Before You Leave that Summer Internship...

Finishing up your summer internship? Here are a few tips to leave on a high note and ensure that the connections you made during your summer will continue to be valuable into your job search.

1. Say thank you. Make sure that you thank each person you worked with over the past summer.

2. Get connected. Keep the business cards for all the contacts you made this summer and make sure to connect with them on Twitter, their blogs and LinkedIn.

3. Get your samples. If you have done work this summer that you would like to potentially use for a portfolio for future interviews ask if you can have a copy of your work.

4. Get coached. Ask your supervisor for areas where you can improve based on what he or she saw of your work performance this summer. This will be helpful for the future so that you don’t continue to make the same mistakes.

5. Keep working? Sometimes there is the possibility to keep working for the company remotely if you have a special area of expertise or interest in a project that the company is working on. It never hurts to ask!

6. Stay in touch. Keep in touch with people you worked with over the summer. Keep them up to date on what you are learning in school and where you are with your job search.

7. Say only good stuff. Even if you didn’t have a great experience this summer, don’t bad-mouth your company after you leave. You never know when you will need to use those contacts in the future and it will only burn bridges if all you have to say is bad things about the company.

8. Don’t burn bridges. Going along with #7, don’t tell your boss off on your last day of the internship, or anyone else you may not have enjoyed working with. Keep these relationships positive, they will come in handy in the future.

9. Share your experience. Talk about everything you learned in your blog, on your social networks, in your classes and with other students who may be interested in doing something similar to what you did this summer. Use that experience to fuel you. Learn more, keep practicing, and you will succeed. Share your experience and others will succeed with you—and that’s what it’s all about.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/9055.aspx.