Secrets on 4 Crucial Do’s & Don’ts For Any Successful Internship

By Florence Mukunya,
Jennifer Makori* is an administration intern with a recruitment firm and she says she is feeling unsettled and also unsure about the internship. To elaborate more she writes, “I feel confused in the office. Sometimes I find that I don’t have something to do because I haven’t been assigned specific duties and I don’t know whether to approach my supervisor and demand for more tasks. She adds that, “Also when the other staff are in the room and they happen to be chatting about interesting things, I don’t know whether to join in or just sit at my desk and just listen to them.”

You will agree that many interns are not sure what the acceptable behavior is once they start their internship and sometimes they end up on the losing end for not having done what was expected or not completing assignment as supposed to.

Are there dos and don’ts for internship programs?

“Yes there are dos and don’ts as at this particular time is when one is beginning their career path and mistakes made at this juncture could haunt the rest of your career life,” admits Martin Githaiga a HR Personnel at Corporate Staffing Services.

DOS
1. Always be punctual in the morning and leave a bit late in the evening.

Most interns don’t get to work early with the assumption that they are not regular employees while in the evening they are always the first ones to leave. “Give yourself as much time to learn as possible as that’s what took you there in the first place,” says Mr. Githaiga.

2. Ask questions
“An internship program is the best time to ask all the question you have about your career and the duties you are assigned as your supervisor knows and understands you are there to learn and have never done this before so they will have the patience to guide you through, utilize the time so that by the end of the program should you get a job you would be able to handle your duties as supposed to,” advices Mr. Githaiga

3. Interact with other members
“Interacting with the other colleagues helps in that you don’t have to be taught everything you have to do, sometimes you learn through observation,” he says

“It’s also advisable that you maintain the network as such people could refer you to other employers once the internship is over,” adds Mr. Githaiga.

4. Offer to help
“If and when you find yourself without something offer your assistance to some of your colleagues at work as opposed to just being idle. In the end whether you assist or handle a specific duty you end up learning which the main purpose of the internship is,” Githaiga says.

DON’TS

1. Don’t feel entitled to a certain duty
“As an intern make sure you engage yourself with almost all the activities that you are exposed to in the office, if you finish one assignment do not start surfing looking for something else you can do instead,” Mr. Githaiga recommends strictly.

2. Make sure you finish your internship program.
“Finishing your whole internship helps show the aspect of commitment to your future employer which is what most are looking for,” Mr. Githaiga says.

3. Don’t dress like you are back in campus.
“Dressing matters a lot dress official or according to the dressing code of the particular office. The way you dress communicates a lot on what angle you want your career to take,” says Mr. Githaiga.

4. Don’t pick the bad habits of the other employees
Some employees don’t have work ethics. “Don’t copy their bad habits, adhere to regulation such as the language used in the office, how a particular assignment is carried out, they might get away with it but that does not mean you will,” Mr. Githaiga retorts.

Are you preparing to join an internship program soon, what are you most scared of?

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