As you reach the stage of graduating from campus and entering the job market, internships become a crucial pathway for this transition.
However, many individuals encounter challenges on their first day of internship.
Internships offer a valuable opportunity to gain hands-on work experience in a specific industry.
Through internships, trainees can acquire essential skills, learn industry secrets, and network with seasoned professionals with years of field experience.
An internship provides a unique, firsthand opportunity to try out a particular job and a company and learn in the process. It’s also an opportunity for the company to try you out. That’s why it is so critical to make a good impression.
The first job day can be stressful for anyone, even a new employee working in the field for years.
Add in the fact that for many interns, this could be their first experience in a professional job setting, and the situation is even more traumatic and challenging. So it’s day one on the job, and the question is…now what? Below are five tips to help interns through the first day and beyond.
Dress the Part of Tomorrow, Not Today
Although it’s clear that today the job-at-hand is being a new intern, it’s not the long-term goal. Most interns are set on obtaining full-time employment after the internship is complete.
With that in mind, dress in a manner consistent with your future aspirations as a full-time employee.
Interns that dress professionally make it easy for employers to visualize them as full-time employees.
It also shows them that the intern is mature and serious about the position. Although it may be tempting to dress for comfort, resist this temptation and dress for a future job.
Ask Questions
On the first day, interns will receive much information about the company, daily job responsibilities, and expectations.
Make sure to ask questions about anything you don’t fully understand, especially when it comes to what the company expects throughout the internship.
This is also an excellent time to ask about the responsibilities that you will have during your internship, including work hours, breaks, time off, and supervisors.
You should also ask questions about the specific duties you’ll be asked to perform. Interns may often view some of their assigned duties as busy work.
Although it may seem this way, there’s usually more to the story. Practically everything a company would devote time and resources to impact the overall business ultimately.
This includes those tedious tasks interns are not always excited to take on. The solution: ask questions about specific tasks and what happens after completion.
Answering these questions will help us understand how even the most menial tasks affect others and the overall business.
Show Initiative and Willingness to Take on New Tasks
Any new intern’s goal is to make a good impression. One way to do this is to show initiative in the new job. Interns should look for opportunities to showcase their willingness to jump in and make an impact.
Ensure the new employer knows that new energy and enthusiasm are ready to be used to the company’s advantage.
Although the intern will not have all the skills to do the job, the intern should show initiative and demonstrate the skills they have and that they are eager to use them while learning more.
Showing initiative shows the employer that their intern is an excellent asset to the company, who is ready to contribute immediately and be a team player.
Share Your Capabilities, Goals, and Interests
Before our the first day, you undoubtedly shared information with the employer during the resume reviewing and interview processes.
This information was intriguing enough to get the internship. However, this information is not usually shared broadly throughout the organization.
Being an intern is all about learning new things and asking questions. As part of this, interns should look for opportunities to share their capabilities, goals, and interests throughout the organization.
In addition, by knowing the intern’s current capabilities, a supervisor now better understands the work the intern can do and likes to do.
Furthermore, information about the intern’s abilities and goals can now help shape their overall experience.
Knowing the intern’s goals and placing them in work situations that coincide with those goals helps both the employer and the intern.
The intern gets greater enjoyment from the internship, which leads to increased productivity for the employer.
Be Confident
Showing confidence is often easier said than done, especially as the new kid on the block. As the newest team member, interns often feel nervous or out of place.
This is a normal feeling as an intern or even a new employee. No intern is expected to know precisely how to do the work of an experienced employee.
But showing confidence in their ability to learn, get information, and enthusiastically complete tasks goes a long way.
Confidence can be displayed by showing good posture and eye contact, a professional appearance, and something straightforward that everyone can do–smile. A smile shows happiness, a good attitude, and confidence.
Confidence also can portray you as approachable, which makes others more likely to offer a helping hand. No one wants to be around someone who appears standoffish or unhappy.
Ensure you’re the intern that others are excited to get to know and be around. Wear a welcoming smile on your face that screams confidence.
The first day on a new job is often stressful for anyone, but these tips can help ensure you survive and make a good impression in the process.
