With many of us interning this summer, here are some tips that could help you get through yours with flying colours:

1. When in doubt regarding your project, ask the senior employees, your short-term bosses or even recently joined Graduate Trainees. Chances are, your current project is an existing or a previously dropped one of your company’s, so these people tend to be very knowledgeable regarding it. It also happens to be an excellent conversation starter and a window to make new friends!

2. Time flies when you keep yourself busy with meaningful projects. If you aren’t occupied with work, neither is it going to add value to your resume, nor will you enjoy the internship.

3. Keep a daily log of your progress, including your personal observations, things you’ve learnt and tasks to be finished. It’ll help you make an excellent report that could land you a PPO.

4. If you come across new software used in the company, grab the opportunity to learn it. Don’t hesitate to jump into new territory.

5. Ask for feedback from superiors there. It’s a good way to show that you value their seniority and they might actually give you some very useful tips. Be careful not to annoy them instead.

6. Get to know the employee benefits the company offers there. You could use it as a standard while searching for jobs after college.

7. Uphold work ethics, and show that you are a dedicated person by not using your mobile phones for non-work-related purposes. 

For those of you interning at core engineering companies, the following tips will come in handy:

8. If you are interning in a core engineering field (like mechanical or electrical, for instance), you need not do the actual manual work all by yourself. After you are done with the design and have received all necessary components, you could pass on the information either to a contractor or to a Diploma Engineer at the company - both of whom are experienced and could do the installation of the project along with you.

9. You might also need to buy materials and components for your project through your company. While this sounds exciting, doing the calculations to decide on the right components could be a real challenge. However, after doing some basic calculations, you could directly contact one or more suppliers. They could even design the circuits and give you good recommendations on which of their products to buy. That takes a big load off your shoulders.

        If you are doing your internship at a reputed company, that adds as an added bonus. When you call           and tell you are from so and so company, they will be head over heels to assist you.

10. After your design is done, don’t be afraid of its success or failure. Big companies will always have a trial run with any project before completely investing in it. For example, you could call up the suppliers of your components and ask them for a trial, which they’d oblige in most cases. So, without any investment, you get to adjust your calculations to perfection.

11. For reassurance, you could contact the suppliers and ask them to show you the components in action in any nearby industry, so that you know exactly how it functions, before your company purchases it.

At the end of the day, you are still a college student, so if you end up screwing up stuff, it’s not a big deal. Rest assured that you’ll be handed over easy, doable projects befitting your capacity.

Unlike working employees, once you are done with your internship, you’ll be back to the easy-going college life. So count your days until then, but utilise these holidays well. When applying for MS or during placements, it shows them that you are a committed individual who has spent his vacation well. As you progress with your internship, all your doubts and uncertainties will definitely give way to confidence, and instill in you an appreciation of your field like you’ve never had before, making you actually look forward to your classes next sem onwards.