How to succeed in your internship and turn it into a full-time position?
In my last post, I shared some personal insight on how to land your first internship. In this post I want to share my 3 best tips on turning that internship into a full-time position. At the time of writing, I am celebrating my first year anniversary as a full-time Druid.
Doing an internship is a sure way of getting a foot in the door. It’s the perfect opportunity to make a lasting impression and to showcase your skills. While you’re doing an internship to gain experience, many companies offer internships to try out and recruit new full-time employees. After a successful internship, you may be presented with a full-time position. On this note, here are my 3 best tips for a successful internship.
Showcase your soft skills
While you’re developing your technical skills, your soft skills will be what makes you stand out. During your internship, the company may assess how well you fit in with the team as well as your ability to learn and grow within the company. To be a good team member and employee, being a good communicator is essential.
Being a good communicator means you are able to promote your ideas, request help, and receive criticism. A good communicator can share their ideas clearly, effectively, and respectfully. They can ask for feedback and ensure that they are meeting expectations. They are also good listeners, which allows them to build relationships and ensure understanding with colleagues and customers. They are easy to work with which helps the whole team move like a well-oiled machine.
Ask good questions
As an intern, you’re expected to ask questions, you’re there to learn after all. However not all questions are created equal. In a software development team, the person who will be answering your questions is likely to be a fellow developer with their own list of tasks. To make use of their time effectively and get the most help, it’s important to be specific and to have a plan of action.
For example, when reaching out for support, you could say “I am trying to do x, I tried a,b,&c. I think the solution has to do with y but I can’t seem to get it. Do you have any ideas or some time to talk about it?” This shows you’ve tried already to solve the issue, as well as shows where your head is at. Even if the plan of action is wrong, the person you are asking has something to go off of.
Be proactive
Being proactive is the most important aspect of a successful internship. Do not just go through the motions, speak up about what you want to be involved in. If you find interesting directions, especially that would help the company and your development as an intern, propose them as your work. This will encourage you to take responsibility for ensuring your work is completed successfully and ask for help in that light.
If you see that you’re about to be done with all that has been assigned to you, try to ask for more projects before you have nothing to do. If you do run out of work and your supervisor isn’t quickly responding with more, come up with something productive or educational to do. At the end of the day, it’s your responsibility to make the most out of your internship.
That’s it, that was the 3 best tips I have for a successful internship. A successful internship makes you an ideal candidate for a full time position. Just one last thing, make sure the company knows you’re interested in a full time position. Even if there’s no available position at the time of your internship, the company will likely keep you in mind once a position opens up.
