When applying for work experience or short internships in an office, we all know that however fantastic an opportunity it is, we will be expected to make endless cups of tea (or coffee, if you’ve secured a place in a particularly fashionable company) while photocopying 100 pages of something dull all while you organise the entirety of their intern inbox. Well, having done two, two week slots of internships this summer and discovering that I genuinely wanted to be useful, here are my top tips for persuading the company (or just the most junior person who is currently teaching you how to scan and then email it to yourself) that you’re capable of much more.
1. Do your research. It may sound obvious,
but knowing their ethos is not enough. A sure way to impress on your first day
is to know their clients, their history and any important people in their
company who helped make it happen.
2. Make suggestions. At one of the
agencies I was working at, I noticed that their website was littered with
typing errors. Apparently I showed initiative in offering to make
corrections. I was very happy to discover that this appeared to impress them- which
is always a nice feeling.
3. Be proactive. If you hear mutterings in
the wind of an onsite meeting or a conference call, muster up the courage to
ask if you can join. You will feel much more included in the company (and you
won’t have to flip the kettle on for at least an hour).
4. Network. Although you’ve probably been
assigned to a specific department or area of the office, don’t feel that you are
unable to circulate occasionally. You never know, someone downstairs might be
your brother’s girlfriend’s dog’s uncle (or they might just find you impressive
and offer you experience in the future).
Whatever the work you’re doing, make sure you feel valued.
When you arrive you are just forgettable free labour to them, but a bit of
(that magic word) initiative and you don’t have to stay that way.
No comments:
Post a Comment