An internship is the first step that a student takes in the field of their interest which ultimately leads to their lifelong career in most cases. So apart from securing an internship in a role that aligns with your future goals and aspirations, giving it your best shot is also extremely important as most companies offer PPOs (Pre-Placement Offers) on the basis of one’s performance during the tenure of the internship.
Some useful tips to excel in internships
Networking
In the induction week, the candidates should try to connect better with the employees in the company who are from different levels of seniority. It will help you to build an internal network and learn from the experiences of the people who have been working for a long time in the company. It will also help you to know more about the company you are interning in and of course, a bit of extra knowledge is always useful. Relationship building with fellow workers is important as it will allow you to know more about the culture of the company which is always appreciated.
Nehal Lodha from the Institute of Management, Nirma University said that her internship at CRISIL shall always remain memorable throughout her career.
She further added, “My project was initiating coverage of a telecom company under the Global Research & Analyst Department, Mumbai. Based on core research and analysis, my work included web and market research, creating and running financial models, simulations, scenario analysis, etc. I got trained in the CRISIL way of doing things – with independence and analytical rigor. Moreover, the culture of being always together at CRISIL was what I loved the most. The seniors used to tell different aspects of their part of work and were always ready to help.”
Delivery
Try your best to deliver high-quality work and if possible ahead of the stipulated deadline. It creates a good impression because if you are able to save the time of the company and managers then you are definitely a boon for the company and chances of getting an offer increase as any company would not want to lose a person who could save their time, without compromising on the quality of work.
Donika Juthani from DA-IICT shared her experience of interning at Goldman Sachs.
She says, “With no experience in web development, my buddy became my first point of contact. She explained the project structure, tools to be used for development, and user requirements. We worked in weekly sprints and thus, there were weekly scrum meetings with the manager to check up on my work and guide me with further tasks. My manager had communicated what was expected out of me and my responsibilities as an intern beforehand so that I can make the best of this internship. At the end of 6 weeks, I had to present my work to a team of VPS. They thoroughly went through my work, asked a lot of questions and it was almost like an interview.
On completion of my internship at Goldman Sachs, I was satisfied and content with my work. I had built a great network with lots of people and saying goodbye to all was a bit difficult. I could’ve never worked so efficiently had I been alone. All the hard work and dedication finally paid off when I received the PPO one month after the completion of my summer internship at Goldman Sachs. I am enthused to be able to finally visit the Bangalore office in 2021 as a full-time employee!”
Leveraging your mentor
In most companies, every intern is assigned a mentor who guides the intern throughout the course of the internship. If you face any problems with the work given or have doubts you should directly talk to your mentor. If there are any personal concerns that you are not comfortable in sharing with the mentor, you can try and contact a senior person in the company if you have a good relationship with them or the HR of the company because these people have been working for a long time in the company and can help you in smoothly navigating through the challenges of the internship.
Self-awareness
It is extremely important for interns to be self-aware regarding their performance in the internship. The things they are doing well and the areas where they are lacking. Here it is also important that you are taking negative feedback in a good way and realizing your mistakes and showing the manager that you are working on them. Such kind of people who take every kind of feedback positively and improvise themselves constantly in their weak areas is what any company needs as employees
Kamal Jassal from Department of Management Studies, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad shared his internship experience at Frost and Sullivan India.
He says, “The learning outcomes were manifold. But to say that I learned Excel in this internship would be an understatement. What I did learn as a fresher was when to say Yes or No to a task in a professional environment. There are times when passion does take a back seat as deadlines loom over your head. During these times, lending a helping hand to the team is what truly outshines. This internship made me punch above my weight and I am glad that I got a taste of what corporate life is all about in the truest sense through this stint. Even though my internship at Frost and Sullivan India was working from home, it taught me a great deal of patience and soft skill.”
Awareness of the latest happenings
It is a basic requirement that the intern should yearn for learning more in the field they are interning in and are up to date with the latest happenings in it through newspapers, online resources, etc. Being more aware of your field also helps you in conversing with the employees in the company about different topics or the latest news in the field that might be worth discussing and talking about.
Try to learn as much as possible
An internship is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the field you wish to work in future as you get a chance to connect with the employees, top-level managers of the company. Their experiences will definitely help you a lot in carving your own path in that field as you will be more aware. Have an inquisitive nature don’t hesitate and ask as many questions as possible.
Prakhar Dikshit from DIME IIT Kanpur shared his learning experience as a Product Management intern at Perpule.
He says, “Apart from the many skills I gained during my internship period at Purple, one of the most important was the knowledge of Google Analytics. It was key learning as it helped me generate reports from funnel data to analyze drop-offs, bounce rate, website traffic, etc. I learned to become and manage my team as a leader. I gathered the required information, communicated the same to the development team, added my own insights about a possible solution, and tracked the progress of the team. It gave me a chance to enhance my management skills as a Product Manager, involving owning up to problems and leading the team to a successful solution.”
Another student, Akshay Kumar from NICMAR, Pune shared his internship journey at TraceCost as a Project Coordinator.
He says, “As the Project Coordinator, I worked with construction giants of the industry. We as a company developed a complete automation module, wherein I contributed to the EHS module with the clients themselves. The major lesson that has stayed with me through the course of this internship at TraceCost is that as a Project Coordinator, it was my sole responsibility of keeping everyone on the same page, and it was necessary to go beyond the task allotted sometimes in order to learn. This was especially true in the challenging times that we face today when our ability to learn is challenged every day.”
Show that you can add value to the company
Through the different tasks and projects that you will be given as an intern, your final assessment will happen and the company will decide if you are valuable for them or not. So try to work as hard as you can and give it your best shot. If you face any problems with the work that is assigned, communicate with your mentor and clear those doubts as it will help you to learn and not make mistakes in the final submission
Vivek Sharma from IBS Hyderabad shared his experience of interning at the Times of India during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He says, “Although the pandemic took a toll on us during the internship, our work shifted to the virtual mode where we had to virtually pitch customers and B2B clients, follow up with customers, vendor management, and find supply chain bottlenecks. This helped us learn various aspects of digital marketing, which indeed is unlike traditional marketing. Times of India ensured that it connected with the interns both on and off the field. We were rewarded every week as per the sales numbers. Though the summer internship program gave numerous intangible learnings, at the completion of three months internship, I was the best intern at the Times of India with maximum sales.”
Express your gratitude
Always remember to thank all those people of the company who supported you throughout the course of your internship and guided you, when your internship is about to end.