You Got the Internship ...Now What?!

By Pooja Dang, columnist

So you have been interviewed. You WOW! them. You get the internship. Great.

Think it’s over? Think again. THE interview has just begun.

After securing an internship, many candidates are unsure about the next steps. Everybody has advice on how to interview well and get the job you want. Once you have it, now what? The first thing to do is to consider your internship a three-month opportunity to sell yourself to the company or firm you work for. Below are some key points to keep in mind before starting your internship.

• Know what is expected of you.
  Many candidates find the first few weeks of an internship overwhelming – they are not quite sure what they are supposed to do. During your first few days, make sure you sit down with your manager and go over the goals of the summer and his/her expectations. This will help you plan out your internship and avoid any misunderstandings at the end.
• Be curious.
  Ask a lot of questions – it’s the best way to learn. After all, you are not expected to come out of school knowing everything! Asking questions displays initiative and demonstrates your desire to learn.
• Recommend solutions.
  Whenever possible, try and come up with answers to problems instead of just bringing the problem up. Saying ‘here’s what’s wrong, here’s what I think we can do…’ will enhance your learning (even if you turn out to be wrong). No one will expect you to always have an answer.
• Check your work.
  A very common mistake that many people make is to hand off work that has blatant errors in it. Always take a break and check your work a second time before handing it in.
• Don’t try to be perfect.
  Nobody expects you to be. Nobody is.
• Network like crazy.
  Meet executives. Set up luncheons with individuals in different departments. Get to know them. Let them know you. Often, interns get more face time with senior management than most of the full-timers. Getting familiar with them will help you a great deal if you end up joining the company.
• Be a Rolodex Maniac!
  It’s never too early to start. You never know when or at what point one of your contacts will open doors for you.
• Evaluate the company or firm you work for.
  This is also YOURopportunity to determine whether the environment is right for YOU. Do you fit in? Can you see yourself working there on a long-term basis? A good friend of mine evaluates a company using this single criterion – ‘Can I see myself eating lunch with these people everyday?’ Whatever your method, the end result is the same.
• Be enthusiastic!
  There is nothing better than having an intern who makes an effort to learn a lot, meet people and have a good time.
• Have fun!
  You only have so many opportunities like this…make the best of it!

From The Future Actuary, Vol. 10, No. 3,  December 2001
Copyright 2001 Society of Actuaries
and Casualty Actuarial Society