“We would like to offer you an internship.” Some of the greatest words ever typed. There’s nothing quite like receiving that email and deciding to accept the offer. It can make the sun shine brighter, the McDonald’s sprite taste sharper, and Frank Ocean’s Blonde album hit harder. 🤩 Because after submitting 20 applications, hearing back from 10, and completing the multiple round interview process for 4 companies, you’ve finally won the title of intern!

However, this doesn’t need to be the end of the journey just yet. You’re about to enter an environment that can lead you to one of the best opportunities available to those studying accounting: a full-time job offer prior to graduating. 😎One of the major accounting firms reports that approximately 85-95% of their interns return as full-time employees. Sounds like something you want to take advantage of? Then this isn’t just an internship, but one last interview. The good news: instead of having an hour to leave an impression, you have three months. Continue reading to see how to make the most of them!

Show up with a can-do attitude.

So, we sort of stole this from our friend Billy Williams, but it’s facts! Show up everyday prepared to give your best. Managers and partners understand that you’re not going to have all the answers, but soft skills like taking initiative, being positive, and showing curiosity sets a great foundation for what you will accomplish in the future! Most internships these days don’t ask you to get coffee or run personal errands, but you might be asked to do more admin tasks like schedule meetings or take notes (don’t worry, everyone starts off this way!). Do these with the same care and attention as the bigger tasks you might be assigned to like recording data or pulling insights. Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and show them that you can handle the more routine tasks, and you’ll be ready to build on these skills once you receive a full-time offer (because we’re manifesting, right?!).

Even if it’s something outside of your job description, be adaptable! Giving you more challenging tasks outside of the scope of your initial responsibilities shows that they see potential in you. 👀

Manage up.

One of the common misconceptions about the professional world is that your supervisor is the only one responsible for managing your relationship. While it might seem like your manager has all the power in the dynamic, they are actually looking for you to take initiative in whatever ways you can. During your first week, you’re likely to have a scheduled one-on-one with them, come ready to collaborate with them on a list of goals you would like to achieve by the end of the internship.

That being said, when it comes to certain tasks, you should wait for instructions and ask follow up questions when you don’t understand something. “Fake it until you make it” is not the move in this situation. Pretending to understand something might cause confusion later on and slow down your learning process. Getting immediate clarity allows you to not have to fake it at all, because you’ll be completing the task with real confidence. Remember to take notes, so you don’t need to have information repeated.

Over the first month, you’ll begin to learn your supervisor. This is when you can start to try to anticipate the answers or updates that they’ll be looking for before they even ask. For example, if you send your boss a data table and they send an email response asking for a summary of the data and a key insight, take note to do that for all similar communications moving forward.

During the course of your internship, fill any down time you might have. Instead of waiting for your next assignment, ask if there’s anything you can do to help your manager or team member. Go getters are 10/10 to any workplace. The hope is to make people take notice and miss you real bad once your internship is over.

Continue to stay in communication with your manager throughout the project. If necessary, consider asking for feedback early, to make sure you’re headed in the right direction! In general, it’s good to keep an eye on your progress, so you can adapt and make adjustments early on in your internship. Most supervisors are going to give you a performance review by the end of your internship, but consider asking for monthly touch points to check in on what you’re doing well and what you could be doing better.

Network with your coworkers.

Pitching in doesn’t just help your direct superior, but also your teammates around you. Doing your part by supporting the more “boring” tasks, shows you’re a team player and helps to establish good will with your coworkers that makes building a relationship with them that much easier. Ahh yes, professional socializing, the unwritten extra bullet on your job description. (Professional being a key word here. Establish boundaries about what you are and are not willing to share.)

Make an effort to get to know your coworkers, both within your team and in other departments. Ask about their hobbies, their career aspirations, their background – fun fact: people love talking about themselves. Once you get started, the convo will flow like 7/11’s slurpee machine and you can ask them to go get lunch or coffee to learn more about them.