You've landed an internship and now wonder, what's next? Here are a few ideas:
Keep looking for ways to make a difference. Say you’ve been hired to work on an employer's Web site and help an organization make the leap into more social networking, as interns often do. You may enjoy that position, but don't see it as limiting. For starters, a lot of interns find they’re faster than their employers think they’re going to be at a task, which leads to interns waiting around for something else to do. So speak up, and say, "The project is going well, and is there anything else for me to work on?" Or ask the employer to give you two or three tasks or one long-term project in addition to short-term ones to work on over the next week. Then if you finish one thing you don’t have to keep asking for more to do. And if you see an area where more could be done — maybe reorganizing the electronic files, researching articles about the organization, jump-starting a database that your boss mentioned to you — offer to take it on. When you show that you have initiative it opens up other opportunities.
Still looking for an internship or ready to move on to another one? Here are a few suggestions:
Get to know your professors first: When you give those of us who teach you an opportunity to know your better, whether it’s dropping by during office hours or meeting over coffee, then when we learn of internships, we will have a better sense of what might be a good match.
Send a resume and cover letter by email and snail mail: Find out who the hiring manager is and write a cover letter with someone’s name on it, not just "to whom it may concern." Wait a week or so, then call and say, "I’ve submitted my materials online and wanted to follow up because I’m sure you’re inundated." You can also print your resume and put a note on the top, saying, "I’m sure you have many applicants for your summer internship. I would love a chance to interview, even if just by phone," and mail it — the old-fashioned way. The whole idea is to make your resume stand out and you stand out.
Be sure to write a thank-you note — preferably one that you mail — because your prospective employer will remember that, which will help your resume stay on top of the pile.
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