Happy National Intern Day from your neighborhood 6x ex-Disney Intern & last year's WayUp's Top Intern! 🥳 I'm not an intern anymore 🤧, but I still wanted to share my top 5 pieces of advice for current/aspiring interns ⬇️
This year is the first year I haven't interned in three years, and I'm feeling all the sappy, bittersweet feels.
Doing internships afforded me opportunities I would've never thought possible at my age, and, to be frank, I wouldn't have the platform I have had I not had the opportunity to do internships.
So here are my top 5 pieces of advice for current & aspiring interns (read all the way through; #5 is the most important & my favorite 😉) ~
1️⃣ Record your activities, achievements, and milestones.
Everything. Take a moment once a day, once a week, and once a month to reflect on what you've completed and achieved. The best way to practice this is via executive summaries. Executive summaries are emails to yourself and a third party (mentor, colleague, etc) to keep you accountable that read in <1 min that describes your week's achievements, roadblocks, next week's "to-do," and key dates.
2️⃣ Don't pigeonhole yourself; diversify your efforts + go the extra mile.
Try as many *different* things as you can. Intern at different companies and in different organizations, and even try out different roles/job titles. I started my career thinking I would be a Software engineer, and I've since held roles in marketing, product management, social media, and venture capital. Also, get involved at work with things outside your scope ~ i.e. diversity employee resource groups.
3️⃣ Identify and find mentors, sponsors, and advocates.
Your company may or may not have a mentorship program in place, but you should still seek out a mentor, regardless. A mentor typically comes in the form of a manager, supervisor, or subject matter expert. Establish regular check-ins with your mentors, share your goals with them, and if there's a way they can help you with your goals, ask.
4️⃣ Do NOT be afraid to ask for help or admit you don't know something.
As a first-time intern, I wanted to make a really good impression and I was terrified of asking for help and admitting to not knowing something. But I was doing myself a disservice because the people around me were more than willing to help me and you don't want to get roadblocked by a question that could be easily answered.
5️⃣ Advocate for yourself - ask, ask, ask!!
Speak up and ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF!! Do NOT be afraid to be vocal about your achievements, your goals, and what you want. It's not always the smartest intern that gets the return offer; it's usually the one that advocates for themself the most. Also, if you want/want to do something, ASK! I asked to meet Kevin Feige and I ended up getting a tour of Marvel Studios, which is harder than getting into the Pentagon 😂 (iykyk).
I detect a SPIDER Bro around these parts.