learn. earn. intern.

Most students I have talked to have told me that they want to get an internship so they can learn more about their major and have some first-hand experience in their field.

Follow up:

While that is indeed a benefit and should be the focus of every internship, I found that some of the most profound things I learned were not specific to my major at all. In fact, they were life lessons that I will take with me no matter what career path I take. In no particular order, here are some of the more significant lessons I learned:

1. Choose your carpool partner wisely.

Mornings are bad enough without having to pray for a safe arrival the whole way to work.

For a short period of time, another intern and I took turns driving to work. While this was a nice way to save on gas and have a little company during the morning commute, I did not expect that my life would be in danger. The other intern, who shall remain nameless, broke just about every traffic law, defied every notion of common sense, and managed to anger every other driver on the road – and that was just on the way in to work. It was nice to make a 50 minute drive in a half hour, but I then had to spend half the morning getting my heart out of my throat.

I always wondered if he thought people honked to be friendly.

 

2. Wash your dishes

It wasn’t too long after I started my internship that I learned an important part of office etiquette: clean up after yourself. As with most offices, we have a small kitchen with a refrigerator, microwave, etc. One day, I absentmindedly left some dishes I had used in the sink – a force of habit (I’m a college student). An hour or so later, one of my coworkers was trying to use the sink, but couldn’t because my stuff was in the way. It was kind of embarrassing when she asked me (in front of my boss) if I could wash my dishes, not to mention the flashbacks of my mom scolding me for the exact same thing.

It may be a small thing, but it shows respect for your coworkers when you try and clean up after yourself… and it also may give you a little practice for cleaning up that mess in the sink at home!

 

3. There are no stupid questions, only ones you shouldn’t ask.

When I first started, I tried as hard as I could to be low-key. The people I work with were very friendly and welcoming, but I was afraid of being a hassle or “getting in the way;” I avoided asking for stuff as much as I could. I have since found out that employers are really willing to work with interns and be patient as they learn new skills, after all that is why they hired interns in the first place! However, another intern at my company took it a little too far when he asked the boss if he could bring a couch in from his basement so that he “could take naps” on his lunch breaks. Needless to say, the boss shot that idea down real quick – after she found out he wasn’t joking.

The lesson of this story is to think about what you ask for, and how you present yourself to your coworkers and your bosses. If you don’t ask for ridiculous things, you will be taken a lot more seriously when it comes time to ask for something you really need.

 

More to come…