Ahhh! You finally landed your first internship with the help of the Knowlton Center! Congratulations! This is a big step into your career, and you should be proud! Now, what should you do next? How do you make the most out of your internship experience? As an ex-intern of Amazon, I have learned how to maximize one’s experience.
At the beginning of an internship, it can be intimidating – especially walking into a new environment with new duties and responsibilities. Despite this recent change of pace, it’s essential to ask questions, make connections, and learn more about your field! Therefore, I recommend coffee chats. Coffee chats are typically 15-30 minute long conversations where you expand your network and ask any burning questions that you may have about the company, career field, or general life advice.
If you don’t have any questions, here are some general ones that you can ask:
- What’s your background, and how did you get into your current role?
- What do you enjoy most about your work?
- How do you approach networking, and do you have any tips for making meaningful connections in the industry?
Be sure to use the Knowlton Center’s Guide to Informational Interviewing for more questions and how to follow up.
At the end of every coffee chat, I recommend asking the colleague to meet three other employees so that you can continue to expand your network.
Now that you have started building your network, what’s next? After your first week on the job, it’s time to start jotting down your experience on a document. This is important because you want a collection of experiences you used when writing your resume.
Some topics to write about:
- What you’ve learned in the internship
- Any data/statistics that you have assisted in the company
- Week-by-week journal entries detailing the tasks and responsibilities you have performed throughout the week.
Finally, you’re in your final week of the internship. This is sometimes the most critical part of your internship experience. Now, it’s time to maintain connections and choose at least 2-3 employees that you resonated with during your coffee chats and continue to check in with them. Consider taking one of them as your mentor and build that relationship into a strong network of yours. Don’t be afraid to let that person know about your interest and your excitement to build a professional relationship.
With that being said, I wish you great luck on your internship hunt and your internship experience. Enjoy the experience and take advantage of the learning opportunities that you may come across.
