This summer, our Think Productive HQ office in Brighton was fortunate enough to have amazing talent join our team as interns. All of them did a fantastic job and delivered some great work. Now they are happy to share their secrets of how to be a successful intern with the world.
Speak up When Confused
Do not be afraid to ask for help whenever you are stuck. At the end of the day, you’re an intern who is learning and gaining experience on the way. No one expects you to come into work and be fully qualified to do anything and everything, therefore do not place an unhealthy amount of pressure upon yourself.
Ask for Work
This may not sound entirely appealing to you, but requesting for extra work once you have finished your last task is effective. Each and every task is either building up your skills, giving you new skills, or perhaps even both. This is precisely what you want, to leave your internship with a greater set of skills and experience, than when you first started.
List of Tasks
Create a list of daily tasks for the next day, so you know what is expected of you and what you need to do, which avoids wasting time trying to figure out what is expected of you. From that, create a weekly list, so you can have a general idea of how you can delegate each action for each day.
Breaks
Take your breaks, and do not feel pressured to do work whilst you are meant to be taking a rest away from it. Do not do out of hours work when you get home. You will have plenty of time at work to do that. Your free time is for you, which helps you get less distracted by external forces, and increases productivity and attention during the time you are meant to work.
Be Open, Be Positive
Have a good attitude towards your work, workplace and colleagues. The way you respond to your work has a direct effect on the outcome of your work, as well as your productivity. Be open to new things and always approach each task as a challenge to build on. Do not shy away, but take it as an opportunity to develop yourself and your work.
Most importantly, just have fun, learn, grow, and love what you do!
Have you had an internship this summer? Are you looking to start one? Tell us about it @thinkproductive
By Rosie To