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Tips for a Successful Internship Experience

Beginning an internship can be a very daunting task, especially if you have not worked in a professional setting before. Many people are nervous they won’t know what to do on their first day, or that they aren’t qualified for the role. This is now my second semester interning at 898 Marketing, and I was privileged to be asked to join the team for another semester. When thinking about why I was asked to come back, a few reasons came to mind and I thought I would share what I think makes up a valuable intern. 

Be Versatile

The first thing that came to mind when thinking about being a valuable intern was being able to do whatever is needed to help the office run smoother. This can result in being very busy, but doing as much as you can leads to learning a variety of skills. Being versatile helps to show your worth to full time employees as well as your boss. Being able to adjust and help other departments leads to greater success and more learning opportunities, which is what interning is really about. 

Ask Questions

A huge part of interning is taking on tasks that you most likely have never done before. You may be nervous at first, but if you are unsure about anything, make sure to ask questions. Learning is one of the main benefits of interning and using these opportunities helps to get the most out of an internship. It is important to try and complete these tasks on your own, but asking questions is crucial if too much time is being taken up, or if you feel stuck. Asking questions will help you gain knowledge from people who have much more experience than you and are likely more than willing and excited to help.

Create Relationships

Making connections with co-workers is beneficial in many ways throughout and after an internship. Having those connections helps you feel more comfortable in the office and makes it easier to ask questions. Ways to create relationships is to be interactive with people in the office and, if invited, attend events outside of work, including networking events. Making these relationships will continue to be helpful when an internship is over. In certain circumstances, interns are hired on full time, but if not, having positive connections are useful for letters of recommendations and future jobs.

Internships come with many benefits and they are one of the most important opportunities to pursue while trying to gain knowledge in a future field. Having these experiences help to be more decisive with future plans and have the knowledge to be a positive addition wherever you go next. While there are countless traits that make a valuable intern, these are the main three things that have helped me make the most of my internship here at 898 Marketing. I hope these tips are helpful when learning how to make the most out of an internship in the future!