If this summer is the first opportunity to experience an internship in a field or career you might want to pursue, you may be wondering what to do as it comes to an end. Of course, you’ll want to exceed expectations until the very end and not leave any loose ends. One concrete example of how to do this is creating a manual of your job responsibilities and listing the outcomes and status of each responsibility. This is not only helpful to you, but to your employer.
Additionally, take the time to reflect on your internship. What did you like and what didn’t you like about the experience? What have you accomplished that addressed an organizational need? How have you grown during this experience? What did you learn about yourself? What are your career goals and could these goals be aligned with a permanent position with the organization? Alternatively, did you learn that this is not the path for you (which is just as important an outcome)? Knowing the answers to these types of questions will help you in conversations with others and will help you personally as you think about the next steps in aligning your skills and interests with potential career paths.
Do make sure to schedule an exit conversation with your supervisor and ask for a review. During the conversation, express thanks for the opportunity to intern. State what you specifically appreciate about your relationship with your supervisor. Perhaps it was that they provided autonomy or they gave you specific feedback that led to improvements. Providing an example or two of what you appreciated is likely to be helpful and leave them with the impression that you were truly invested in your internship experience. When getting feedback from your supervisor during the review, use your active listening skills to make sure they know you have heard what they said to you. For example, if the feedback is in an area you need to improve, you can reply “Thank you for this feedback. I am going to make sure I further work on improving X and Y by doing Z in the coming months.” Be sure to take notes when you are given feedback. If you’d like to explore working at the organization after graduating from college, this conversation is also an opportunity to approach the topic if it hasn’t already been discussed (see related article below).
Express your appreciation to others with whom you have worked or interacted during the internship. Similar to your conversation with your supervisor, provide specific examples of what you appreciated about those interactions.
Finally, keep in touch. Not just with your supervisor, but with colleagues. Connect with them on LinkedIn and respond to their posts. Create a Google Alert on the organization. This will allow you to communicate by email not only with updates on your professional and personal life but on organizational news that illustrate you are continuing to pay attention.
