To really impress during your internship, you need to be prepared to go the extra mile. You never know what doors may open. If your boss is impressed, it can lead to a great reference or even a job at the company that you complete your internship.

 

Do your homework

If you want to be a great intern, then your hard work needs to start way before you even get to your interview. You should do your research about what the company does and what their main values are. If you have just been told you have got the internship, it may only be a few days until you start. Therefore, you should research the company before you start. This will also make you stand out at an interview.

 

Doing research on the history of the company and their culture is a good idea. If you are asked a question, it will look good if you know the answer. Research things like the industry, the boss and the types of people that you might be working with. This will give you more confidence when you start. If you want to impress, try ringing or emailing your boss and ask if there is any extra prep work or reading you can do before the starting day. Companies offering internships give you a chance, so do not waste it.

 

Showing commitment

If you really want to be a great intern, then you need to show commitment. If you can stay later and help out this will be viewed favourably. You should do whatever needs to be done to get the work completed. Being on time and staying later than you are expected will show a huge amount of commitment. The employees that get noticed are the ones that are happy to sacrifice their own time to work overtime or to help others out.

 

Employers tend to have a hard time finding loyal and committed employees. Interns who are willing to go the extra mile are going to be the ones that are offered a job. It is a good way for an employer to train and track your progress, so you need to take the time to prove to them you are worthy of a job, and you will be a great intern.

 

Treat an internship like a real job

If you want your employer to take you seriously, then you need to treat the internship like it is a job. Because it is! Just because you are an intern doesn’t mean that you won’t have some form of impact on the business. You are working within a real organisation so the work that you do and the mistakes that you are going to make will all have some sort of impact.

 

Get yourself a mentor

One key to being successful in your internship is to find a mentor that will support you and be happy to show you the ropes. This is someone that you are going to learn from and who will give you advice. You need to have a good mentor that is able to make the transition from being a student to an intern simple and less stressful.

 

You need to push yourself

Get your game on and don’t be afraid to take on new responsibilities that happen to go beyond your job description. Take your time to shine and learn as much as you can now. Don’t limit yourself to just doing the tasks that are in the job description. Whether you are an accounting intern or a finance intern, you need to do all that you can to impress your supervisor.