What does an internship need to improve in you before it's considered a good internship?
I'm planning on doing an internship in the summer but I'm not sure what makes an internship good or worth the time. #internships #japan #summer-jobs #summer-internship
3 answers
Jaime’s Answer
Any internship is a good internship, even the bad ones. Use your time to your advantage while you are interning. Sure... work on improving your "office" skills but more importantly, watch and listen. Study the professional and personal interactions. What do the employees do right / wrong? What does the boss do or say? Does that person have a positive / negative rapport with employees? How are they getting those great / terrible results? What do you think they should do differently? Learning all of these "soft skills" will help you find who and where you want to be in the workforce. But above all, smile, be grateful, and work as if your phone, I mean life, depends on it. It's all about a good reference!
Colby’s Answer
The primary purpose of an internship is to learn, whether that be technical skills, soft skills, or both. If you can manage to do so in some way, you are already growing as a professional. Obviously, you would find more satisfaction if you can grow in multiple areas at the same time. For example, a marketing intern might want to get better with public speaking, workplace etiquette, and industry analysis over a summer internship period. One way to go about this is to set goals for what you want to get out of the internship. Every so often, refer back to these goals and ask yourself, "Am I making progress towards this goal?" If not, how can you do so? Keep an improvement mentality to get the most out of your internships!
Colby recommends the following next steps:
Nicole’s Answer
The goal of an internship is to learn. So don't be afraid to ask questions and tell your manager what you want to be learning along the way!