not just how to complete projects, but the way people present at meetings, communicate with one another, and generally succeed in the working world. If you commit to learning all the time in the office you will pick up on a tremendous amount of new skills in a short period of time.
• Ask questions– there are huge benefits to being young, people generally don’t care if you ask questions and you can learn a lot for free this way.
• When thinking about appropriate actions, err on the safe side.å When deciding whether to wear sandals or shoes, or whether its okay to take a break and play solitaire, your gut reaction should be to recognize that you are still proving yourself in the office and so being safe is better.
• When thinking about work, try taking an occasional risk or going the extra mile on a project.å Once again as an intern you are young and at the bottom of the hierarchy so less is expected of you– what a great opportunity to prove yourself by bringing in your creativity and youthful insights to go the extra mile on some assignment (and if it fails you will learn a lot!).

Interns come into the work world with a range of experience– but for many it is a first foray into the job world which they will live in for the next 40 or 50 years. While some employers see the task of training a fresh out of school employee as daunting, the truth is by re-aligning your approach and being cognizant of your role as a teacher you will find 90% of interns learn quickly with minimal managerial buy-in. Those who make these adjustments will find even bigger rewards in the improved work flow of interns, and the potential for a long and successful partnership.