Illustration from the comic “How to Navigate Your Internship and Evolve into an Adult.”
Your internship experience has given you an opportunity to have a better understanding of the organisation, the industry and to know yourself better in terms of your career values. Have you considered the possibility of turning your internship into a full-time position?
Here are some steps you can take:
Be proactive. Do not assume that your supervisor knows that you want the job. Have a conversation with your supervisor and be intentional about your interest in having a full-time position with the organisation. Reflect on what you have learned from your internship and showcase how you can continue to contribute to the organisation as a full-time employee.
Speak to someone from HR and find out if there are full-time positions available in your department. It is often easier and more cost effective to convert an intern into a full-time employee than for HR to go through the full cycle of advertising, shortlisting and interviewing candidates for the position.
If there are no openings in your department, find out if there are positions in other departments where you can work in. More often than not, employers are willing to give good-performing interns a chance even though they may be lacking in certain skill sets. Be sure to demonstrate your commitment to learn and grow with the organisation.
Even if the organisation is not hiring at the moment, don’t forget to express your appreciation to your mentors and supervisor for the time they have spent on you. Solicit feedback on how you can improve and ask if they can help to write you a testimonial highlighting your skills and achievements on the internship or make a recommendation via LinkedIn.
Continue to keep in touch and connect with your colleagues via social media such as LinkedIn. You never know when your paths will cross again and when you will need their help in the future.
TO TOP
According to a LinkedIn report in 2023, 70% of companies offer full-time jobs to their interns based on the effort, time and resources they have invested during the internship. Seize the opportunity for yourself!
