Go for a successful internship with these six tips

Once you’re 'in', these tips will help you acquire a lot of knowledge that you can use in the future, to make your professional career a success. Afterwards, you might even end up with a nice job at the organisation where you did your internship. 
 

Proactivity is important during your internship period, to convince the organisation that you are capable of more than just doing small jobs. Moreover, it's never good if you are only asked to take minutes or do small administrative tasks. a  A bit of responsibility never hurt anyone, and an internship is the perfect way to come into contact with this. 

Do some research to find out which tasks you find most interesting, and tell your manager. This shows initiative and maybe you will even be allowed to specialise in these tasks! 
 

Of course, you want to turn your internship into a success and ensure you leave a great impression. But if you didn't finish your school activities at the end of the period, an organisation cannot fully hire you. 

So, make sure you spend enough time on the compulsory school assignments. Even better if they are of added value to the organisation. For instance, market research and analyses contain very valuable information for organisations, so kill two birds with one stone by providing the company with this information! 
 

Having a professional LinkedIn profile is a big asset, but using it well is even more important. 

During your internship you will meet people in your field. It’s therefore important to make connections with these people, firstly to get to know them better.  Secondly, these people can be of great importance when you need references or recommendations. 

In case the internship company can’t offer you a position, it’s still valuable to have your former colleagues in your LinkedIn network, to stay informed of developments within the organisation or the market. 
 

Our next internship tip is to stay aware of the main objective of your internship: learning. 

If you feel uncomfortable, because, for example, you’re not taken seriously or you cannot perform your tasks properly: ring the bell! Report these problems in time to your supervisor from school, but also to your manager. 

 

It's better for both parties to bring such matters to light, so they can be resolved in time. 
 

To make your internship a success, it’s important to introduce yourself to everyone in the first weeks and make a good impression. Show interest in your colleagues. This will make your future collaboration easier. When doing your schoolwork and looking for information, knowing your colleagues well comes in handy! 
 

An internship is a period in which you, as a student, put theory into practice. Since it may be your first experience in the field, making mistakes is not a strange thing. You have to learn from these mistakes, so don’t be afraid to admit them. Striving for perfection is of course not a bad quality, but don't let this limit you! 

 

Make your internship a success by trying to learn as much as possible! 

 

You can also do an internship at Hays. Would you like to put the above internship tips into practice and work in an international recruitment organisation? Then please let us know you’re interested. 

 

Learn about the advantages of a relevant side job alongside your studies or how to increase your chances of getting a job.