Conversatin' on the improve it! Couch: Unlocking Your Internship Potential

Join Allie, Erin, and VERY special guest Jenna on the improve it! couch to chat about their internship experiences, how they persevere through “intern” tasks in their daily life, what qualities make for a good intern, and what all interns should know before they start their first day! 

Listen in via podcast, or get the highlights from the conversation below!

Curious how to apply the improve it! methodology to your own dreams? Check out our "Unlocking Potential" DIY Coaching Curriculum here as a part of our improve You! Series.

On a skill or quality that they took with them from their internship to their full-time job:

Erin: Being open to all the things being thrown at me. … Trying to make great relationships.

Allie: Be aware that there are many people (working with you)… and not to burn bridges. Don’t just write off your internship, you can create value.

Jenna: With my internship with improve it!, I learned to be scrappy. Figuring out if we don’t have the tools we need, to go at it with a positive mindset.

On what they do to persevere through mundane tasks:

Jenna: I start with music that makes me feel like I can take on the world. I also try to think about the bigger picture of the task and set it up in the right time of the day when I’m most productive.

Erin: Ditto - music is a big part of our office. .. I think about “this is helpful because it’s helping us get to the next level.”

Allie: I’m gonna take some of your advice and twist it - I try to find a value that’s mine and assign it to the thing I’m doing. … [When sending monotonous follow-up emails], I think, “Do I believe in the work we’re doing? Yes. Do I believe the work we do can help this person? Yes. When I was talking to them was there a connection with what we do to what they need? Hell yes. Doing this action is helping them.” And it usually takes the edge off.

On professional qualities that are most valuable for interns:

Erin: We interview so many people for this role, and I think the thing we always land on is the grit and organization of the person. But most importantly, do they have a “can do” attitude. All of our interns have had that.

Jenna: I agree with all of that. … But part of it is the responsibility of the company to have tasks that are actually developing the intern. The other half- if the company is giving them an opportunity for actual growing and learning - for the intern to feel like no task is below them.

Allie: Something I’ve been thinking a lot about as the intern manager here at improve it! … what I’ve seen in interns who really succeed in the role is going beyond just taking a task and doing it well. Which is great and not always a given… but the great interns are able to see the destination and find a way there themselves.