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Internships
Making the Most Out of Your Opportunity
By Chad Carty
Choosing an internship field and then finding a company to match your criteria are not the only challenges faced by today's students. In fact, the biggest obstacles often occur during the job and must be skillfully handled in a ‘real time' manner. The most effective way for an intern to meet workplace challenges is to enter the job with the mindset of being self-empowered with hunger for knowledge and experience.
The Intangible Intern
Self-empowerment is the idea of living in the realm of positive possibilities,
and then actualizing those possibilities into existence. As
an intern this means entering the job with an open mind, and letting
go of any preconceived stories that will prevent you from meeting your
full potential. By releasing negative personal stories you have
about your situation or the people you are interning with, you can
create a powerful and confident impression when entering the job.
As an intern, a powerful hunger for knowledge and experience is an attitude that will positively penetrate every aspect of your thoughts, words, and actions. Consider the following as an example: as an intern you are assigned only menial tasks with no real learning value, but upon accepting the position you believed the work would be substantial. Instead of working with an attitude of disappointment, you choose to work with hunger. This shows the boss your competence and desire for more in-depth work; recognizing this, the boss begins to give you more substantial duties.
Confidence is Power
These are some tips to keep in mind that will empower you in your workplace
as an intern:
- Learn how to be committed to having yourself and the people around you win.
- Practice being confident and open with your superiors in a prepared and professional way.
- Don't create negative stories in your head of how others perceive you, because it will affect the way you present yourself.
- Learn to be okay in new and unfamiliar situations by enrolling others for help.
The Characteristics of a Successful Intern
Even when the tasks assigned to you seem to be monotonous it's
important to be exhausted from participating rather than exhausted from
surviving. If you can make it apparent to your employer that you
are responsible and follow through in every action you do, it's
likely you will be assigned greater responsibility. Committing
to your job and duties at the office and following through with them
is a quality that employers are sure to notice and take note of. You
never know if your internship could possibly lead to a connection or
a job offer! Finally, it is extremely important to practice being abundant
and successful. Possess vitality, and to bring those qualities
to the work environment, because those around you are sure to notice.
By putting these characteristics into your work ethic, an internship will become more rewarding and abundant in future possibilities that will empower not only yourself but the co-workers around you.