Professionalism empowers individuals by supporting personal development and career advancement, while simultaneously creating a positive work culture and cultivating top-performing teams.
Many students attending internships will experience professional work environments for the first time during an internship, which can be daunting and dressing appropriately daunting. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable and stylish work wear options available to them.
1. Dress to Impress
No matter the nature or style of your internship, dressing professionally should always be your goal. Dressing this way makes an impressionful first impression on coworkers and bosses while showing professionalism – this doesn’t necessarily mean wearing a suit every day; but dress pants, button-up shirt and tie/blazer should suffice. Mix and match pieces as you please for different looks such as pair dress pants with button-up shirt/blazer combo for more professional or pair khakis with blouse for a more relaxed style look.
Be sure to wear a suit when meeting with your supervisor or other higher-ups in the company, to show that you take both your job and their opinions seriously. Furthermore, always dress in an appropriately professional manner when meeting with clients – this will leave an excellent first impression with them as well.
Although it may be tempting to add flair and personality to your look with eye-catching glittery tops or tropical print shorts, interns should not go overboard when dressing professionally. Instead, focus on being true to yourself while dressing professionally; adding fun accessories like patterned ties or pocket squares may do just the trick!
2. Be on Time
If you want your internship to become full-time work, punctuality will demonstrate your dedication and demonstrate how well you manage deadlines – both essential skills for turning an internship into full-time employment. Being punctual tells employers you take your work seriously and are prepared for daily work commitment. Being punctual also showcases that you value their time as much as they do yours and are prepared for daily duties at work every day – two traits essential for turning any internship into full-time employment.
As soon as your timer goes off, stay focused on your job duties and avoid distractions such as social media or web surfing. When taking phone calls or responding to email correspondence related to business or training that falls within 15 minutes, or writing down all tasks for the day and prioritizing them so you can tackle the most pressing ones first.
As part of your internship experience, it can also be helpful to bring a notebook along to meetings and trainings in order to jot down notes in order to remember key points, and signal to your supervisor that you’re taking this experience seriously and would make an excellent employee if hired full-time.
At an internship, it’s also crucial to be open and honest with your supervisors, professors and mentors. If you are having difficulty balancing school and work obligations, feel free to discuss this so that they can offer advice or come up with solutions to assist. Communication helps build stronger relationships while strengthening them if there are opportunities for full-time employment after you complete your internship experience.
3. Communicate Effectively
Communication skills are one of the cornerstones of professional success, and during an internship this ability becomes even more critical. Employers highly prize interns who can clearly express their thoughts and ideas while listening attentively and responding appropriately to feedback given from others.
Communication efficiently involves being open and honest about any hurdles or challenges you are encountering at work so that supervisors can provide as much help as possible.
If you’re experiencing difficulty finishing projects on time or are unable to attend meetings because of unexpected circumstances at home, inform your supervisor immediately. Better to face challenges head-on rather than struggling through them without ever telling anyone that something is off.
If someone asks you to meet online with them, take steps to make the meeting as effective and relaxed as possible. Prepare an undistracted area before beginning your call – this shows your internship supervisors that you take it seriously and care about delivering an optimal performance.
Being proactive when it comes to communicating is vital not only for relationships with supervisors and coworkers, but also with full-time employees and fellow interns. Meetings over the phone or video chat is preferable as texting and email can leave room for misinterpretation that requires back and forth discussion of clarifications or additional questions.
4. Take Responsibility
There was once a time when interning meant fetching coffee and doing unappealing tasks nobody else wanted to do; or simply staring blankly at their computer screens. No longer! Now interns have an opportunity to grow and contribute meaningfully while developing skills while developing an eagerness to learn new things.
Interns must not only work hard and meet expectations, but must also take personal responsibility for their actions. They should be conscious of how they come across to others and manage any impression they make; being respectful towards colleagues while not gossiping or making inappropriate remarks are priorities as is being aware of communication structures and norms in the workplace – being available via phone or email when necessary is also key.
Interns should take an active approach to seeking learning opportunities rather than waiting until assigned projects or tasks arrive. They should offer to attend meetings where they can observe how other people handle sensitive subjects and conflicts, or shadow other employees/teams where applicable to witness how all divisions within an organization collaborate to meet common goals.
At the conclusion of an internship, supervisors should provide constructive feedback to interns on their performance and achievements. This feedback should reflect both short-term and long-term goals set by interns prior to beginning the internship; this will allow them to create an individual plan to ensure future career success. Depending on individual situations, these plans may also include specific methods of improving future performances while meeting or surpassing set goals.
5. Demonstrate a Positive Attitude
As part of an internship, you will likely be assigned several projects. Showcase your work ethic by completing them all quickly and on schedule while also taking initiative in finding ways to assist team members or supervisors with their tasks – doing this will demonstrate that you’re proactive rather than waiting around to be told what to do!
Employers want to see that interns have a positive outlook when interning. Employers want to see that you’re willing to put in extra hours when necessary and demonstrate this by meeting all deadlines or working collaboratively on difficult projects with team. Being happy and positive makes others around you happier as well.
Respect is of utmost importance when dealing with other employees and clients at any given time, both internally and externally. By showing kindness towards fellow interns and clients alike, your respect will in return be reciprocated by them. Likewise, being courteous towards other interns will allow you to form bonds that build rapport within the internship community. Finally, being kind is extremely crucial; always go out of your way to be nice towards other interns, coworkers, customers or any other group to demonstrate that you’re an ideal contributor who adds something positive into the company culture!
Interning is an incredible opportunity to gain experience in the workplace and set yourself up for future success upon graduation. By following these tips to stand out as a stellar intern and make yourself stand out as a stellar intern you are well on your way to a prosperous career! Best wishes from Amanda Lee, Internship Specialist