9 Skills You'll Need For Your Summer Internship

By Jessi Stickel on April 14, 2016

This article is brought to you by Dream Careers, the largest global internship program for college students offering all-inclusive programs in 11 cities worldwide. To learn more about Dream Careers, please visit us at SummerInternships.com.

For most college students, summer internships are a must. They allow you to gain hands-on experience in a specific field and may get your foot in the door as well.

Once you have landed your first internship, it can be pretty intimidating. Just like your first day of college, you don’t really know what to expect or how well you are going to perform.

Having knowledge of the skills you will most likely need at any type of internship may ease your mind. Here are the 9 “be’s” to follow for your first summer internship.

1. Be Punctual

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Being on time is crucial for any internship or career in general. Sometimes being late can come off as disrespect, and you definitely do not want your employer to think of you in that way. If you do ever find yourself in a predicament that causes you to be late to work, call and let someone know ahead of time. This way, no one is waiting on you and they can notice your effort.

2. Be Professional

A lot of the time interns are put in groups with other college student interns around the same age. This can feel like you are in the campus atmosphere, but you have to remind yourself that you are not in class, you are in a workplace and should act professional at all times.

You should be professional not only in attitude, but also in appearance. It is best to dress in business attire the first day so you can get a feel of what the norm is for that particular workplace.

3. Be Patient

Of course, interns are at the bottom of the chain in a work environment, but you should be aware of this before the first day. Many interns come off as conceited to employers because they think they can come into that workplace and have an important job like the actual employees.

You should go into the internship being aware that you may be asked to do meaningless jobs, but you have to be patient and work your way up. Don’t let the little things of being an intern get to your head — you are gaining experience that looks great on a resume.

4. Be Focused

Since this is a summer internship, you are probably missing out on fun summer festivities. Whether it’s your annual family vacay or just hanging out with your friends by the pool, you’ll feel pretty bummed out you are missing these activities at first.

However, you cannot keep that kind of mindset if you really want to be successful and stand out as an intern. Think of this internship as your gateway to your career, a career where you will eventually have paid leave and get to make memories with family and friends in the Bahamas one day (We can all dream, right?).

You have to remain focused on the job at hand and of course live it up in the sun on the weekends.

5. Be Committed

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Just like certain college courses, you may not like your internship at first. The first week will usually feel exhausting and feel like you will never get the hang of it, but you will. You don’t want to back out of an internship, just because it is a little difficult.

Just think, the more difficult the job, the more you will learn and experience. In the long run it will be beneficial to you, so be committed to the company you choose to intern for.

6. Be Eager to Learn

The whole point of an internship is to learn more about the field where you are interested in having a career. It is important that you take the initiative and try to push yourself to learn as much as possible during your time there.

If your employer needs an intern to volunteer for something, be the first one to raise your hand; you will gain more knowledge to help you in the future. Take every moment as a learning experience.

7. Be Open-Minded

Interns are given random and sometimes odd tasks, but you should always keep an open mind about theses things. If you go into every project thinking it is worthless or just busy work, then you will never create something extraordinary. If you could come up with a unique or clever idea, you may get recognized by highly respected personnel.

8. Be Confident

Don’t be afraid to speak out, if you have an interesting idea or way of doing a task given to you. Some employers look to their interns for a fresh perspective on things, so be confident with your work and ideas. However, you also do not want to cross any lines as an intern, so always remember to be respectful and professional while speaking your mind.

9. Be Collaborative

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Many interns are required to work together, so you have to have your communication skills ready. It would be a good idea to try and be easy-going while working with others. If you always want to be in charge, that can come off as bossy and controlling to the employer.

However, you do not want to just sit back and let everyone else do the work either. You want to show that you can peacefully and successfully collaborate with others in a work environment.

Looking for a top internship in an exciting city? Enroll in Dream Careers and guarantee yourself an internship and a fun summer in your choice of 11 cities globally. To visit our website, please click here.

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