What do you do if you want to maximize the long-term career benefits of internships in Communication?

Be purposeful. Before starting your first day, ask yourself what you want to get out of this internship. Is it just experience? Is it a return offer? Or is it both? Identify your goals and then envision how to get there. That is the first step to take.

Absolutely, setting clear goals is essential for making the most of your internship! For example, if you're interning at a marketing firm, you might aim to master tools like Google Analytics or develop a portfolio of social media campaigns. By sharing these objectives with your supervisor, you can align your efforts with your career aspirations and make the most of your internship experience. Your supervisor can also provide valuable insights and guidance to help you achieve your goals.

Set Clear Goals: Define your career goals and objectives before starting your internship. Determine what skills you want to develop, what experiences you hope to gain, and what type of role or industry you ultimately aspire to work in. Seek Diverse Experiences: Look for internships that offer exposure to various aspects of communication, such as public relations, marketing, social media management, content creation, and corporate communications. Diversifying your experiences will help you develop a well-rounded skill set and discover your strengths and interests.

To get the most out of your internship, you'll have to go above and beyond the scope of your job description. What does that mean? It means: 1. Asking for work when you have downtime 2. Volunteering for tasks 3. And looking for ways to create your own work Doing these 3 things will create a lasting impression on your team and lead to other opportunities.

Networking is more than a cornerstone of career advancement, it's the entire foundation of it. When starting your internship, be proactive and reach out to every member of your team for 1:1 coffee chats. You should also network with people outside your team. There's no such thing as too much networking. I've gotten project opportunities, and job opportunities from doing this, so I can advocate for how important it is to network.

Regular self reflection is often an overlooked aspect of internships. A lot of times I see people flying through their internships and while it's great to be in the present, it's also important to look back at your progress. This is especially helpful for your mental health. Reflecting on your personal growth can help prevent burnout and give you the needed motivation to continue your career journey.

It's important that you document your internship progress because it'll benefit you in the long run. In fact, I would recommend creating what I call, a "brag list". A brag list is simply a word doc of all the things you achieved during your internship and it comes in handy for many cases. 1. Need to add details to your LinkedIn? Brag list. 2. Requesting a work-term extension? Brag list. 3. Asking for a raise? Brag list.