One of the new and exciting (note the sarcasm) ways to spend
your summer is to be an intern. Who
would want to give up three months of tanning, hottie-hunting, and lemonade
sipping and transplant into the yuppie lifestyle? Unfortunately, if you have any dream of
landing a job in this economic downturn, prepare yourself for the trials and
tribulations of the summer internship.
Some of you lucky ladies will land a fabulous position at a
fabulous office in a fabulous city doing fabulous things. Congratulations to you all are due. For the vast majority of us, though, summer
internships are tough, especially if the internships are anywhere in Northern
Virginia, or NOVA. Maybe you’re not
resigned to fetching coffee for the full-time employees, but no matter the
field (unless you’re one of those forestry majors), you are going to be kept
inside on beautiful sunny days on a strict 9-to-5 schedule and to complain
about that fact is career potential suicide.
So how can you, a bright, young, lovely woman navigate
your way through the confusing territory that is your summer internship? From one intern to you, I give you my best
tools to use, even though many of them are just plain, old-fashioned common
sense.
- Know your company. Yes, you awkwardly shook the recruiter’s hand back at the internship/co-op fair, spilled copies of your resume all over his/her feet, and stumbled over your elevator speech (or perhaps that was just me), but despite all of that, you landed a spot with their summer internship program. You researched the company just enough to get by during the interview process and that must have been sufficient. Now, however, you are going to be side-by-side with the Man/Woman and the full-time employees. Rather than be shell-shocked on your first day, prepare yourself a bit by going on the company’s website and reading their content. Bonus points if you are able to find any press releases regarding your company’s breakthroughs in the industry. Trust me, the people in charge will notice that you’ve prepared. Think of it as though you’re preparing for any pop quiz that your nasty 8 AM professor throws at you.
- Prepare your body. Hopefully, you receive notification from your company far enough in advance so you have enough time to plan, pack, and adjust your sleep schedule. Give yourself at least one week before your first day to train your sleep schedule from college mode (i.e. 11 AM – 3 AM) to yuppie mode (6:30 AM – 11 PM). The last thing you want to happen is to fall asleep during a senior level employee’s presentation on education market trends through the 21st century.
- Learn your commute. If you’re navigating anywhere in NOVA and you absolutely have to face Route 66, know right now that you are going to spend the majority of your commute sitting on this highway. Learn everything you can about your commute before you even start: how many miles, what are the traffic patterns, what are the alternative routes, and how much gas do you use. For those of you who are lucky enough to work close to a Metro station, know that I am supremely jealous.
- Organize your wardrobe. Put away any shirt you wore to a highlighter party, case race, or a football game and dig out cardigans, camisoles, khakis, flats, and anything you could wear to a church. Learn how to put different pieces together that make you appear professional yet young: if you dress like you’re fifty, your superiors will scratch their heads. Also, start shopping at Marshalls or Ross because these stores have working-girl gems at slashed prices. Invest in two suits: one charcoal grey and one black. At this stage, go for a skirt suit: they’re flirtier and easily transition to evening wear with the right accessories.
- Learn how to walk in high heels. I have to thank my mother every day for so many things in my life but I must say, her torturous practice of making me walk with a dictionary on my head while standing on my tiptoes was one of the best things she has done for me. This is a skill that will serve you for a lifetime. It’s important to realize that no matter what, someone is watching you and if you happen to be clomping around in stilettos because it’s your first time breaking them in, everyone will know it. Practice in your apartment and have your girlfriends judge you. Better yet, turn it into an America’s Next Top Model-themed party. Incorporate your new working-girl wardrobe into the event for an even more fun and productive night.
- Don’t go nuts at the first happy hour. On the first day of the summer internship, many companies treat the bright, new faces to a day of food and drink. Generally, the company will take you all out to lunch and then, at the end of the day, to happy hour. Someone from the company will utter these beautiful words: “The drinks are on us.” Stop while you’re ahead. Just because the bar offers three dollar Long Islands (I miss Sharkeys, if you couldn’t tell) does not mean you have to drink them. If you are of age, stick to either two beers or one mixed drink. Sip that and meet the people whom you will spend the majority of the summer. At my internship’s first happy hour, I met the CEO of the company and had a pleasant conversation with him. Now, he and I email regularly to discuss my assignments and how I can improve my work for the benefit of the company. Meet and mingle, have fun, but remember that you’re still at work.
- Resist the urge to complain aloud to anyone. I hate to tell you this, but you are at the bottom of the food chain this summer. You are going to get tasks that seem tedious and redundant. Things are going to get overwhelming. A full-time employee might snap at you and say something that doesn’t sit too well with you. The difference between you and them is a fundamental one: they are on the payroll and you are not. This internship could lead to something much better, or at least something full time. This is a gift, an opportunity, and you have to treat every employee as if they could fire you. Apply every rule Miss Manners gave you and always respond with, “Yes, Sir/Ma’am.” If you do happen to screw up, even a tiny bit, own it and tell your supervisor. It is far better to apologize and acknowledge than to hide it and delegate the mistake to someone else. Just be cool, do your work, and if you really must complain, text your BFF or your BF.
- Keep your hands and workstation clean. I’m a notorious nail biter, but since I started working in an office and not in a grocery store/farm/band closet, I’ve had to learn to stop doing that. Again, you as an intern are going to be watched and everything about you will be scrutinized. You don’t want to shake your boss’s hand with a hangnail, right? The same rule applies for your work station. The company is allowing you to use their property and it’s incredibly important to treat it with respect. Plus, you don’t want your boss or colleagues to think you’re a sloppy mess all the time, right?
- Do your dishes. You’d be surprised as to how many people cannot seem to accomplish this task. I have a coffee mug and sometimes I will use a plate. Two things to wash. Apply soap to sponge, scrub food bits away until they are removed from surface, rinse, place in dish rack to dry. It’s an incredibly simple process and if you do your dishes as you go, you won’t run the risk of having them get nasty and/or plastered all over http://www.happyplace.com/10430/the-most-enjoyably-cantankerous-notes-ever-posted-in-the-workplace
- Take your lunch, don’t take work home with you, and simply enjoy this valuable experience! I know, there are three crammed into one; I lost space. First, take your lunch: you’ll learn to cook and save money. Second, don’t take your work home with you: you are an intern and unless your description says “must be available 24/7,” don’t do it at home. It’s important to maintain balance in your life. It’s still summertime, ok? You should at least enjoy the summer evenings and catch lightning bugs or something. Finally, smile and enjoy at what you’re doing! You are getting ahead in your career field, boosting your resume, meeting new people in both your peer group and in the hiring generation, and most importantly you are learning if this is something that you want to do for the rest of your life. It’s a big deal and be proud of yourself.
I hope that you have found these tips helpful. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go to
the Kuerig machine and get my second Chai Latte.
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