What To Expect The First Week Of Your Fall Internship

The first week of an internship, much like starting any new venture, can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. If you’ve never had an internship before, or you’re starting one at a different company, it can be hard to know what it’ll be like when you get there — so here’s a rundown of some things to expect during the first week of your fall internship.

Photo Credit: Unsplash.com 

1. Some anxiety. It’s normal to be a bit anxious before arriving the first day of your internship, and even throughout your first week. Your initial days of your internship will be figuring out your role and learning different things about the company and its employees. Not knowing what to expect every day and juggling class, schoolwork, and an internship can be taxing, which can cause anxiety.

Additionally, you’ll obviously want to be making a good impression so you may stress more about your clothing, making sure to get to your internship on-time, not looking like you’re slacking off, and making sure your work is impeccable. Your desire to make a good impression and do good work should last throughout your internship but the anxiety that may accompany that should hopefully go away after your first week as you’ll feel more settled and comfortable in your internship and at the business.

2. Numerous names. Your first week of your internship will surely be filled with numerous names — of your supervisor, other employees, fellow interns, internal acronyms and systems, etc. If you’re not good with names, try to use pneumonic devices to help you remember the people you’ll be interacting with on a daily or frequent basis, since you’ll be expected to at least have their names down within a few days at the most.

Of course, if you don’t remember someone’s name, it’s better to ask it sooner rather than later so you have more time to commit it to your memory. As an intern, you’ll probably be cut some slack if you mix up names or still can’t remember a few, but you’ll definitely impress your co-workers if you know their name after only an interaction or two.

3. Lots to learn. During the first week of an internship, there will be a lot of information to take in upfront. Between learning what you’re going to be doing on a daily basis and what’s expected of you, to learning about the company and its values, goals, and history, to learning the phone system and your computer, you’ll be hit with a lot of information pretty fast. Of course, as your internship continues, you’ll undoubtedly keep learning new things and be given new tasks, but by then you’ll be old-hat at it.

If you’re worried about remembering all the different information, take notes while your supervisor is explaining things to you. Also, especially during the first week, don’t be afraid to ask for help, clarification, or guidance in your duties, because it’s better to ask earlier than complete whatever you’re supposed to do only to find out you did it wrong.

4. An adjustment period. As you settle into your internship, your first week may be a bit of an adjustment period. Going from summer to school and tackling a fall internship can be difficult so allow yourself some time to get used to the transition and figure out how you’re going to handle the semester.

Depending on your internship, you may end up having some free time while you’re there that you can then use to do reading, homework, and other school-related assignments, but always ask to see if there’s anything else you could be doing for the business you’re interning at, since you’re on their time and they may have other tasks for you or another department you could be assisting.

5. Time management. Your first week of your internship will serve as sort of a crash course in time management. As you learn to balance class, schoolwork, a social life, and your internship, you’ll have to figure out the best schedule for you that will allow you to put in some hours at your internship, get to class, and still have time to do work and hang out with friends.

You don’t want to overbook yourself when it comes to your internship so make sure to arrive the first day with your class schedule so you and your internship supervisor can figure out what days and times your internship will be. Juggling an internship with school and all that goes with it will be an adjustment so make sure you don’t take on too much else during the fall semester because you’ll end up running yourself ragged.

There’s bound to be a lot happening during the first week of your internship as you settle into your position for the semester, so it’s good to have an idea of what to expect. Just know that after the first week, once you’ve found your footing, the level of craziness and amount of information being thrown at you should die down and you should be able to get into a routine, both at your internship and in your life at college.