Turning Your Internship into a Full-Time Job

Internships benefit both the employee and the employer. The intern gets to gain valuable work experience (and figure out whether or not they actually like the work), while the company gets to evaluate potential employees and enhance their company's image by helping out college kids. A win-win situation for everyone.

Wouldn't it be nice if on the last day of your summer internship, your boss just handed you a full-time position for after graduation? While this is not gauranteed, it is also not uncommon. 59% of employers said they are likely to hire their interns as full-time, permanent employees, according to a new survey from CBcampus.com, CareerBuilder.com's college job-search site.

An article from CareerBuilder lists 5 ways to help you turn your internship into a full-time job:

1. Treat your internship like an extended job interview -- because it is. Arrive on time, beat (or at the very least meet) deadlines and consistently deliver strong work.
2. Seek out challenges -- Employers want employees who show initiative and a desire to learn and develop. The majority of employers (59%) are more likely to permanently hire a college intern who asks for more responsibilities.
3. Ask good questions -- Employers know you don't have all the answers. In fact, 46% said candidates who come to them with thoughtful questions have a better chance of getting hired full time.
4. Remember the golden rule -- Always be respectful, address co-workers courteously and don't get caught up in office gossip.
5. Leave a positive impression -- Show enthusiasm for the projects you're working on and the company overall; don't complain; and refrain from e-mailing or talking to friends.

A few tips that I have to add:
6. Network within the company by job shadowing and doing informational interviews! At my internship last summer, we had the opportunity to job shadow people from other departments. If this is not a formal part of your internship, you can ask your manager about it. This allows you to see what goes on in various parts of the company and network with more people.
7. Talk to your manager/mentor about what you'd like to do after graduation. They're there to help you grow. They likely have advice to offer, and even if they don't have a full-time position on their team for you, they know people (in and out of the company). Let them know what you're interested in. Ask them questions about their experiences and how they got to where they are.
8. Chances are that you'll have some down-time at your internship. If you're getting bored, don't be afraid to ask for more work. Offer to help out on other projects. This shows that you have initiative and that you're a team-player.

Link to article:
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1690-College-Internships-First-Jobs-5-Ways-to-Turn-Your-College-Internship-Into-a-Full-Time-Job/?sc_extcmp=JS_1690_advice&SiteId=cbmsn41690&catid=cg

How I Found My First Internship

We were asked to write about a time we had used networking to find an internship, job, or research experience. I wanted to share how I found my first internship. It was May of my sophomore year and I still had not found anything meaningful to do with my summer. I refused to spend another summer selling Dippin Dots. I had been applying to internships online, but had no luck. Time was running out and I had to do something quickly, so I decided to ask my boyfriend’s sister for advice. She was the only person I knew in the "real world” and because she was close to my age I felt pretty comfortable talking with her. She said that she would email her boss and see if he had any ideas for me. I didn’t think much of it, but a week later she called and announced that a branch in her company was going to create a summer internship for me! And within a few weeks I started working there. Of course, it won’t always be so easy, but the point is that it never hurts to try. Tell people what you are interested in and ask for ideas or advice. Who knows, if I had not talked to her, I may have ended up selling ice cream at the mall.

Informational Interview as networking

The informational interview is for some a curious hybrid of conversation and intimidation. That pesky intimidation factor doesn't need to be present, however, and won't be if you prepare just a little.

Since informational interviews are essentially an opportunity to learn about a specific job, career, or company, you should do a little research before you talk to someone. Find out about the position and the organization, and have a list of open-ended questions ready. From there, the conversation will flow, because people really enjoy talking about what they do. If you're genuinely interested, it will show.

That's where the networking part comes in: enthusiasm is a very attractive quality, as is knowledge about a field. If you can connect with your informational interviewer, you now have a contact at a company, and someone to turn to with questions, although it may take a while to develop the relationship to that point. Keep in touch, send a thank you card, update them on your internship searches, etc.

Building a connection with someone in a field you're interested is a great start at networking, and easy if you do your homework.

Networking 101:

Sometimes my friends get really stressed out when I ask them about networking. But this shouldn't be the case! Usually they assume that their network is spread thin, they haven't had the right job opportunities to have great referrals, etc. The reality is that they have been networking since they first stepped outside of their house. Beginning to build a network is usually just as simple as talking to the people you know and telling them that you're looking for a summer internship.

If you are a freshman looking for an internship, I suggest doing the following:

1. Talk to your parents and extended family and ask them if they know anyone who works in your area of study.
2. Ask your close friends from high school and grade school if their parents know anyone who works in your industry.
3. Talk to your professors.
4. Talk to your advisor, faculty fellow, or other faculty members you have met.
5. Talk to your friends at WU about your interest in finding a summer internship.
6. Go to the Career Fairs and introduce yourself to employers. Ask for their business cards. Even if you are not eligable for an internship at their firms this year, at least you've already made a significant contact at a firm you're interested in.

If you have run through all of these steps, you will already have a significant list of people to go to for help finding an internship or job down the road.

The bottom line is in order to find a job, tell other people that you are looking for one. show them your passion for what you do, and they might even be willing to help you out.