Three Secrets to Nailing the Internship

You have edited your resume 20 times, written 10 STAR stories, practiced interviewing dozens of times, made a dumb comment during an informational meeting, been rejected by your top company, cried, prayed, cursed the MBA program, prayed again, found a new ‘top’ company, and finally received that beautiful call with the long awaited words, “We would like to extend you an offer!” Now you are happy again—you love the MBA program.

So what’s next? Now you must nail the internship!

After surveying several second-year MBA’s, I believe I have discovered Three Secrets to Nailing the Internship—

1. Make Getting an Offer Your Goal

2. Impress Your Manager

3. Network Strategically

Make Getting an Offer Your Goal:

“A successful intern is one who starts an internship knowing their primary goal isn't to 'learn a lot' or 'develop new skills,' but instead knows that their primary goal is to 'get an offer' at the end of the summer.” –Tara Hair, Interned at P&G

I asked a few first year students to share what their primary goal is for their internship this summer. The most popular answers were—“add value,” “create a network,” “learn,” “gain experience,” and “do a good job.” I don’t have statistics to show how important it is to have “getting an offer” as your primary goal. However, I do have a relevant story I want to share from an alumnus who interned at his “dream” company. This individual’s main goal was to do well on his projects throughout the summer, so he spent most of his time in his office perfecting them. At the end of his internship, though people were impressed with his work, he didn’t get an offer. He hadn’t done what the company expected from an intern. The point of this story is not that you shouldn’t do a great job or learn new skills. The point is that after all your efforts what you really want is a job, not just a pat on the back. Therefore, make that your goal.

Vital behaviors to implement:

· Ask your manager, “What do I have to do to get an offer?”

· At least bi-weekly, ask for feedback to see if you’re on track to landing a full-time offer.

· Before each decision, ask yourself, “Will this help me get an offer?”

Impress Your Manager

“You have to learn how to manage your boss. You have to understand your boss's style of preferred communication and delivery methods. If you don't clearly understand them, you are unlikely to be successful. You need to tailor your work style and work outputs to match what your boss is looking for.” Mark Lingenbrink, Interned at Cisco

Your manager has the most say on whether you get an offer. Crucial Conversations professor, Kerry Patterson, teaches that your main role as an employee, whether you like your manager or not, is to “make your manager look good.” Learn what your manager really needs and deliver it in a manner he/she approves and this will increase your chances of securing an internship.

Vital behaviors to implement:

· Before you begin any assignment, ask for clear directions, results, and deadlines.

· Look for simple “extra” projects your manager needs done and volunteer to do them.

· Before diving into a difficult problem, run your action plan by your manager.

Network Strategically

“As important (if not more) as the actual work that you do are the relationships that you make. I was able to connect with 50 – 60 individuals at various levels of the company simply by reaching out.” Mike Christensen, Interned at P&G

The third and most common way to secure an internship is to network (of course it is; we wouldn’t want to ruin the reputation of business students worldwide). One successful networking strategy I applied during my internship at Microsoft, was taking advantage of the “intern status.” I could send anyone an email stating I was an intern and they would make time to meet with me. As a result, I interviewed several VP’s, General Managers, Directors, and CFO’s. Another strategy is to ask for advice and be coachable. People love to help and coach others and because they’ve been at the company much longer than you, they will be able to steer you in the right direction. Lastly, remember to be proactive. I was fortunate enough to receive a list of 30 individuals, who my manager had handpicked, to network with over the summer. Since most interns will not have this luxury, create your own list of influencers you want to meet. Remember you are always being evaluated. The more people you learn from and network with, the more people you will have advocating your full-time offer!

Vital behaviors to implement:

· Make a list of people you want to interview and contact at least 2-3 of them per week.

· As people offer advice, act on it and send them an email telling them what you learned.

· Find people who have accomplished similar projects and strive to learn all you can.


Edgar Cheney, Class of 2011, OB/HR

Interned at: Microsoft