6 Secrets on How to Add Value to Your Internship

By Elizabeth Benu
Are you currently in an internship? How serious are you taking it or is it just something you are doing for the sake of it? An internship is your next stepping stone for a good career and it should be well done.

If you want it to be successful, Vincent Macharia a HR Officer at Copy Cat Limited gives his personal tips on how to add value to your internships.

1. Request for additional responsibilities
“These responsibilities should be in line or out of line with your profession depending on your abilities. It is advisable not to limit yourself to your career path,” Mr. Macharia says.

2. Attend meetings which senior managers attend
Mr. Macharia says that attending meetings gives the intern an opportunity to learn how decisions are made.
“When you get to interact with people in senior positions and engage in discussions with them, you will be enlightened on how to handle decisions. It also helps you raise your points across various forums and gets you noticed by the senior management,” he advises further

3. Come up with new initiatives, proposals and ideas
“When coming up with new ideas; analyze the methods that the organization uses and propose a better method. You can even offer to demonstrate through a meeting or practically doing it. As long as it meets the target,” Mr. Macharia adds.

He also adds that it would be best to take the initiative and champion those ideas that you come up with.

He is also quick to add that, “Benefits that come from utilizing this tips will include having the internship period extended.
“If it was for three months it gets extended to 6 months,” he explains.

4. Follow Through
Carol J Carter a success expert at Huffington suggests that, “Be impeccable with your follow through. Summarize meetings in emails. Clarify what you don’t understand. Pick up the phone, go into someone’s office and have a conversation and approach each assignment with a quality mindset.”

5. Have an open and curious mind
“Research as much as you can about the company and their competitors and you will have more to bring to the table,” the success expert adds.

6. Build Your Portfolio
“You should leave your internship with several examples of real projects and outcomes that you’ve completed or contributed to that you can share in a job interview. On day one, start a log of all the projects you’ve completed, skills you’ve acquired, and new people in your network,” Ms. Carter suggests.

And what advice does Mr. Macharia offer for a young graduate currently in an internship?

“An intern should not carry themselves as an intern. See yourself as a normal employee, supervisor or manager and this will help you be more productive at the internships,” he concludes.

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