Hundreds of students ask me, “What are you looking for in a candidate?” every year. I love that they are thinking forwardly about how to get a job, but it’s a difficult question to answer because so many factors are involved. I wrote a former blog post about that and the skills I think are necessary for job seekers, but today I want to answer it in a different way.

Although every company has its own preferences, internships can be a very strong path to a full-time role if you treat the experience like a 10-12 week job interview. Many companies look to fill full-time positions with their former interns because they know a lot about the candidate’s character and skills, they would have less of an onboarding period due to their existing internal knowledge, and they’ve shown commitment to the organization already.

Because internships can be such a vital way for a student to build a personal brand and network, and they can turn into full-time opportunities later, I wanted to share my best pieces of advice for those interning this summer.

1) Be open-minded and curious.

Internships are amazing because they are a crash course into a particular area – one you may have very little knowledge or experience on. Regardless of the internship, it’s guaranteed that you’re stepping into a tremendous learning opportunity, so you should treat it as just that.

But with learning comes frustration, emotions, and hard work. You will get frustrated when you don’t know things. You will have to manage lots of different things without clear directions that you may receive in schoolwork. You will stumble through some projects or tasks with only a small amount of context or knowledge. It’s okay – remember that you’re learning. The most important thing is that you embrace all of the work with curiosity and be open to gaining as much perspective and knowledge from what you work on and whom you work with.

What does this look like?

• Ask questions often and early – don’t suffer in silence.
• Give yourself grace when you feel like you are behind or made a mistake.
• Be receptive to feedback and ask for it. (See my advice on feedback conversations here.)
• Avoid assumptions and always seek to understand first.
• Remember that you don’t have a syllabus at work, so your schedule and prioritization will have to be flexible.
• Ask for opportunities to learn about the industry or organization outside of your day-to-day work.

2) Own your development.

It can be tempting to think that the organization you’re working for is the one who is responsible for your overall internship experience. In some ways, that is true. However, in many ways, the internship experience is actually up to you. You are the one who dictates your attitude, how many questions you ask, setting and working towards goals, learning above and beyond what is in your project scope, and having necessary conversations with colleagues.

Before you step into your internship for the summer, take time to think about what you may actually have control over or how you can take ownership of what you take away from the experience. Reflect on why you applied for the internship or why you said “yes” to it – what are you hoping to get out of it?

Then once you know more about your project(s), scope, and team, once you start, you can make a game plan to accomplish your goal(s). And remember – it’s up to you to make it happen. Don’t wait for your manager to ask you about your hopes for the summer – make a plan and schedule a meeting with them to talk about it within the first two weeks of your internship. Ask for their support on certain tasks. If we sat around waiting for people to take care and plan for our future, we’d be waiting for the rest of our lives.

What does this look like?

• Be prepared to share with your manager what you want to get out of this summer. Schedule a meeting with them within the first two weeks of your start date to share it with them and ask for their support.
• Reflect on your long-term goals and how this internship may play a part in that – networking, skill building, experience, etc.
• Keep track of what you do each week to share in a capstone presentation or your resume.
• Take advantage of learning opportunities inside and outside of your team. Learn about the whole company or organization if you’re interested in other parts of the business.
• Get connected to an online community & resources that will help you make the most of whatever this summer throws at you with the Cultivate Growth: Learn to Launch Program! Cultivate Growth Co. and The Growth Movement are collaborating to host this opportunity for students like you who know they want to have a great summer but would like support to make that happen tangibly.

3) Network, network, network.

One of the most valuable parts of an internship is the connections you make, and if you capitalize on the opportunity, these connections will help you in the rest of your career. I’ve heard phrases that your network is your net worth and that it’s a personal asset. Both are true, and it still doesn’t showcase just how important this part of your life is. (Here’s my take.)

During your internship, you will have access to some very experienced, intelligent people in your industry and community. Do whatever you can to learn from those people while you have the chance to work with them or have the ability to schedule time with them through your company’s channels.

Avoid making the conversations solely about their jobs now – ask them about how they got to their roles, what advice they have for you as an intern or student, and where you can go to learn more about their part of the company/organization. Stand out with your thoughtful questions and be yourself – the best connections are mutual and continue to grow over time.

What does this look like?

• Set a goal for how many 1:1 calls/meetings you’d like to have with people in the organization.
• Ask your boss and team members for their recommendations on who you should connect with. Bonus points if you share with them what you want to get out of it before making the ask!
• Make a list of questions for your networking meetings, but be flexible and willing to steer the conversation based on how it goes. You can always schedule more time with them later if the discussion continues and goes deeper.
• Save the contact information for those you want to stay in touch with after the internship. Extra bonus points if you follow-up after your internship and provide updates at least every 6 months or so. People love to hear from you, and especially are grateful if you reach out to connect with them, not just when you need something.

Now what?

As you look to your summer and reflect on what you’d like to get out of the internship, I encourage you to consider this one way (mentioned in #2) to take your development to the next level.

If you’re interning this summer and want the community and resources to help you:

• Kick-start your success for your internship and career beginning on Week 1
• Set measurable, thoughtful goals for your internship
• Talk to your manager confidently about your development and long-term interests
• Have networking conversations that will lead to lifelong connections
• Track your internship activities throughout the summer to capture your contributions on a resume or in a capstone presentation
• Use the perspectives of other interns from around the country to help you work through challenging moments and learn as much as possible
• Ask for help from coaches, experts, peers, and managers in a way that makes you stand out as an engaged, curious team member

…then join us for this online, unique, and fun experience – the Cultivate Growth: Learn to Launch Program. You can join at any point this summer, but the sooner you join, the more long-term value you get for your development and internship.

Check out this information about the program and click here to join the exclusive group.

Best of luck in your summer plans!