Finishing Strong: What to Do as Your Internship Wraps Up

Your internship is coming to a close! You've gained skills, made connections, and learned a lot about yourself and your career interests. But your "intern hustle isn't quite done yet". There are crucial steps to take as you wrap up to maximize your experience and set yourself up for the future.

Here are key actions to take before and immediately after your internship ends:

• Reflect on Your Experience This is a big focus after an internship. Evaluate which goals and projects you met or exceeded. Document your key projects and contributions, highlighting the impact you made. Identify and highlight any new skills you developed. Think about what you learned about yourself through the internship – what you liked and didn't like. Consider how this experience changes how you might present yourself going forward, like modifying your personal elevator pitch. Think about what you consistently received praise for or what people came to you for help with, as these indicate your strengths. Use this reflection to gain career clarity and make intentional decisions about your next steps. If you kept an internship journal, grab it to help answer these questions.

• Gather Feedback and References Request feedback from key stakeholders, including your managers, peers, and anyone else you worked closely with. Meet with your manager to review your performance for the summer. Identify internal references who can speak to your work and skills. As you're wrapping up, or immediately after, ask a few people you've built a good relationship with if they'd be willing to be a reference for you for future opportunities.

• Nurture Your Relationships Send thank-you notes to the people you worked most closely with. This is the first part of nurturing your relationships. Saying thank you distinguishes you. Connect with people on LinkedIn if you haven't already. This is a good way to let the company know you want to stay in touch. Keep in touch with your connections a few times a year. You can also ask for a LinkedIn recommendation from people you worked well with.

• Understand Future Opportunities Discuss the possibility of being recommended for rehire or receiving a return offer with your manager if applicable. If you enjoyed the position and would love to apply if an opportunity arises, let the company know you are looking for jobs in the area and would love to apply for a position at the company if one becomes available. Be modest and humble about it, stating you would love to apply if something comes up and you would be a good fit. If the company has a specific talent pipeline, try to understand what steps you need to take to potentially move forward and get introduced to hiring managers. In academic settings, you might follow up to see if you can still help with a project or push for publication.

• Update Your Brand This is a key step after your internship. Update your resume, your LinkedIn profile, and your personal pitch. Go back to your documented experience, including accomplishments and wins, and add the results to your resume and LinkedIn profile. Identify top accomplishments to incorporate into your personal elevator pitch as your unique value statements. Update your brand as soon as possible after the internship so you don't forget anything, which will make applying for future opportunities easier. Take the skills you've gained and use them to update your resume so you can start applying for your career.

• Recalibrate Your Student Life Based on what you learned about yourself and any new career goals from the internship, consider if you need to make changes to your student life. This could include adding or dropping classes, pursuing a minor or certification, joining a relevant club, or considering a graduate degree. Mapping these things out and setting yourself up for future success as soon as possible is in your best interest.

Congratulations again on completing your internship! Use the knowledge and experience you've gained to your advantage.