Internship Mastery

The Technology Student's Guide to Crushing Your Internship and Launching Your Career

Ryan D. Glick

• Publisher: Glick Press
• Year: 2019
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780578611297
• Topic: Crescita personale
• Subtopic: Industria informatica

PART 1:

Before Your Internship

In this first part of the book, we’re going to cover all the considerations and action items you need to be aware of before you start an internship. Regardless of whether you have an internship lined up or not, this part of the book has valuable insights that will help you:

• Define your internship goals and objectives
• Prepare your resume and cover letter
• Find the right internship for you
• Apply for your ideal internship
• Nail your interview

CHAPTER 1

Define Your Goals and Objectives

There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it. —Napoleon Hill, author

Let’s face it: planning can be super boring. It’s much more fun to get after it and get things done. Why take the time to put together a plan—especially for something as seemingly trivial as an internship?

Here are the facts. We’re not all the same. We don’t have the same future goals. We don’t have the same level of ambition and determination. Not only are we all different; internships are different, too. This is why outlining your goals and objectives is important to your success.

Before we get into the details, head over to the Internship Mastery Insider Resources page, where you can access the workbook that you’ll fill out as you go through this book. You can find both digital and printable versions here: https://ryanglick.com/intern-resources.

YOUR FUTURE CAREER

Think about the next five years. Will you be working for a company for the next five years? Or will you branch out on your own at some point? This is the most important question in choosing the right internship. If you’re an entrepreneurial person and you plan to branch out and start your own business within the next five years, then this is important to note. If you’re after the security of a stable career with a larger organization, then this is also important to note. Ultimately, you’re going to use this information to ensure you find the right internship, which we’ll discuss in more detail when we get to Chapter 3. Okay, fill out the first part of the workbook with your five-year career objective.

PERSONALITY TEST

A great tool for self-analysis as we go through the next couple of sections is to spend five to ten minutes taking the free Myers Briggs online personality test you can access from here: https://ryanglick.com/personality-test. I know this doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, yet you’ll find that this test is surprisingly accurate and helpful. You can even take it multiple times to confirm your results are consistent.

Now that you’ve taken your personality test, what did you think? Did your assigned personality type describe you accurately? I’ve taken this personality test on multiple occasions, and it’s almost creepy how closely it describes my strengths, weaknesses, and other traits. In case you’re interested, I’m a “Turbulent Architect”—INTJ-T. Are you similar?

Take a look at your results in detail. Check out the various sections for your personality type. By analyzing your results, you’ll not only learn about your self, but also about personality types and how best to work with them. This will be helpful during your internship and as you start your career. I’d encourage you to take this personality test again when you finish your internship to see if your personality has changed at all.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

I’m sure you’ve heard enough about strengths and weaknesses to make your head spin. I know I have. I definitely remember nonstop talk about it when I was in college. As much as you might think it’s all just fluff (and some of it can be), there’s real value in exploring your strengths and weaknesses when you do it right. Let me explain with a story about a fictional intern. We’ll call him Ted.

Ted is a third-year student at a local state college. He’s somewhat introverted and hardworking, and he’s following in his dad’s footsteps to become a software engineer. Ted is the stereotypical software engineer—quiet, reserved, and keeps to himself. He has no interest in speaking in front of large groups. He wants to spend his time in small groups or alone, writing lines of code. Today’s conventional wisdom tells Ted that he should ignore his primary weakness (shyness) and double down on his primary strengths (hardworking and innovative). So Ted continues through his twelve-week internship, and he churns out a lot of great code. He primarily sticks to himself. He doesn’t interact with any other interns or any other teams. He talks to team members when they approach him, but he rarely initiates a conversation. His twelve weeks go quickly, and by the time he gets to the end of it, Ted may be a stronger technician, but he’s still the same guy he was when he arrived. What’s wrong with this picture?

Well, conventional wisdom is flat-out wrong. To ignore your weaknesses is to stay in your comfort zone. And staying in your comfort zone is a recipe for being average. This is exactly what Ted did. He never put himself out there. He didn’t stretch himself beyond his current level of shyness. Here’s the deal. You don’t have to completely reinvent yourself and become someone you’re not. You have a certain set of skills that you’re good at and you enjoy, and you most certainly should spend time becoming more of an expert in those areas. However, the only way you can grow is if you stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Ted would have achieved much more success in his internship if he had been more aware of his weaknesses ahead of time and made it a point to look for opportunities to stretch himself. He could have offered to lead a session with other software engineers on what Ted’s current college curriculum covers. He could have asked for opportunities to speak at department meetings on a topic he’s passionate about. Would this have been terrifying for Ted? Most likely, yes. That’s the point. You can go through the motions and blend in with the crowd, or you can find ways to grow. The choice is yours.

Fast forward five years. Where is Ted now? The stay in your comfort zone Ted is still doing the same job with very little career advancement. The step outside of your comfort zone Ted is the technical lead of his department with many more advancement opportunities in his future. When you step outside of your comfort zone, you’ll realize you’re capable of much more than you previously believed.

Don’t get me wrong here—I realize you can’t be great at everything. You will have certain areas where you excel and others in which you’re mediocre. And that’s fine. The goal is to take on (and ask for) assignments, tasks, and projects that are just beyond your skill level. This is how you stretch yourself.

Grab your workbook and fill out the strengths and weaknesses section under Chapter 1. Be honest with yourself about your weaknesses. If it’s helpful, consult your personality test results to come up with your lists. You’ll reference this assessment throughout your internship, so make it clear where you struggle. If you want a great resource about an extreme way of stepping outside of your comfort zone, check out Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

Why are you looking for an internship? If your reason is simply so you can add it to your resume, then you’re wasting your time. Seriously! Resume building is not as important as it used to be. If you’re only doing an internship because someone told you to, it’s time to think long and hard about your motives and intentions. It’s fine if someone else prodded you to get you to the point where you realized an internship was important, but if you’re going to undertake an internship, you’ll need to understand its true value. Showing up and going through the motions is not going to provide you with the growth necessary to springboard you into a great career.

Think about how you answered the question regarding your future career at the beginning of this chapter. Where do you want to be in five years? This is a very common question during the internship interview process. By considering it now, you’ll be ready with an honest and passionate response. With this in mind, think about how your internship can help you get where you want to be five years from now. What should you try to accomplish during ...

Table of contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• Part 1: Before Your Internship
• Chapter 1: Define Your Goals and Objectives
• Chapter 2: Fine-Tune Your Resume and Cover Letter
• Chapter 3: Find the Right Internship for You
• Chapter 4: Apply for Your Ideal Internships
• Chapter 5: Nail Your Interviews
• Chapter 6: You Landed an Internship—Celebrate It!
• Part 2: During Your Internship
• Chapter 7: Prep for The Start of Your Internship
• Chapter 8: Making the Most of Your Internship
• Part 3: After Your Internship
• Chapter 9: Internship Retro
• Part 4: Accelerate Your Growth
• Chapter 10: How to Avoid the Same Money Mistakes I Made
• Chapter 11: Fifteen Books I Wish I’d Known About When I Graduated from College
• Chapter 12: Three Podcasts That Will Make You Smarter and Increase Your Personal Growth
• Chapter 13: My Two Cents
• Conclusion
• About the Author