Prepping for your internship

Add value

Ask if you can schedule meetings with your team and ask them questions about how they get their work accomplished and how easy or difficult it is to implement new ideas and initiatives. This will give you a good feel for the company culture.

Be prepared to arrive on time for all your meetings. If there is a project that needs attention, consistently showing up when you are supposed to and adding value is helpful.

Plan to have your presence known in the meeting by asking questions, contributing ideas and input, and providing behavioral cues to show you are actively listening (nodding, making eye contact, etc.).

Keep workplace etiquette in mind

Leave a good first impression, which includes proper attire for the workplace.
- - Be on time (or early).
  - When meeting someone for the first time, smile, and look them in the eye.
  - Do your best to repeat his or her name back within the conversation; this helps you remember and it shows respect to the other person. Learning names is very important; it helps you build rapport quickly and develop a relationship.
Be aware of what you post online; you are now a representative of the organization you are interning with.
- - Do not tag people in unflattering or unprofessional comments or pictures.
  - Don’t get too personal on these sites and do not ever vent about your boss or job.
  - Restrict your privacy on social media sites.
Respect people’s personal space.
- - Send an e-mail to see if someone is available to chat, rather than just sending multiple emails a day or walking into their office space.
  - Attempt to “bundle” questions of your coworkers into one email a day.
Cell Phone etiquette:
- - Make sure to place your cell phone on silent (this includes turning off vibrate) or turn it off completely during meetings.
    - If it is an emergency or you are expecting a crucial call, make sure to tell the attendees beforehand. Excuse yourself, make the call brief, and then return to the meeting.
    - If you need to leave your cellphone on the table, place it face down so you are not tempted to play with it or be distracted during the meeting.
  - Never text during a meeting or during a conversation.
  - Make sure your ringtone is professional and not offensive.
Leave gossip out of the office and choose your words carefully.
- - Never send an angry email. Take notes on what has transpired, wait for 24 hours and decide how you can have a productive conversation about next steps without emotion.
  - Deflect gossip in the workplace by saying you’re too busy to chat.
  - Avoid political, religious and overly personal conversations.

Ask for help during scheduled check-ins

No one expects you to know your way around until you’re there a month or two, so don’t be shy early on to ask the “dumb” questions (which may, by the way, only sound dumb to you). Pretending that you don’t need clarification is a sure fire way to make bigger mistakes later.

Respect company-related content/platforms

The company’s electronics are not for personal use. Be aware of every keystroke you type, every file you upload or download, each video you stream, and on; treat their electronics as if you’re constantly being tracked.

Maintain professionalism

Dress to fit the workplace culture. Use the boss as a gauge to indicate what dress code is appropriate for the office. BUT If your office is casual, or has casual Fridays, don’t pull out the baseball hat and shorts right away—wait to see how casual is casual.

Dressing too formally in a casual workplace is just as bad as dressing too casually in a formal workplace.

Stay organized!

- - Stay on top of deadlines, meetings and follow-ups.
  - Consider keeping a notebook or planner so you can jot things down.
  - Using Google Calendar can also be useful to send digital notifications of everyday events.

Take a close look at your vocabulary. The less you use the words “like”, “uhm” and “dude” at the office, the more seriously your colleagues will take you.

Practice professional written and verbal communication

Written Communication:

- Checking in with your team and manager is great, but also be aware of overloading or distracting them. Texting can be a great method of quick communication but it can also be extremely distracting and overused. Always use correct grammar and punctuation when you text or email, and be careful of how you word things.

Email etiquette:

- - Make sure your e-mail address is professional and recognizable and always include a subject line for easy reference.
  - Have a signature at the bottom with your name, business title, and contact information.
  - Compose every email as if it will be read by the CEO of the company.
    - No slang, always professional and courteous.
  - Keep your messages short and to the point; tone is easy to misinterpret over email, so be straightforward.
    - If the e-mail is going to be very long, add an attachment that the recipient can print off and read later.
    - Never send an attachment without a short message to the recipient, even if they know what it is about.
  - Never use an e-mail to deliver bad news.
  - Replying to all is very easy to do and cause major problems if someone sees something you don’t want them to.
  - Avoid sending personal emails from work.
  - Respond to emails in a timely manner (within a business day).

Verbal Communication

- Phone conversation etiquette:
  - Speak clearly and slowly.
  - Answer your phone in a professional manner. Identify yourself and be polite.
  - Try writing out what you want to say before you make a call. This way you’ll be sure to cover all your points and you won’t sound jumbled.
  - Make sure to listen and let the other person talk.

Practice concise check-ins

Check in with your supervisor and team regularly (hopefully during regularly scheduled meetings) detailing what you will be working on throughout the week. Make sure to follow up as you make your way through your tasks.

Find out when and how your manager and colleagues prefer to hear from you, and always keep them in the loop. When you receive a message from your manager, respond as quickly as possible. Get on board with the mode of office communication used (Slack, email, text, etc.)

Come to your check-ins prepared with notes, questions, and ideas.

Be transparent and ask questions if you are confused about something.

Send a recap email at the end of each day or week to your manager listing exactly what you accomplished during that time. Recap emails are good opportunities to highlight your work ethic and quality, and they also keep you in the front of your manager’s mind when the time comes for your manager to offer a recommendation.

Ask for feedback

Be clear with your manager that you desire feedback so that you can continue to grow as a professional. This might mean hopping on a quick call to review changes they’ve made to a project draft you delivered, or using suggestions and comments in a Google Sheet.

Go the extra mile. Once you have adjusted to the work environment and feel comfortable in your position, push yourself to take on extra projects that may not have been originally assigned to you so you have more of a chance to interact with the company.

Do small tasks well

You might find it demeaning to be doing small tasks when you first start working, but turns out the way to get better assignments is to earn people’s trust with the small stuff.

Take breaks and engage in social events

Schedule a few break times and stick to them; it can be easy to get sucked into a project and work for long hours, but you’ll likely be more effective if you rest and recharge every hour or two.

Participate in social outings and happy hours. Show your employer and co-workers that you’re part of the team and can let your personality shine. Have fun but not too much fun; just because you’re at play doesn’t mean you’re not at work.

Find time to connect with mentors

Expand your connections beyond just your position in the company by contacting people from other departments.

Keep in mind that mentors are assessing your potential for future growth. Be gracious, thankful, and offer to reciprocate where possible.

Build a connection with people with whom you have some kind of shared interest or goal. When you have that "spiderweb" of people in your network, you’ll find that job and life opportunities flow much easier your way because these are the people who can and want to help you.

Realize your office-mates aren’t your parents. You cannot expect anyone to pick up your slack or be there to catch you when you fall.

Over the course of your career, you are going to make mistakes and have to learn from them. This is what allows you to gain experience.

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