Your internship is about to end and there are few ways to make sure your time leaves an impression on your employer. If you’re looking to have a potential future there as a full-time hire later down the road, it’s important to put your networking skills to the test and end your internship on a good note.
For starters, don’t use the last days of your internship to slack off and do nothing. Impress your supervisor and other coworkers by finishing any projects you had and continuing to do your routine work with a strong work ethic. Ask your supervisor if they need you to do anything else before you leave. If your work is being distributed to other future interns or coworkers to manage, ask if you can offer your advice to make the transition easier as Vault suggests.
When it comes to saying goodbye there is never an easy way. If you loved your internship and are sad to go, it’s important to maintain a level of professionalism. As much as you’d like to hug your supervisor you must ask them first, some people don’t like to. The same goes if you had the opposite experience with your internship and didn’t enjoy it as much as you had hoped. Don’t leave disgruntled and without saying goodbye. Even if you didn’t enjoy the internship it’s still important to network and leave on a good note in order to have a good reference on your resume for future employment.
Add a personal touch to your departure from your internship by writing hand-written notes. Send them out the day after you leave. It’s more personal and unique than doing the standard goodbye email. Don’t just send the thank-you note to your supervisor, but to others in the office that may have helped you along the way. Showing that you care and appreciate them will leave a lasting impression and will help you strengthen your relationship with those individuals for future references. Finally, for those coworkers you don’t need to send thank-you notes to you can always network through LinkedIn or Facebook.
Take the last days of your internship to set up a time to speak to your supervisor. This is the time to ask any final questions you may have and to discuss them being a reference for you. This is also the perfect opportunity to get final feedback on your work. Internships are invaluable learning experiences, so getting good structured feedback will help you continue on that path to career growth.
What are some things you did at the end of your internship to ensure a lasting contact? Share with us in the comments section below!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Enid Yu
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