WS Chronicle

By Algenon Cash

This week I would like to continue the conversation regarding the importance of students applying for summer internship opportunities. Many students often don’t understand the power of gaining relevant work experience during the summer. The experience can transform a student into a valuable member of any work team.

Other students who do earn a summer job may not recognize how to convert a temporary opportunity into a permanent full-time position.

Here are more comprehensive tips to help high school and college-aged students to best utilize the upcoming summer season:

1.Build successful working relationships – Always meet and greet your co-workers with a smile. Effective working relationships require strong communication. Not to mention your co-workers may be immersed in projects with pressing deadlines, so they may not always notice you. Be sure to introduce yourself.

2.Conduct research – Make it a priority to do advanced research on the company where you may work this summer. Learn all you can about the industry, company and the major players. Contact the local Chamber of Commerce, trade associations, and other business owners to explore ideas.

3. Set goals and stay busy – Always set personal goals for what you want to achieve at your summer internships and constantly ask your supervisor for more responsibility. If you complete assigned work, then ask for more, or you can always use available time to conduct more research.

4. Be ready to hustle – Always stay open to accepting small tasks, but keep your mind clearly focused on your end goals. You may be asked to make a breakfast or lunch run, but if you find menial activity is filling up your entire day, then you may need to speak with your supervisor about more responsibility. It’s always good practice to outline your professional goals prior to accepting the internship.

5. Identify a mentor – Focus on learning from those in the company that you admire the most. True professionals enjoy sharing their expertise and often want to help younger professionals to grow and develop. A good mentor will be an open book.
6.Stay excited daily – Demonstrate your excitement and motivation to be involved with your team in every aspect – projects, meetings, and community events. Motivated employees often inspire others around them and can be somewhat infectious. If you want to receive an offer to join the company after your internship ends, then you must show that you have the qualities of a worker that will make a big impact on the company long-term.

I deeply encourage high school and college students to invest time this upcoming summer in gaining new knowledge through a quality internship experience. If you’re interested in joining Wharton Gladden this summer, then contact me and let’s schedule a meeting. Good luck!

Algenon Cash is a nationally recognized speaker and the managing director of Wharton Gladden & Company, an investment banking firm. Reach him at acash@algenoncash.com.