Suzie Key Tima

Internships are the most valuable thing you can do while getting your engineering degree. I wish I had learned this when I first started engineering school. Unfortunately, I only did one internship toward the end of my college career, but it taught me so much in so little time. I used some of the techniques I will list below to maximize the return on my time investment while doing my internship and this can be useful to you.

Determine what you want out of your internship before you start it

This is an astronomically valuable thing to do. Setting goals in life is a must and this value carry into your internships as well. Before you start your internship this summer, sit down and consider what you want to learn. It’s also useful to chat about your goals with your supervisor. This has multiple benefits:

• It helps you set more realistic goals.
• It ensures that your supervisor is aware of your goals which can translate into them helping you achieve them.
• It presents you as someone who is dedicated and result-driven which is a useful impression to make on your supervisor if you want your internship to lead to a job in the future.

Build your network

I’m not going to lie to you. At times, your internship might get boring; either because your company is lacking work or your supervisor is too occupied to assign tasks and teach you. Use those times to meet people. Introduce yourself around the office and take an interest in what people do. Offer to help if that is okay with your supervisor.
It’s important to build those weak ties because they can lead to more/different internships, more knowledge, and opportunities.
This also goes for other interns at your company. Metting your peers can help you grow your horizon and challenge your thinking.

Ask questions

This one is a life skill. There is a lot of help on the internet, but I have learned that sometimes it’s best to walk over to the person in the adjacent cubicle and ask a ‘dumb question’ (no such thing) than it is to spend hours looking it up and figuring it out alone. This saves you time and helps develop rapport.

Ask for feedback

Here are a few questions you can ask your supervisor:

• Am I meeting your expectations in my work?
• How can I improve in this or that?
• Are there any specific tools, software, or technologies that I should familiarize myself with?
• Are there any networking opportunities or events that I should attend during my internship?
• What skills or knowledge do you think I should prioritize developing during my internship?

Stay in touch

I absolutely suck at this one. Your network is only as strong as your maintenance system. You need to keep those relationships growing. Here are a few you can do that:

• Send thank you notes/emails
• Connect on Linked-in
• Send an update on what you’re working on to the people you worked with
• Invite them to career fairs at your school
• Send birthday messages
• React to their media posts on Linked-in

I know you can use your internship to set you up for success.

Good luck!