How to be Successful During a Summer Internship: Advice from Wakefly, Inc
Summer internships are a great way to gain experience and build relationships in your field of interest. Once you land an internship, there are many things that you can do to ensure that you have the best experience possible. Whether this is your first internship, or your third, these tips from Wakefly Inc. will help you be successful and make a lasting impression on your summer employer.
Be Open to Learning
Often times as an intern, you will be hired for a specific set of skills or interest, such as web development, or social media. It is important that you keep your mind open to learning everything that someone is willing to teach you. This will help you discover other interests related to what you may do, and develop a well-rounded skillset.
Ask a Lot of Questions
Asking questions show that you have an interest in what you are learning and that you are paying attention. If someone is teaching you how to perform a new task, make sure you ask why you are doing it and how it fits into the scope of the project. This will help you understand how different parts of the company come together to reach one goal and give your tasks context.
Be Professional
Adjusting to life in an office can be difficult, especially if this is your first internship. Talk to your manager and the HR representative at your company before you start to learn about the company culture. You want to make sure you know the dress code and a little bit about the office before your first day. Always be on time or early, and be respectful of the time of others in the company.
Learn as Much as Possible About the Company
Find an area of the company you think you may be interested in and ask to have coffee with someone. Find out what their job entails, how they got there, and what their favorite part about it is. This will not only help you build connections, but help you understand how different roles in the company fit together. It will also help you understand if you are in the right field; maybe there is something out there you love that you didn’t know existed!
Wakefly is excited to be hosting two interns from WPI this summer, one in web development and one in project management. We are also adding a recent graduate of WPI to our digital marketing team. Wakefly has always had a wonderful relationship with WPI students. Wakefly CEO Dean Dorazio graduated from WPI with a degree in Computer Science and stated, “I know that WPI has a really strong Computer Science program, and that the curriculum aligns perfectly with the knowledge we require our developers to have. I always love having WPI interns for the summer because it gives the students a chance to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real world situations our clients are facing”
To learn more about the opportunities Wakefly has for students and recent college graduates, visit our Careers page!
