Fitting In As An Intern
How should I prepare for my first day as an intern?
On the first day as an intern, first of all you want to be there early - half an hour early. You want to wear a suit. You want to dress your best. Afterwards you can see / feel the culture of the place. You want make a really good first impression and going to work as an intern usually in the first week dress your best because you're going to be walked around - you going to meet 8 million people. First bring a little notebook to write down everything: who you meet, phone numbers, important information. Have this with you throughout the entire experience: a) its great when you're done, b) while you're there you can flip through and say this number of so and so. Write everything down but get that notebook in advance. Have it on your first day because that will be huge - you're going to be introduced to everybody and get a goodnight's rest - don't fly there the night before. If you want the day before maybe figure out how you're going to get there, if its a new city / if its a new place so you know where you go - scout it out. Do a little research so when you walk in you're prepared and you're ready to kick butt.
When should I get into the office and how late should I stay?
The best interns are the ones that turn on the lights and turn them off at the end of the day. You want to be there early and you want to leave late. And those are the interns that stand out. There are three types of interns - the really good, the OK, and the really bad. And there's only one category that gets you that job, and it's the really good. If you're OK, you're with everybody else. If you're really bad, forget about it. But, the really good interns, the ones who are responsible, the ones who come in early, who leave late, who sweep the floors, those are the ones that will make it.
How should I act so that I fit in at my workplace?
The best thing to do, is to act like you're not an intern. Obviously you're an intern, you have intern labelled all over you. But the best thing to try to do is to peel off some of those intern labels. Obviously you'll be getting coffee, obviously you'll be making photo copies. But present yourself in the best way possible. Present yourself, not in the cocky sense, but present yourself in a way that says 'hey, I'm here to really kick but'. And that's the best way to fit in. To just be an adult. You've had all year to be a kid and go to parties and go to college and everything, but now for this summer, you're going to be a working person. And I always say the best thing to do is model this after the working people that you know. Whether it be your parents, your friends or anyone else, find someone that like he or she is really successful, he or she is working, and I'm just going to ask them before I start, "Hey, how do you act in the workplace?", you know, and "What do you talk about with your fellow co-workers?" Get some advice, it never hurts to ask.
What if everyone at my workplace is much older than I am?
So the way to fit in, in many senses is to be a kid who acts like an adult but who has this knowledge of face book, my space, the web that most adults do not have. So use that to your advantage because you are the only one sitting in that room that they can turn to and say so what is the kid thing. Almost every company wants to appeal through younger generation and most people working in this company are older people. So you got to be the go to person for the younger generation and be that spokesperson. But, at the same time everyday read the wall street journal so that when you arrive, oh! He was reading that article. So you try to fit in both ways but be that go to kid person who can speak the adult language and be really successful.
Is it OK to talk to everyone in my workplace?
It is best to gage the situation. There might be one or two people who are always busy and who really will not have time for you to stop in and say hi. But chances are, everybody is willing to talk to you. You are the intern. They want to teach. And also, they have probably been interns themselves so they know what it is like. I think it is great to try and talk. I think it is great to try and reach out to as many people as possible. Not in the annoying sense. Do not go up to them and be like I really want to talk to you. Go up to them and say if you have got a second I would really love to chat. Be friendly with everybody. Because first of all, the CEO might be wearing jeans. You do not know who is who and so it is just best to be friendly with everybody and yeah talk to everybody. Do not be annoying about it and if there is a crisis, if there is something else, probably not the best time. But if it is Friday afternoon and everyone is sort of not really doing anything, it is a great time to go up to somebody and say hey, just wanted to introduce myself. And do it earlier on. Go up to people and say hey, just wanted to introduce myself. I am so and so. I am the new intern. Let me know if you need any help.
My dad is friends with the CEO, so shouldn't I get special treatment?
Acting like you are a hotshot because you knew someone to get in, is not the way to start making friends. Honestly, don't mention if you know the CEO - that's great and congratulations, and the CEO will come over and say "How are you?" - but play that down a little bit. Because A) the other interns will hate you for it, and B) probably so will some of the other people, because you don't want to be labelled as "that kid who knows the CEO." Play it down.
Wasn't I chosen because everyone wants to hear my ideas and opinions?
I think in a lot of organizations probably they did hire you for a reason and probably one of those reasons was to hear what you think. Because they think you are smart, because they think you are with it, and they will turn to you for your opinion. However, don't in the middle of a meeting say "Oh oh oh! I've got a really good idea!" and throw out something that's like "Oh, there's that kid again..." So walk a fine line. They... if something is awful, you don't want to say "Oh, I think that's awful, no one's going to want to..." Cause, no. Also, don't start expressing your opinions your first day. You want to wait a little bit. You want to get the culture of the work environment. So if someone says, you know, "Eric, what is your opinion?" then you can say your opinion. But, especially the first month, it's great to sort of sit back and gauge the situation. There's that movie "Maverick" with Mel Gibson, and he sits there, and he walks into a card game. And he says you know, for the first hour, all I'm going to do is lose. And he loses for the first hour. But, during that hour, he sees how everyone bluffs and how everyone plays the game. And for the second, and after that first hour is up, he goes in for the kill. I think that's great, that's what you should do. For the first couple weeks, sit back. See how the work environment goes. See the work politics. See how the office moves and shakes, and see how best you can fit in there. Don't walk in and say this is what we're doing, because it's not going to get you anywhere. They're going to be like, "Who's the new kid?"
Do I have to do everything everyone tells me to do?
It's best to do what everyone asks you to do. That might include working when you go home, or that might include working on the weekends a little bit. That might include not going to a party, but doing some work. It's really best to help out everybody. There's certain levels to this. The first person you want to impress and you want to help is your boss, period. If your boss says, "I need this, it needs to be done, now, work on it now." If someone else gave you something, you can push that aside and say, "I'm sorry, my boss had me do this." It's also nice to say to your boss, "Hey, so-and-so wants me to work on this, is that okay?" Keep him in line with what you're doing.
What if I feel weird because I don't have anything to do?
If you're bored, if you have nothing to do, first see if you, if that's really the case. Maybe there's an assignment that's due in a month that you can work on now. But if you really have nothing to do, the first thing that you don't want to do is go up to your boss and "I'm bored. What should I do?" Like my eleven year old brother does that. You know, like try, try to be assertive and try to see if you can help out without having to ask what I should do. And sometimes it's okay, and sometimes you will as an intern kind of sit there and twiddle your thumbs. Chances are you'll have a computer, go read the New York Times. Don't go to MySpace.
