Did COVID-19 Make Your Internship Virtual? Here is How You Can See Success

• Author: Jacob Greene
• Posted: 2024-03-10

One of the many economic casualties of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic is that many internships were not launched as planned. Fortunately for some interns, their internships were retained on a virtual basis. While this situation is far from desirable, you can still make the most out of it so that you can continue to advance all of your career objectives.

Here are five ways that you can squeeze the most opportunity out of your work from home internship in the age of COVID-19.

Err on the Side of Overcommunication

Without the advantage of physical proximity in a traditional office space, it can be challenging to feel as if you are in touch with your colleagues and manager. This makes it vital that you err on the side of overcommunication. The best way to do this is to ask your manager how often in through what avenue do they prefer to communicate. Be sure to come to every meeting overprepared so that it does not look as if you are slacking because you are not working in onsite.

Set Boundaries

Anyone who has ever worked from home understands the difficulties that come with balancing your work and home life. You can help to prevent this from happening by setting clear boundaries at the onset of your internship. Block off time each day in your calendar and make this visible to everyone that you work with. This will help them to understand when you are available.

Not only do you need to set boundaries with your co-workers, but you also need to make your schedule clear with your family members or roommates. With so many people working from home these days, it can often be challenging to find the space and solitude to put your head down and work. Setting these parameters ahead of time will be beneficial to everyone involved.

Decrease Distractions

As with any work from home situation, distractions can kill all of your potential for success. In order to prevent this from happening, you need to be diligent about eliminating these distractions as much as possible. While it may be tempting to work from home on your couch in your pajamas, you will put your mind in a better frame of mind for productivity if you set up a professional workstation and dress for the part. Trying to incorporate the regular office culture of your organization into your home environment will lead to the most successful internship experience.

Solicit Feedback

Your time will not be worth as much if you do not take valuable feedback away from this internship experience. Because you are not working in a face to face environment, you may need to be more purposeful about soliciting this feedback. This may necessitate that you are clear with your manager from the beginning that you welcome feedback so that you can continue your professional growth. It is important that you accept all feedback graciously, regardless of if you agree with it.

Seek Out Mentors

One of the greatest benefits of an internship is the connections that you make while on the job. Do not let this opportunity go to waste just because you are not in an office setting. Naturally, it will be more difficult to make these connections through a virtual format.

You will need to be more intentional about reaching out to find possible mentors. If your company does not formally assign mentors, look for people that you naturally connect with in a personal way. Do not be shy about asking questions. This will often lead to meaningful professional relationships.

In addition to mentors, be diligent about creating relationships with your peers. They are likely to be as eager as you to make connections while on the internship job. You never know when these networking efforts will come in handy further down the road.

While it is certainly not ideal to have to perform your internship from home, you can still leverage these benefits to your advantage. With the right approach and commitment to doing your best work, you will make this downtime count as you forge ahead with meeting all of your career goals.