10 Ways to Maximize Your Summer Internship

As a former Google intern, I want to pay forward all the help I got in landing my full-time offer. So I asked the Every Vowel community along with managers and top interns from Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon to see what advice they had. Whether you’re working at a financial firm, fashion company, or fast-paced startup, these 10 tips can help you land an offer and have an awesome summer.

1. Send weekly recap emails to your manager — Every Friday, I emailed my manager and included bullets under the following categories: Things I did for Project A, Things I did for Project B, Things I learned, People I met, and Random. To be mindful of his inbox, I made sure to ask if he wanted me to continue after I sent my first recap email. Not only did he like the concept, but he later told me that this was vital when it came time to writing my evaluation because he had concrete material to draw from. Not to mention, it was a great way to stay organized and track my progress over the summer.

2. Send biweekly “industry digest” email to your team — Become a curator. Full-time employees are always trying to learn more about their industry but don’t always have the time. That’s where you can help. Check out trade magazines — if you’re a marketing intern, read AdAge and Adweek. Public relations interns, see PRWeek. And so forth. Read up, curate the best articles, and summarize them in an email. But be careful: there’s a difference between being knowledgeable and a know-it-all. Ask your manager before sending this digest email as it could cause colleagues to perceive you as overeager. If you get the green light, perhaps open your first email with: “Hey guys, I was speaking with [Manager Name] and we thought it could be a good idea to send a biweekly digest of all that’s happening in our industry so it’s easier to keep up…” so they have a bit more context and you’re not coming off too strong.

3. Schedule weekly meetings with your manager and routinely ask for feedback — If your manager doesn’t immediately schedule weekly check-ins, ask to set them up as soon as possible. Kellen Donohue, former intern at Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, emphasizes the importance of using these meetings to ask for feedback “even if your manager doesn’t volunteer it.” He says, “You don’t want to be surprised at your midterm or final evaluation with feedback you could have used earlier.” To get great feedback, be open and honest with your manager. Don’t be afraid to signal when you’re stuck and ask clarifying questions instead of nodding along.

4. Ask senior executives if they would be open to doing a “roundtable chat” or “lunch and learn” — If you cross paths with an inspiring senior level manager, don’t hesitate to ask for their email and follow up. I’ve found that this particularly works well if you suggest inviting four to five other interns and making it a discussion as opposed to a one-on-one meeting. That way, you’re spreading the love and the executive may feel like it’s a better use of their time to speak with more people at once. But be warned – the meeting may not last long and it could easily take over a month to actually happen, if at all. Nonetheless, by taking this approach, my intern friends and I had dinner with Danielle Tiedt (CMO of YouTube), lunch with Stacy Brown-Philpot (Former Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Google Ventures, current COO of TaskRabbit), and an unforgettable meeting with Salar Kamangar (former CEO of YouTube).

5. Master Gmail shortcuts — While many people focus on learning Excel shortcuts (makes sense for investment bankers), the real time saver comes when you can navigate your inbox with just a few strokes of your keyboard. If you’re in Gmail, click the gear icon in the upper right, select settings, and scroll to “keyboard shortcuts” to turn them on. Print out this cheat sheet and download a chrome extension called KeyRocket to learn quickly. Other email clients (such as Outlook) have shortcuts, too.

6. Become a morning person — As a former career advisor, Erin Rovner read over 1,000 intern evaluations and found that “the most common negative feedback came from being late, even if it was just by a few minutes.” Arriving to the office on time (or even before your manager) does wonders for establishing your reputation as someone who is always ready to go. For college students, however, this is much easier said than done. If you’re a night owl, I highly recommend reading about how Jason Freedman, CEO of 42Floors, systematically ended his terrible habit of insomnia.

7. Pitch new project ideas — Doing well at what you’re told is expected; doing well at what you create makes you exceptional. Once you’re comfortable with your current responsibilities, tackle something new. Are there small projects sitting on your colleagues’ to-do lists? Can you help create an internal database of some sort? Would it be helpful to provide an analysis of the competitive landscape? Ask around and keep your ears open for new ways to contribute. Of course, don’t just run off and start working on whatever you feel; bring a list of ideas to your manager and go from there.

8. Meet with non-team members — Sit down with people from different departments and get a more holistic view of the company. Ask about their role, how they got there, and what they would improve about the company if they had the opportunity. Here’s a list of really illuminating questions that could also spark interesting conversations. Along the same lines, seek out alumni from your school and hear their perspective.

9. Go out with interns and colleagues — Elynn Lee, former intern at Google, Amazon and Facebook, says it best: “If you’re excited about the place you’re living in, you’ll be motivated to do well to earn a return offer. If you have fun in and out of work with coworkers and other interns, it’ll also be more clear that you’re a great fit for the company.” Exploring your surroundings doesn’t mean limiting yourself to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops either. For instance, my intern class rented a house in Lake Tahoe during the Fourth of July weekend and we did everything from hiking to kayaking to barbecuing. It was easily one of the most memorable experiences of the summer.

10. Ask to do a recap presentation before leaving — This is a perfect way to leave a strong last impression and thank all the people who helped you throughout the internship. Invite anybody who had an impact on your summer experience — and be sure to ask a few weeks in advance. In the presentation, emphasize all the work you did for your projects and lessons you learned — look back at your weekly recap emails for reference! Have fun with it, keep it brief, and allow time for questions.

Whatever you do, stay focused. Meeting interesting people, exploring your surroundings, and finding new opportunities is great, but never lose sight of your project goals and timelines. Find ways to have an incredible internship experience while advancing the company mission and thinking about the bigger picture.

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This article originally appeared on Every Vowel.

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