Congratulations, you’ve bagged an internship! You’ve planted the seeds of success for a great career. An internship could go two ways. It could either be an amazing experience, where you learn a lot, or it could be a waste of your time. I started out as an intern at Bayt.com and grabbed this opportunity to display my skills. Luckily, I was able to convert my internship into a full-time job only two months after obtaining my undergraduate degree. In today’s job market, it really isn’t easy to find a job. In fact, 79% of fresh graduates in the Bayt.com ‘Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa‘ survey, July 2014, feel that getting a job is the biggest challenge of their generation. Internships provide a window of opportunities. The following tips will help you become the best intern ever:
It’s always better to be prepared beforehand. You may not have any previous work experience, therefore, everything might be new for you. Research your job role thoroughly, get to know what skills are required and prep yourself. Research the industry you will be working in. Connect with employees, perhaps your future boss, through social media. Ask them if there is anything you can do before the job starts. This will show a great initiative on your part.
During your internship, you will have a certain set of daily tasks that you must complete. Other times, your boss might give you projects to complete over a period of time. If you are not getting interesting projects, be proactive and ask for them. Don’t be afraid to do so! Managers appreciate employees who take initiative. If after asking, you don’t get any projects, you could identify a problem in the company and take ownership to solve it. Once it’s solved, you can present it to your manager. 78% of respondents agree that their organization encourages new ideas to be tried out, according to the Bayt.com ‘Innovation in the MENA' poll, January 2014. So take risks and innovate!
In my opinion, no question is ever stupid. In fact, the unwise thing to do would be to pretend that you understand a task, when in fact you don’t! Keep asking questions and clear away your doubts.
I started my internship in one department and landed a job in another! You should consider being flexible during your internship. The point of these two or three months is to learn as much as you can. If you are asked to be a receptionist for a day, go ahead and do it! Who knows what you can learn about administrative duties. If work is going slow in your department, take permission from your direct manager to ask the line managers of other departments for work. 40% of respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa‘ survey believe that experience in the field they want to work for is the most important factor when selecting a job. So get as much experience as you can and keep pushing yourself by working hard.
You must network in every stage of your career, especially during the internship stage. Invite your managers and colleagues for coffee. Have one-on-one sessions with them. Let them know about your passions and interests. Ask them for career advice. You can gather a lot of information this way such as job openings, company culture and strategy, and the way things work in the office. These contacts might prove useful in the future even if you don’t end up getting a full-time job at the company.
As an intern, you might be afraid to say ‘no’ to a task. You think saying no might create a bad impression. However, you might end up becoming unhappy with the work you are given, and this shouldn’t happen. 7 in 10 professionals feel comfortable to voice their opinion to their manager according to the Bayt.com ‘Employee Engagement in the MENA’ poll, April 2014. It’s okay to be assertive. If you don’t have enough time, or the task you have been given doesn’t add any value to your career, you can simply say ‘no’. But remember to do so politely. You could say something like “I’m sorry but I cannot do this task as I feel I have the potential to do something much more challenging. Can I be assigned to another more challenging project?”
Always dress appropriately and be on time! You are most definitely being observed. Be calm and composed, even if you have been given a lot of work. Show your manager that you can handle stressful situations and meet deadlines. Adhere to the office rules and talk to your HR manager about them. Don’t make silly mistakes such as clicking on “reply all” to a company-wide email. Most importantly, be confident and be real!
