My favorite part of writing my upcoming book Career Secret Sauce was getting to know the people I interviewed along the way.
One remarkable young woman I interviewed was Hayley St. Philip. She works at FOX Broadcasting and landed that job as a college internship.
Hayley gave me her etiquette for college internships and I think it’s great advice for everyone.
The Internship is The Interview – Never forget that your college internship is under a microscope. And it’s a very fast moving microscope – you’ll only have brief amount of time to make a great impression. It’s true that there will be a formal job interview before you get an offer for a fulltime job after graduation, but unless you impress as an intern, you’ll never get that far.
Make Lots of Friends -- Walk up to everyone, introduce yourself and shake their hand. Ask them about themselves and what they do. If they ask, tell them about yourself – but volunteer! Your goal is to make a positive, lasting impression. Show curiosity, ask them about themselves, their job, and how they got where they are.
Be Ridiculously Willing To Do the Most Menial Job -- Never forget that you’re on the bottom of the totem pole; it’s a privilege to be an intern. People will be sizing you up as either a “team player” or a “prima donna.” You never want to be the later.
Never forget that the best college internships aren’t the ones with the most glamour, they’re the ones that result in you being successful at a job you love. Once you’ve demonstrated what you can do, menial tasks will become ancient history.
You can also read articles from Dave Horne at www.careersecretsauce.com
9 Critical Strategies for Building a Winning Career
Dave Horne
