How to Succeed as an Intern
If you’re a young professional looking to enter the workforce, you probably know the importance of an internship all too well.

You’ve probably been told multiple times the importance of an internship on your resume and the experience it brings. But has anyone ever given you the steps to make sure you are the best intern you can possibly be?

Your internship is where you will make your first connections in that line of work. You don’t want to just be good enough to put the internship on your resume, you want to have your supervisors so impressed that they can’t wait to offer you a job, or help you find one elsewhere.

Lucky for you, this week the Lead Your Future podcast gives you some tips and tricks on how to be a great intern. You’ll hear from my fellow interns here at the Leadership Institute, so you can learn from their experiences.

Here are three tips to succeed as an intern.

Tip #1 – Be on time.

This one is straightforward. Be on time. Do not be late. Try your best to be early, but if you can’t be early, do not be late. 

Once your supervisor sees you come in late a few times, it’s a trend, and they will start to assume you’re unreliable. Supervisors understand interns are often young, but you want them to think of you as a young professional, not as a kid who’s always late. So be on time.

Tip #2 -- Don’t treat it like a 9-5 job.

Oftentimes putting in extra work requires getting in early and staying late. So, don’t walk in at exactly nine o’clock and leave right at five. 

Stay late and come in early when needed. If nobody in your department needs extra help, then start volunteering your time to other departments. Whether it’s a non-profit or for-profit, time is invaluable. Put in the extra time outside of the 9-5 hours, and it will go a long way.

Tip #3 -- Discover what’s inside your toolbox.

Take the time while you’re interning to navigate and discover your strengths and weaknesses. 

Your internship is the perfect time to identify your strengths and how to use them, while you work on your weaknesses. You may even discover that you hate the line of work you’re doing or discover something you’re passionate about.

Listen to Episode 4 of the Lead Your Future Podcast to hear more about these tips and real intern experiences. Click here to listen and follow the Lead Your Future Podcast on your favorite platform: YouTubeAcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PlaySound CloudiHeartRadio, and Stitcher.