Posted by Nicole Klein Isenhour, Assistant Director at The Wasserman Center for Career Development at NYU-Poly, offers forth some tips for completing your internship.
You’re nearing the end of your internship so it must be time to throw caution to the wind right? WRONG…the final days, weeks, hours of your summer internship are equally as important as your first, if not more! How you leave things off will the employer will leave a lasting impression and set the stage for things moving forward. You always want to end things on a good note and have the employer remember your hard work all summer. Wrapping up the right way can lead to references, recommendations, mentorship, keeping in touch and most importantly: potential consideration for future positions down the line. Not sure what to do? No problem, that’s where we come in with the top 5 tips for wrapping up your internship.
- Make sure your projects are covered– Finish as much as you can but in the event you are leaving before a project is finished, leave strong documentation so that your coworkers can pick up where you left off or a new person can come in and know what you have already done or what needs to be done. Your coworkers will appreciate you keeping them in the loop and leaving thorough notes
- Schedule a final meeting with your supervisor – Review what you have done; projects, your goals moving forward, advice they might have for you in terms of professional development. Mention what you have learned and how this experience has been valuable to you.
- Ask for constructive feedback – Is there anything you did really well and are there areas for improvement that you could work on moving forward? A thing or two you might be able to improve upon? It shows the employer that you are mature, that you care about your growth and development and that you want to continue to improve and succeed.
- Thank everyone– Thank your supervisor but also thank anyone else you reported to and perhaps some you did not report to but wanted to thank for the experience, such as higher ups in the company. Ask for a few minutes of their time to drop in and discuss your internship. Use this time to informationally network, share what you learned, how you grew from your time there. Ask to keep in touch in the future, after the internship concludes. Also thank your fellow interns, coworkers and any other staff that contributed to your positive experience. Appreciation goes a long way and leaves a lasting impression. Send handwritten thank you notes as well!
- Stay connected– Send a hello email every month or 2 to the employer. See what they have been doing in the news or what is happening in the industry to use as some talking points, forward an article that might be applicable to their business and of interest to them. This shows you are invested and care about keeping up with industry trends and current events. You can also share something relevant you did in a class, a group project, a conference you attended, share it!
As always, feel free to make an appointment through CareerNet and come by the Wasserman Center for Career Development to discuss your personal internship experience and career goals/ next steps!
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