This is a guest
article written by Sawsan Hamawandy, who has spent the past year
working as Channel Communications Intern for NetApp, as part of her sandwich
placement course. I think there is some really fantastic advice here for
students about to embark on their placement year, to ensure they maximise the experience.
The article was originally posted on LinkedIn and republished here with
permission of the author.
With my amazingly fabulous time at NetApp drawing its final
week, I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on my experience. Twelve
months ago, I walked into my internship with a smile on my face and an open
mind. Though I had been told, I would be doing “real-work”, I had no idea what
that would entail and what would lie ahead. How can someone distinguish what is
real-work and what isn’t? A year on I completely understand!
I have learnt that an internship is not just about achieving your
personal or business targets. In fact, that is only the bare minimum, a student
should seek to accomplish. A placement has so many untapped opportunities which
I see students overlook time and time again and to me this is ludicrous. How
many opportunities do we get throughout our careers to experiment, practice
what we love, discover our weaknesses, develop our strengths and challenge our
limits?
Currently, second year university students are about to start their
placement years, some may have already started while others are still
searching; whether you are in sales or marketing, HR or finance take the time
to consider the following to maximize your potential.
1. Sixty
second summary - you should be able to
communicate the organisation's purpose, offerings and values in a short
elevator style pitch. If you don’t understand a week into your role, then you
should really question how you can support the organisation to reach their
goals.
2. Ask
before the task, don’t just bask - you’re
not expected to know everything. You were hired because they saw the potential
in you which they didn’t see in other applicants. You are there to learn and so
it is really key you absorb as much knowledge as you can.
3. Mingle
like a Pringle- there is no better way to build your
network, than with those around you. You do not need to limit yourself to those
in your team. I found that you learn just as much from those who aren’t in your
department to those that are.
4. Don’t
fright to take a bite – although your utmost priority
should be completing your assigned duties, it is really good if you can get
involved with things out side of your role. Not only will this get you exposure
into different parts of the organisation, you gain experience in additional
tasks. In other words, don’t be afraid to create doors to open. You will find
most companies will actually benefit from the additional support.
5. Sometimes
backwards is forwards- when being trained to do things in
the early days, it is easy to complete tasks in the way shown and expected.
Whether you are writing a report for your manager, communicating to a partner
or targeting a customer, sometimes step back and put yourself in their shoes.
To take a step back allows you to see the bigger picture and if what you are
doing is actually the most effective. The methods of yesterday won’t always
achieve tomorrow's goals.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you too NetApp (particularly
my managers and brilliant team) who have supported me form the moment I skipped
through the front doors of our lovely office. It truly is a great place to work
and a brilliant company!
