7 Things To Do Before Your Internship Ends

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7 Things To Do Before Your Internship Ends

Summer internships are wrapping up and you’re probably either heading back to school or preparing to enter the “real world” and start a full-time career. For new grads with little work experience in their field, internships can be a huge advantage to helping land your first entry-level job. But just because you completed your internship doesn’t mean you should just say your goodbyes and write the company off. Here are seven things you need to do before exiting your internship.

1. Say thank you. As soon as you can, send personalized emails or notes to everyone you had the chance to work with over the course of your internship to emphasize your gratitude for the opportunity and experience gained. Failing to properly say your thank you’s before exiting your internship will make you seem ungrateful.

2. Get feedback. Ask those you worked closely with for constructive criticism on your internship performance. This will help know what skills you need to improve upon for future jobs.

3. Update your resume and portfolio. Add your internships to your resume and include what your responsibilities were. Also, if you have any projects you worked on that you can include in your portfolio, ask for some copies of those documents before exiting your internship.

4. Stay in touch. Connect with people you worked with on LinkedIn and keep in touch with them! Having strong connections within your field can help you land a job. Also, you can ask if they would be willing to serve as references during your job search and/or provide you a recommendation. Don’t wait too long after exiting your internship to get back in touch.

5. Leave the door open for future work. If the company doesn’t have full-time openings right now or if you are heading back to school and aren’t available to work, still express your interest in having a future with the company. You never know when they’ll have an opening, and if you’re still in school, you’ll be on the job market before you know it.

6. Don’t burn bridges. Even if you don’t have any interest in working for the company in the future, still be courteous and professional when making your exit. You never know when your paths may cross with your internship co-workers again, so don’t leave a bad impression. Whether you want to work for the company or not, take advantage of all the new contacts you’ve made within your field.

7. Reflect on the experience. Internships teach you a lot about what you like and what you don’t like when it comes to your career. If you didn’t like the internship, was it the company culture that turned you off or the job tasks? What have you learned about your field and what would you still like to learn? Has this internship changed your ultimate career goals? Keep in mind that some internships are not always a true reflection of what you would actually be doing in your career. If you spent most of your time fetching coffee and making copies, look for another internship opportunity that will give you a better idea of what a job in your field really looks like.