Remember that scene in Grease when the Rydell High kids are singing about the summer? Danny "had me a blast," while for Sandy it "happened so fast." It seems a strange comparison, but many summer interns at leading companies describe their summers the same way. Not all experiences are quite so rosy, but in any case, young employees get both a feel for their corporate culture and a taste of the work force during the course of these often finely crafted programs. Whether their time is spent doing substantive work that affects the company, or just making Starbucks runs all summer, there is a goal in mind. Summer interns need to spend those precious weeks making a favourable impression in order to get that all-important full-time offer.
Granted, the reason that many summer programmes are so carefully organised and lavish is so that interns will want to come back. In many programmes, "you have to seriously mess up not to get [an offer]." Much more commonly though, interns are not afforded such leeway, and need to be aware of what it takes to secure a full-time position. First and foremost, while the fate of the company may not hinge on the work interns produce, optimum effort must still be made on assignments. Simply put, no matter if it seems insignificant, "whatever work you do, make sure to do a good job," advises one recruiter. Satisfying this requirement may mean punching the clock after the summer sun has disappeared for the night. Most businesses do not take kindly to employees who leave a vapour trail out the door when the five o'clock whistle blows.
Also extremely important are the connections, however informal, made with established employees. This is especially true with mid-level and senior employees who have a say in who gets hired. Successful networking can be accomplished by working for a variety of people or through socialisation inside the office. Attendance at company social events, when offered, is an "important way to build personal relationships within the company" as well. Whether cruising the halls or knocking a few back at the local pub, a gregarious persona cannot be discounted - "office wallflowers just will not cut the mustard," says one corporate insider. On the other hand, there are limits; for instance one investment banking associate failed to get an offer had been snubbed "as a result of excessive brown nosing."
At the same time, summer interns need to be careful about exposing, or more to the point imposing, their personality on their fellow employees. At some companies, for example, "you're not allowed to be rude to anyone - secretaries, the lady in the canteen, or whoever it is." Even fast-paced offices with a reputation for "screamers" may be averse to bringing in new people who will perpetuate a harsh culture. "Some summer interns behave completely inappropriately," says a source at a Wall Street firm. "One recent summer associate had a big mouth and she screamed a lot. She made enemies in only eight weeks, including some managing directors."
Of course, even when interns generally play their cards right, one wrong move may stand between them and a job offer. For instance, an insider tells Vault that one would-be full-timer was not asked back to his company after "arguing with a partner at a softball game about what position to play." Another inexplicably turned over an entire assignment to an unqualified subordinate. Perhaps the most extreme example involved an overly enthusiastic intern at one firm who, while on a company retreat, stripped off his clothes and hopped into the hot tub. That's a little too much information!
This article is excerpted from 
www.vault.com/europe. Reprinted with permission.
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Summer Work Experience - Money vs. Experience
For our student readers, the eternal question rages - do you take the money and run, or accept an internship that might be more prestigious or offer valuable experience, but that pays next to (or literally) nothing? Savvy internship experts advise you to lead with the heart, and not the wallet. One contact tells us he had a choice between a profitable and prestigious internship with an investment bank, or an unpaid internship with CBS. Broke, he took the investment banking internship, though he knew he was vastly more interested in the CBS opportunity. "When I graduated, I ended up eventually working for CNN anyway," he ruefully notes, "though I would have probably gotten there quicker with the contacts I would have made at CBS."
Think of the summer first as an invaluable opportunity to further your job prospects and knowledge. The few extra hundred pounds you may make by taking a better-paying internship is not worth passing up the opportunity to further your career in a field you enjoy. In certain hermetic industries, such as media and journalism for example, it is very difficult to find a job without knowing people inside the industry and having some industry experience. Work experience is the best avenue to breaking into these industries. One newspaper reporter and recent university graduate remembers taking unpaid work experience at the smaller of two newspapers in a seaside town despite pressure from his friends to stay in his college town to save money. "Rent was super-high - I ended up living with three other people in my room. I chopped a lot of mushrooms and pitted a lot of olives at this Italian restaurant I worked at on weekends to support myself, but I also collected a few clips and I got a reporting job right after graduating," he says. If money is a major issue and you are unable to support yourself with a second job, we suggest you investigate grants and loans from your university (or family).
Moreover, companies are increasingly drawing from intern pools for permanent employees. Your internship with a company will likely not just help you land a job in that field, but it will also provide you with a foot-in-the-door and contacts at that company. Increasingly, companies are extending full-time job offers to their interns.
Also, don't underestimate the value of quirky internships. A particularly intriguing internship can make your CV stand out from the crowd. One graduate who interned at a popular restaurant guide, says: "Many of my interviews centred around the guide, and what I did there, not anything else on my CV."
This article is excerpted from www.vault.com/europe. Reprinted with permission.
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