The Top Questions to Ask Yourself at the Midpoint of an Internship

July 15, 2015 · by · in advice, internship · Leave a comment

Approaching the midpoint of your internship is a great time to reflect on your experiences thus far.

NASA Goddard Summer Interns 2011

  • What were your expectations and to what extent are they being met?
  • What did you expect to accomplish and how much progress have you made?
  • If you were to receive a midterm “grade,” what would you likely receive?

 

What’s excellent about a mid-summer reflection is that you have the opportunity to review your experience to date and make any necessary changes to ensure you have met all your goals and objectives by the end your internship. Let’s explore some suggestions to make the second half of your internship even better than the first half.

The Intern Perspective

NW

1). Habits.

Consider this scenario: has there ever been a day when you snoozed your alarm an extra ten minutes and left the house behind schedule, had to jog a little to the bus or subway, yet managed to slip behind your desk just barely on time (or, most likely, slightly late)? Has it happened again? You may not be chronically late like I tend to be, but if you find yourself repeatedly arriving to work slightly behind schedule, you might have allowed being late to become a part of your daily routine. These little moments of unprofessionalism, threatening to transform from one-time occurrences into habits, are hard to catch, but important to avoid. I find myself constantly thinking: “I can take a longer lunch today,” or “I can sleep in if I stay late at work.” It’s true that I could get away with these things once, but if I allow myself to, what’s to stop the hard-to-break habit from developing? Midsummer is a great time to stop and think: do I have any bad work habits I can avoid?

2). Connections. 

I was recently in a meeting with my boss when she mentioned how a particularly successful intern managed to connect with all the senior staff in our division, thereby securing future full-time job offers, graduate school advice, and lifetime professional connections and mentors. As I (somewhat jealously) considered this intern’s success, it dawned on me that I, the current intern, have just as many opportunities to develop my own connections, if I only I were to take the initiative. Are there any employees at your internship you still have yet to talk to? Is there anyone at the company who has attended a graduate school you’re interested in? Which senior staff member is particularly well-connected in your field? With the time you have left, devote some attention to solidifying professional relationships at your company, which will leave you with lasting connections.

3). Project Tracking.

 I cannot stress enough how important keeping track of my current and completed projects has been. Ask yourself this: at the end of the summer, will you remember the work that you completed in early June? What about the project that only took you two days, but drew upon key skills and was invaluable to the company? How will you remember? If you have not done so already, begin making a detailed outline of all completed work, and current and upcoming work projects. You can keep this list on your work computer or saved on your personal email. Be specific: enter the exact number of slides of that PowerPoint you created, or record the complexity of that report you generated. Include any praise you have received thus far. Project tracking is essential, and will help you, and your boss, remember your summer success. If you need more information on work journals, see below for some additional resources.

The Boss Perspective

APW

 

4). Winding Down.

If you truly want to become one of the memorable interns, there is no such thing as winding down. That means you work as hard as possible and add as much value as possible until your very last day. Between now and the end of your internship you continue to execute your assignments and projects flawlessly, you continue to take the “low hanging fruit” tasks off your boss’ plate, you continue to anticipate what you boss may need and provide it before he or she asks, and you continue to go the extra mile. You will know you have successfully accomplished not winding down when everyone in the department begins to lament your leaving two weeks before your departure.

5). Relationship Building and Letter of Recommendation.

EmployeesWhether you plan to either go directly to graduate school or find employment after graduation, your goal is to build enough of a relationship with someone in the organization from whom you can solicit a strong, positive letter of recommendation. That someone may be your boss, one of your boss’ peers, the person assigned to you as a mentor, someone in HR, the head of the intern program, or anyone else in a managerial position who will speak highly of you. The key here is relationships. Part of making your experience worthwhile as an intern is building and maintaining as many relationships as possible to add to your growing professional network. A strong, positive relationship is both critical and necessary for obtaining this letter of recommendation.

6). Making yourself a viable candidate for a full-time offer.

Many people (myself included) believe past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior. That means your behavior as an intern is a strong indicator of your behavior as a full-time employee. If you habitually arrive early and are one of the last interns to leave for the day, you will likely demonstrate similar behavior once employed by the firm. That means making yourself a viable candidate for a full-time offer pretty simple. Look at the behaviors and work styles of the highly regarded first-year professional employees and emulate their behavior as an intern. Better still, make yourself a part of their group and learn how to fit in. Doing so will greatly enhance your appeal as a full-time employee.

So: take this time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished so far, and use this tips to excel at the rest of your internship.

APW & NW

Your Success is Our Success.

 

6 Questions Midpoint
The Top Questions to Ask Yourself

 

Project Tracking & Work Journal Resources:

 

 

 

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