Making the Most of Your Internship

, Agency Life 3.13.20

Our spring interns have compiled a few tips to ensure students gain the most out of upcoming summer internships!

Ask as many questions as you can

You’ll be in an environment surrounded by industry professionals of all levels – take advantage of that. Whether you’re unsure about an assignment or you just want to learn more about an agency process, don’t be afraid to ask questions. 

-David Jones, Business Development

Step out of your comfort zone

As students, we all have a lot going on outside of our internships, but when you come into the office it’s important to be present. Your day-to-day assignments can change quickly in an agency and you may be asked to do things you haven’t done before, like creating the first draft of a new business proposal. Use this time to learn different skills and ask for help if you need it.

-Nina Sood, Federal Business Development

Know your deadlines

When you’re assigned a project, you’ll also be given a due date. Make sure this date is in your mind and you’re able to fulfill your responsibilities by the given date. A big part of agency life is understanding how to produce quality work while still hitting the deadlines in place. Your supervisor will always try to make sure your workload is never too much, but it’ll be up to you to communicate if you need help or feel that a deadline is unrealistic.

-Tate Jones, Communications Management  

It’s okay to make mistakes

No one expects you to be perfect or to know how to do everything right away! Your internship supervisor should understand that you’re there to learn – take each project as an opportunity to add a new skill to your portfolio. As long as it’s clear that you’re working to improve your skills and that you’re doing your best, a small mistake isn’t going to ruin the internship.

-Sunny King, Business Development