You probably decided to do an internship for the same reason most other college students do: To get some practical, real-world experience and skills in your chosen field.
But don't forget about the other reason internships and similar experiential activities are so critical to your future: The professional relationships you develop with people both inside and outside the organization where you intern. The more you do to cultivate these relationships, the more opportunities you' ll create for yourself in the world of work, perhaps for years or even decades to come.
Who should you get to know during your internship and why?
Your Direct Supervisor
Building a good relationship with you supervisor often isn't as easy as you might think. Your supervisor might very well be too busy to work much with you, or he may not have the mentoring2 capabilities you probably want and need. Whatever the reason(s), if you find yourself with a supervisor who doesn't seem to be trying to build a good relationship with you, you' ll have to take the lead and attempt to build a relationship with him. How? By asking intelligent questions, showing genuine interest in the work your supervisor is doing, telling your supervisor that you' re willing and able to take on additional tasks and checking in periodically to update him on what you're doing and what you plan to do.
Your Department Colleagues
It's almost impossible not to build productive relationships with your coworkers in your department. After all, these are the folks you'll most likely be working with every time you' re in the office. Even so, your department colleagues are probably going to be as busy, if not more so, than your direct supervisor, and they too may not have the time or the skills to reach out to you. So instead, you'll need to reach out to them, using many of the same strategies you'd use to build an effective relationship with your direct supervisor.
Other Workers in the Company/Organization
From a political standpoint3, trying to get to know people you don't directly with can be dicey4. But you can sometimes find yourself in trouble with your supervisor or one of your department colleagues by simply going around the office, introducing yourself to people in other departments and chatting with them a bit. It's not so much that you're wasting time, but you may be perceived to be going beyond your (or your supervisor's or colleagues' ) office boundaries.
Don't, for example, agree to take on an extra project for someone in another department without your supervisor' s OK. But it's important to at least touch base with other people working in the organization. At minimum. find some time to talk to these more distant colleagues about the jobs they do, the career paths they' ve taken, and their advice and suggestions for you in your own career planning.
People Outside the Organization
It can be easy to start thinking that you and your in-house colleagues are working in a vacuum, but you' re not. Other people at other companies and organizations are doing similar things, but perhaps in different ways or for different reasons. You can learn from those people, and they, in turn, can learn from you and your colleagues. So set a goal during your internship to at least make initial connections with people in your field who are working for other organizations. Joining a local professional association relating to your industry is perhaps the best way to meet people from other companies and organizations. Informational interviewing- having short question-and-answer meetings with people whose jobs or organizations interest you--is another excellent approach.
The experiences and skills you gain from internships will take you far in and of themselves, but the professional relationships you develop during your time as an intern will serve as the real catalyst for career growth. For in the real world, skills and experience will only take you so far. You need as many people as possible on your side, helping you find opportunities to which you can apply all that you've learned.
