What Every Summer Intern MUST Know

This is the first of two reflections about internships, first as an intern and second as a business partner to employers. Read my “Dating Interns: Why Every Employer Should Adopt this Mindset” post now.

I grew up as an average student with little exposure to professionals outside of my blue collar upbringing. It was only through the world-class internship opportunity provided by INROADS that I began to understand the power of experiential learning. This is my note to interns everywhere.

Dear Intern,

You Are The Talent. The company you are working for is helping you tremendously by providing you with real-world work experience and, if your lucky, some cash as well! But, what you may not know is just how important you are to the company right now, in this very moment.

Allow me to let you in on a secret — most companies with lean structures don’t have much time to manage interns. The cost of time to recruit, train and actively manage a person with little professional experience is incredibly high. Especially when there is a 100% guarantee that the person will leave the company in a matter of weeks.

So, why do employer hire interns like you?

Because they see something special in you. This is not rhetorical — you are valuable, and you need to act like it. Be the talent in which your company is investing. Your intern coordinators and department heads want an intern bold enough to believe they can do the work placed before them, curious enough to ask challenging questions, and confident enough to see themselves as a member of the team. If you feel like the company you are working with is doing its part to make you feel valued, then you owe it to them and everyone else who believes in you to do your absolute best this summer. (Special thanks to my intern coordinator, Ms. Tricell Brown, who always made me feel like what I was doing was important for myself, for the company and for INROADS.)

When you shine, they shine. When you show up in the community as the company’s intern, your company smiles with a pride you cannot yet see. So, represent well. Get business cards made for yourself if the company won’t do it for you. Attend at least two networking events per month this summer — starting now. It’s uncomfortable, you may not know what to do with your hands or what to say first, but there are a TON of books, blogs and opinionated people like this author who will tell you what you need to know. You have no lack of access to information!

Stretch, Far

I was told, but never really grasped how much “life” happens on the other side of college graduation. Your psychic bandwidth will dissipate very quickly. Some of you may already have children or special needs family members or have experienced debilitating crisis at a young age — you already know what I mean about “life happening.” Many of you will miscalculate the critical need to stretch and grow as much as possible right now, with urgency. Read, a lot. Attend workshops and professional events. Ask your sponsoring company to pay for it. If you were worth the internship investment, you are likely worth the nominal fees for more self-selected professional development.

All Good Things Come To An End

The summer can be a magical time — the lake, the beach, the festival, family reunions, summer romances and internships. They all come to an end, so make sure your internship experience has an exit strategy. Here are three you can add to your to do list and calendar right now:

• Thank you notes. Write a handwritten thank you note to a minimum of three people: 1) your company CEO (even if you never met her), 2) your direct supervisor, and 3) your intern program coordinator. And, if there was a professor or family friend that referred you to the internship, then be sure to place a phone call and let them know how much the experience meant to you.
• An Army of Allies. The people you met at and around the company are as likely to be your future business partners, investors, employers, employees, spouses and best friends as anyone with whom you attended college. Connecting on social media is cool, but you need to select a couple of people (no more than 2 or 3) you make time to call or visit after the internship ends.
• For Pete’s Sake, LinkedIN. Get and stay on LinkedIn. Business cards come and go, as do jobs, schools and organizational affiliations. You need a permanent, searchable repository for contacts to help you land a job or start a business upon graduation from college.

We are all rooting for you to have a massively successful and magical summer. Make the most of this moment!

Ed Fields is Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist for the City of Birmingham. A graduate of Alabama State University and The University of Alabama Manderson Graduate School, Ed interned for two summers at Midwest Express Airlines throughINROADS Wisconsin. He is the recipient of the INROADS Birmingham Distinguished Alum Award and has designed intern experiences and managed numerous college interns. Follow him on Medium and LinkedIn.