Making the Most of Your Internship
With the first month of the semester behind us, surely you have settled into the routine and are becoming acquainted with your classmates and professors. Hopefully by the time finals roll around you will know more than just a few faces.
It’s easy to get midway through the semester and realize you haven't made any real connections. The same is true of internships. When you find yourself in a new workplace, it might take some time to adjust.
A recent article on theMuse.com lists seven easy ways to make a lasting impression on your coworkers and improve your chance of earning a full-time job offer. Some might seem obvious, but it’s amazing how often we overlook them.
Smile
Smiling might be the easiest of the seven connection-building techniques to employ. While the usual closed-mouth grin might suffice, the author of theMuse.com article said she found much more success by offering everyone, even strangers, a “legitimate, teeth-and-all smile.”
“I found that almost everyone would grin back. In two seconds, we'd create a genuine, enjoyable connection, which would make talking to them in the kitchen or at happy hour that much easier and organic,” she writes.
This simple action lays the groundwork for a more in-depth connection at a later time. The same is true of talking, which is the second tactic on the author’s list.
Strike Up a Conversation
Chitchat might not be in your nature, but with a little effort and intentional dialogue you can make a new connection. The author said she would simply ask people how their day was going while they both got coffee or tea. She said that not everyone wants to have a conversation, but most do, in her experience.
A more business-minded approach to making connections, or networking, is adding coworkers on LinkedIn.
“Sarah from Advertising probably wouldn't have remembered me from our short encounter alone, but the request reinforced my name, face and title in her mind,” the author writes.
Some of the other techniques are holding doors open for people and going to office events.
The common goal of all the techniques is to meet people and leave an impression once your internship is over. Obviously you want companies to know you're smart and can do the work, but it might take something a little more to make them remember you.
After all, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
Read the full list of ways to connect with coworkers on theMus.com.