Smart ways to convert internships to job offers
You should keep calm and perform well during your internship
Interning for a company is a great chance for students to rub shoulders with people from the corporate world and gain valuable work experience. With more and more companies extending pre-placement offers to interns based on their performance during the internship period, it is important for interns to stand out from among the competition and impress their immediate managers.
Internships can be nerve-wracking too, but your ability to keep calm and perform well can also help you build strong business relationships and get you your first full-time job.
Kumbhat Suneet Sushil is an IIM Calcutta graduate who worked at Amazon as product marketing intern. “People who have the best ideas and have done good research will not got a full-time offer if they cannot represent them well. It is important to help others understand your work without taking too much of their time,” he says.
Some of you might get an internship offer in a different city, away from home. “Make the most of this opportunity even outside of work. Make friends with your co-interns and colleagues. You never know which connection will turn out to be helpful in your future,” says Purvabh Surana, an IIFT graduate, who interned with Madura Fashion and Lifestyle as a sales and marketing intern and worked on improving Allen Solly’s performance in the trousers section of retailing company Shoppers Stop.
Maintaining a healthy relationship with seniors at work is important. “Always be proactive in reaching out to seniors. What should not happen is that you don’t get enough work just because you did not ask for it. Companies do notice this and it affects your chances of getting a pre-placement offer,” says Rajul Mangal, an IIM Kozhikode graduate who interned with Pidilite and was responsible for recommending a go-to-market strategy for entry in a new market.
Read more: Straight route from internships to jobs
10 things that will help you make sure the company you are interning with loves you:
Communicate well: Focus on how you are able to talk about the work you do, in a clear, simple, easy-to-understand way. Also, keep checking on the progress of your project with your mentor to make sure that you are on the right track.
Be a team player: Ask your team members questions. They have been working at the company for a longer time than you and understand things better than you do. This would also help you bond with them and make long-lasting relationships.
Do your research: Always do your research. Find out as much as you can about the company.
Enjoy your work: It’s easy buckling under the many pressures of being an intern. Real world business problems don’t come with an answer key, and neither will your internship. You will be evaluated for your approach, your passion and your creativity. This is your chance to experience an industry, and a great company. Find out if this is where you want to build your dream career.
Know your target group: This is generally true, but especially so for sales and marketing interns. Try to get an experience of as much of your real world value chain as you can. Go to stores, interact with shopkeepers and assistants and question all the customers you possibly can. Nothing will come close to making a good presentation as much as knowing those little nuances. Your management might be your target group, but this is their target group.
Network: Network with fellow interns and seniors. It goes a long way in helping you work on projects and improve your performance. Don’t just be immersed in your project work but try to understand what other interns and teams are doing, across all roles. This will give you good exposure.
Be punctual: Reach your office on time. Do not over promise and under deliver. Only take on what you can complete in the stipulated time.
