Take your internship seriously

Internships are launching boards that initiate you into your career. They can be indescribable learning experiences. But if you take them lightheartedly and demonstrate no penchant to learn, your future will be plagued with hitches and difficulties. And your very standing and status will take a beating.

How do interns falter and how can they do well during the period of their training. The answers to this question are well-known to everybody who is on the threshold of one’s career. But despite such awareness, young men and women falter during their internship. Some major slip-ups and erring acts – deliberate or in inadvertent – done by them; and ways and means to guard against them are:

·   Not following dress codes: If you think that you can dress as you like, a wrong message will go out that you have a casual approach. Hence it is necessary that you observe how your seniors dress up at work and use your prudence to emulate them. If there is a dress code, you should not violate it. Remember that the clothes that you wear are an extension of your personality.

·   Excessive mingling with friends: You may like to mingle and move around with friends of your age, but concurrently you should also make efforts to be acquainted with other staff - those who are elder and more experienced than you. In doing so, you will always stand to gain because you can fall back on them in times of need. Senior employees will help you hook up with prospective openings and also serve as good references.

·   Disregarding workplace conventions: Office traditions are unseen powers that manifest the manner in which things function there. You can learn about them by evaluating the conduct of others. For example, if everybody is punctual, there is no reason why you should be late. Following office traditions help you in being assessed as a person who can play responsible roles in a professional environment.

·   Extreme talkativeness: You may think that that you know everything, but in actuality your knowledge could be shallow. However, prudence demands that before you open your mouth to say anything, you should know how your organization functions. This way you will be able to make worthwhile contributions and get to be appreciated.

·   Slack & slapdash attitude: A workplace may appear to be relaxed, but the working environment there could well be stricter than a college. Out of college therefore, you should adjust yourself. The flippant attitude of collegians should be shed; use of slang, exclamations and gestures that are typical of students should be a thing of the past.

·   Non-seriousness in doing mundane assignments: Imagine this – your responsibilities also include checking that all lights are switched off before you leave the workplace. The task may appear menial, but if you take it on with devotion, you will be assigned important jobs in due course. As an intern, you have to establish your credibility and if you do humdrum tasks well, you will be recognized.

·   Closing eyes to matters where you aren’t involved: Turning a blind eye to assignments where you are not directly involved them will deprive you of valuable information about how things move in the organization. You should keep your ears and eyes open to what is happening around you, even in fields where you have no role to play.

·   Not acknowledging assistance: There will be occasions when others - fellow interns and employees will come to your help. You should recognize this and make it a point to express your gratefulness to them. Remember that anybody who is valued by you will be always ready to extend a helping hand.

·   Reluctance to seek feedback: It is likely that your line manager does not interact much with you and also does not offer any view or advice. Well, he could be a silent observer. You should take initiative and ask him how he feels about you and your work. You should be open to suggestions, criticism and counseling because such a disposition will strengthen your foundation.

Once your internship is over, you should not forget it as if it was not any significant learning experience. You must depart with an upbeat frame of mind. The period of association could have been small, but yet, you must maintain contact with everybody who was there to make you wiser. An occasional line to tell them that you are indebted for the pains taken to train you will stand you in good stead.

You should remember that success in your life and career will not come to you if you keep clutch on to your past. You can succeed only by planning for your future and learning to take on your future tasks. And internships offer you precisely that.