Your Summer Internship - Turning an Informal Internship into a Job Offer
(Part III)
Hopefully you are learning and contributing during a great summer internship
experience, and have found an environment in which you can thrive. Some summer
internships are at companies that have a 'formal' internship process, which
will make full-time offers to some or all of the interns that performed well.
However, some companies have no formal internship program, and thus probably
no formal 'offer' process. If your internship is 'informal' and the company
has no history of hiring interns or making permanent offers to interns -- what
can you do? As we mentioned in our previous posts, first of all you'll need
to excel in your projects, network effectively, exceed expectations and exit
gracefully. Here are some other ideas about how you might turn an informal
summer internship into a job offer:
Seek Feedback at the Halfway Point:
Since the internship is informal, the company probably does not have a formal
review process. Thus, approximately halfway through the summer actively seek
feedback from your supervisor. Inquire about whether you are focusing on the
right things, ways that you can improve, add more value or work with more
teams. This would also be the right time to express your opinion about how
much you enjoy the project you are working on and the team you are supporting.
You might even express your sincere interest in working at the firm full-time
at this point. Since it is a company without a formal internship process, the
response would likely be that they would need more time to consider this, but
at least the seed of possibility would be planted. If things seem to be fairly
positive in this conversation, tell them that by the end of the summer you
will prove the value you can add to the firm.
Seek Feedback at the End:
At the end of the internship seek feedback again. Depending on the situation,
you may go beyond your direct report and talk with HR staff, or senior managers
that you have become acquainted with. During this meeting again ask for
feedback about your performance and the professional competencies that you
have displayed. Follow up by reminding the person of the things you believe
you did well, and the ways you over-delivered and benefitted the company. At
that point it would be appropriate to directly state you intention to seek a
full-time position. Obviously, the best-case scenario is that they offer you
a job on the spot. However, if they still need to consider the situation
further the best way to leave things might be to say that it would be much
appreciated and welcomed if they could give you a full-time offer in the near
future, since this would save you the time/trouble of going through the
recruiting process with the dozens of international companies that will come
to your business school in the fall. Remind them that they would be getting a
proven talent and that you are willing to show your commitment to the company
by taking yourself off the job market by accepting their offer immediately.
There is no guarantee that such steps would work, but if you play your hand
well, you should move the situation in a positive direction. When all is said
and done, both hard work and some luck play a big role in finding a job. As
Thomas Jefferson said, "I'm a great believer in luck. And I find that the
harder I work, the more I have of it." Hopefully, with lots of hard work and
a bit of luck, you'll find yourself in the ideal position in the next stage
of your career!
--
創陞教育（Transcend Admissions Consultants）
David Johnston
Georgetown University Law Center
[email protected]
http://transcendadmissions.com/ Plan. Execute. Succeed!
--
(Part III)
Hopefully you are learning and contributing during a great summer internship
experience, and have found an environment in which you can thrive. Some summer
internships are at companies that have a 'formal' internship process, which
will make full-time offers to some or all of the interns that performed well.
However, some companies have no formal internship program, and thus probably
no formal 'offer' process. If your internship is 'informal' and the company
has no history of hiring interns or making permanent offers to interns -- what
can you do? As we mentioned in our previous posts, first of all you'll need
to excel in your projects, network effectively, exceed expectations and exit
gracefully. Here are some other ideas about how you might turn an informal
summer internship into a job offer:
Seek Feedback at the Halfway Point:
Since the internship is informal, the company probably does not have a formal
review process. Thus, approximately halfway through the summer actively seek
feedback from your supervisor. Inquire about whether you are focusing on the
right things, ways that you can improve, add more value or work with more
teams. This would also be the right time to express your opinion about how
much you enjoy the project you are working on and the team you are supporting.
You might even express your sincere interest in working at the firm full-time
at this point. Since it is a company without a formal internship process, the
response would likely be that they would need more time to consider this, but
at least the seed of possibility would be planted. If things seem to be fairly
positive in this conversation, tell them that by the end of the summer you
will prove the value you can add to the firm.
Seek Feedback at the End:
At the end of the internship seek feedback again. Depending on the situation,
you may go beyond your direct report and talk with HR staff, or senior managers
that you have become acquainted with. During this meeting again ask for
feedback about your performance and the professional competencies that you
have displayed. Follow up by reminding the person of the things you believe
you did well, and the ways you over-delivered and benefitted the company. At
that point it would be appropriate to directly state you intention to seek a
full-time position. Obviously, the best-case scenario is that they offer you
a job on the spot. However, if they still need to consider the situation
further the best way to leave things might be to say that it would be much
appreciated and welcomed if they could give you a full-time offer in the near
future, since this would save you the time/trouble of going through the
recruiting process with the dozens of international companies that will come
to your business school in the fall. Remind them that they would be getting a
proven talent and that you are willing to show your commitment to the company
by taking yourself off the job market by accepting their offer immediately.
There is no guarantee that such steps would work, but if you play your hand
well, you should move the situation in a positive direction. When all is said
and done, both hard work and some luck play a big role in finding a job. As
Thomas Jefferson said, "I'm a great believer in luck. And I find that the
harder I work, the more I have of it." Hopefully, with lots of hard work and
a bit of luck, you'll find yourself in the ideal position in the next stage
of your career!
--
創陞教育（Transcend Admissions Consultants）
David Johnston
Georgetown University Law Center
[email protected]
http://transcendadmissions.com/ Plan. Execute. Succeed!
--
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