If you think work experience is all about making tea, playing on Facebook and picking up the boss's laundry then think again. Thalia Thomspon gives us her top tips on making the most of that internship...
Be picky
No one likes working for free, but work experience placements, and some internships, are often expenses-only or unpaid. There’s a whole debate about what’s valuable experience and what’s exploitation, but pick the right placement and it can kick-start your career.
Ask around before you apply – you want to find out whether you’re going to be thrown in at the deep end or making the tea for a month. Check online forums, both professional ones and ones like Interns Anonymous. This has a vast collection of, mostly negative, experiences, but still makes useful reading. University careers offices may also have intern reports available to alumni.
Think about the range of work you’ll be doing too. Freelance journalist Hannah Davies says, “A big name can brighten up your CV and will impress some recruiters. An obscure one won’t earn obvious CV points, but you may be more likely to be given a wide range of tasks.”
Have a plan
By their nature, internships are time-limited. Being clear about what you want to achieve will help you stay focused on getting the most out of your time.
Journalist Laura Demetriou’s placement lasted just two weeks, but she got a lot out of it: “I knew that interviewing and pitching were the main points I needed help on. I was also determined to get two bylines. As it happened, I managed to sell two stories to national newspapers, one of which was my own idea.”
Show initiative
In a busy office, training the intern isn’t always going to be top of people’s list. Be prepared to work things out on your own. If you’re only given routine tasks, do them well and then suggest something else you could do.
If you don’t have enough to do, ask whether anyone else in the office needs help – it’s all good networking. Or take the opportunity to familarise yourself with new software.
Make the right impression
It’s important to get the balance right between being keen and being annoying. Animator Tom Matuszewski obviously got it right as his internship ended with a job offer. “I just tried to be as diligent as possible,” he says, “to take in everything and to listen to what everyone had to say. Some people want to make an impression by making a lot of noise; I tried to fit in as quickly as possible and make sure I was doing something useful all the time.”
Dealing with the dull stuff
There will almost certainly be dull parts to your job. Earlier this year, the editor of a national magazine tweeted about a work experience person walking out on the first day because transcribing was “boring”. In a small professional world, tales like this stick.
By contrast, university lecturer and journalist Andrew Noakes tells the story of a “workie who liked to roll into the office and ask, ‘Anyone got a job they don’t want to do?’” who then went on to become a columnist at the magazine.
Read more How to articles.
Got any intern tips – or horror stories? Leave a comment below.
Child labour in Brenzlaur Berg by Telekommunist available under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.