1. Find out from your supervisor exactly what is expected from you.
The first thing that you need to do when starting a new internship is to ask what your responsibilities are. Are you expected to help with daily tasks around the office or are you working on a project? Once you know what you are doing, you can make sure that you are following through on your tasks from your first day. You should also meet regularly with your supervisor throughout the internship for feedback and check that you are on track. Remember, if you do not understand what is being asked of you, do not spend hours trying to figure out what you are supposed to be doing on your own. There is a chance that won’t be able to decipher what your supervisor said in hindsight or won’t be able to learn how to complete a task that you have never faced before. If you spend hours stumbling over a problem that you can’t solve and then ask your supervisor for help, you will have wasted all of that time trying to do it on your own and your supervisor will not be pleased. If you don’t understand at the beginning ask questions until you understand. I know it may be embarrassing asking “what?” several times in a row, but it will always be less embarrassing and more productive if you just admit “I don’t know”.
2. Ask for help.
Photo credit to Google Images
No one expects you to know everything. Part of being an intern is learning new skills. As mentioned before, it is important not be embarrassed about your understanding or lack of professional experience. You may be placed with a supervisor with dozens of years of experience, and they may have forgotten what it is like to be fresh out of (or still enrolled in) school! Let them know when you have questions and they will be happy to help. It is always best to spend a little more time at the beginning of your internship clarifying everything than to spend your entire time at your placement confused.
3. Stay organised
Get to the office on time. There is nothing that can taint an internship full of great work more than consistent tardiness. Being five minutes late everyday can ruin a reputation, especially if you are doing work with a team that relies on you. Don’t be “that guy” who is always late, never be “that guy”. Set an alarm, drink several cups of coffee, triple check the GO train schedule - do whatever it takes to ensure that you arrive on time. If you cannot get in on time for some unavoidable reason, then immediately email your supervisor letting them know.
4. Stay off your phone!
Photo credit to Pixabay
You may be of a different generation to your supervisor. Generally, those of us doing internships grew up with our phone. Checking your pocket after a short vibrate may be as habitual as covering your face after sneezing (make sure you do that), but it can be viewed very negatively by the older generation. This is because they are not accustomed to the “smartphone life”, even the quickest glimpse of you scrolling through instagram can lead to the (potentially false) perception of you being unproductive. Stay off your phone and save it for the lunch break, those memes are not going anywhere.