How to turn an internship into a job offer

The life of an intern

After getting your high school diploma, four years of college may seem like another journey with multiple hurdles along the way. By the time anyone becomes a senior, they realize that college actually goes by extremely quickly. College life is short term and a bachelor’s degree is a stepping stone towards success.

Your journey does not stop there, which is why most students try to find jobs, or internships, during the course of these four years. Internships allow you to showcase your talents. Treat internships like full time jobs. Before employment, everyone should aim to do an internship. To your own benefit, an internship will allow you to get a taste of the real world and what office life is. Statistically speaking, 85% of AIP interns get full time job offers after their internship ends. After all, the goal of an internship is to land full time employment. 

Not everything can be learned in a classroom setting. A role that interests you will give you the urge to challenge yourself. If you are lucky you will realize which career path you want to pursue right after your internship ends. Do keep in mind that your career has only just begun.

The qualities of an intern with good interpersonal skills

There are many ways to be a good intern at the workplace. These suggestions might be some techniques to improve self-personality that you can follow.

• Showing up early: “Early is on time, on time is late.” Who would have thought that catchy highschool phrases would be of good use? As an intern, you should always be on time. Showing up on time shows that you are responsible, diligent, and ready to work. All in all, showing up early to work gives off a strong persona. As a new intern, try to absorb as much knowledge from your mentors and coworkers. You’re doing this internship for work experience. Help others when you can and complete your assignments on time.
• Get to know everyone: A normal office setting has people from various different backgrounds. Get to know them, their character, and ideas. Most importantly, be nice and sociable. Make some friends too, you do not want this internship to be boring right?
• Teamwork makes the dream work: Learn to work with others as one cohesive unit. This gets the job done fast and the quality is always top notch, if executed in the correct fashion. It is also important to support one another. Mistakes are inevitable, learn from them and move on. work

Securing future employment after your internship 

The end goal of every intern is to hopefully, one day, land a job at the firm or company that they interned for. How interns perform is obviously the most important factor in getting a job offer. However, what are some of the other key points that will help turn internships into a job offer?

• Put in some research: Before starting the internship, study how the company operates. Know their business. Why? This will give you a clear advantage in understanding how the business works and in addition, the nature of specific projects, so you can tackle them head on. Also, try to find out if the company tends to keep interns on after the program ends.
• Be attentive: Always be aware of the situation and never be scared to ask thoughtful questions. Employers admire interns that are engaging and eager to learn. The more you learn about the company, the easier it will be for employers to evaluate you for full time positions.
• Have clear goals: Outlining your goals and what you aspire to achieve is very important. You will know what needs to be done to contribute to your successes from this internship. Communicate clearly between yourself and your supervisor on the role offered so you can be certain that this aligns with what you would like to do.

• Put in extra effort: Expect to work harder than usual. No employer will hire anyone that slacks or does not put in effort. Putting in more than 100% will guarantee that the quality of your work is A++.
  
• Professionalism matters: Respect the laws of the company. Dress, and most importantly, act professionally. Observe the working hours. Try to get to the office early, or on time and if work isn’t done, stay to finish up.
• Expand your circle: Now is your chance to network with colleagues, while forming lasting friendships. Be polite, the power of “word of mouth” does go a long way and having a good reputation amongst your colleagues will only benefit you.
• Stay positive: Always strive to be better. Every day is a new day and this is your chance to grasp new opportunities. Work can sometimes be tough and stressful. The only way to push yourself to your limits is by overcoming obstacles.

Turning opportunities into a job offer

Performing well is the deciding vote in this argument. Showcase your talents and the company will want to hire you. Distinguish yourself, as an individual, and let your employers know that you are irreplaceable. The real question is, what makes you so unique? When you become an intern, you will immediately notice a huge difference between college and work life. In an office setting, being open-minded will make your life easier.

You will face real life problems that you’ve yet to encounter. Remember to show integrity. This proves that you do not give up easily and will fight your way through. To do this, believe in yourself and your abilities to succeed. After all, your employers hired you because they see your potential to succeed. That is a very important element that employers look for, when distinguishing interns and full time employees.

Some of these factors will be the determinants on whether you will be accepted as a full time employee, or not. Having strong interpersonal skills with high quality work ethics will definitely turn an internship into a job offer. Most importantly, you will have to figure yourself out and what you want to do. Explore your many passions and go for the one that “sticks”. Always seize opportunities, they don’t come to you everyday.

Apply for an internship with AIP

Offering internships all year round, and in various destinations, this is your chance to seize the opportunity and make good use out of it. AIP internships are designed to allow the intern to utilize their skillsets in a professional working environment. This way, you'll be able to learn self reliance and independence while taking in all the necessary knowledge for individual growth.