The heat is on for MBA and undergraduate business student interns in the summer of 2009. After clawing their way into coveted internship positions in one of the most competitive job markets in memory, the real fight for full-time job offers is happening now, halfway through their 10 or so weeks on the job.
While there is some consolation in the fact that companies hired fewer interns because they planned to make fewer full-time offers for the following year, the chosen few lucky enough to land those internships still have to make sure they stand out. In fact, this is just the beginning of the battle for full-time positions for business graduates at every level. "This year the job search is not going to be a sprint," says Patrick Perrella, director of MBA career development at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business (Mendoza Full-Time MBA Profile). "It's a marathon." If you want to make it to the finish line with a full-time job offer in hand, you'll have to go the extra mile.
Exceed Expectations
Most career placement directors will tell you that one of the first ways to insure a satisfying internship is to communicate your expectations to your direct supervisor and ask what he or she expects of you. If this has not happened yet, you should make a point to talk to your manager and ask for feedback on how you are doing and what you can improve. You should also tell him or her what you think of the internship so far and how you'd like to add more value.
Most career placement directors will tell you that one of the first ways to insure a satisfying internship is to communicate your expectations to your direct supervisor and ask what he or she expects of you. If this has not happened yet, you should make a point to talk to your manager and ask for feedback on how you are doing and what you can improve. You should also tell him or her what you think of the internship so far and how you'd like to add more value.
In addition to a midsummer evaluation, Madhu Palkar, a 2009 graduate of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management (Kellogg Full-Time MBA Profile) who interned at L.E.K. Consulting in Chicago last year, scheduled biweekly meetings with her mentors. "You have to be creative and put out on the table what you bring to the table," says Palkar.
She told her bosses about her experience in health care and took on a health-care assignment in which she excelled. This made a great impression, and when she asked for assignments in completely different fields, her bosses were gung ho. On the last day of her internship, she was offered a full-time position, which she eventually accepted. She is now a full-time L.E.K. consultant in Chicago.
Work Hard and Smart
Worker bees get the honey, say recruiters. A strong work ethic, says Steve Canale, manager of recruiting and staff at General Electric (GE), is the common denominator among those who snag full-time offers at GE. The same is true at Deutsche Bank (DB), and working hard is more important in the weaker economy. "It's not even just about being good now," says Kristina Peters, managing director and global head of graduate resourcing at Deutsche Bank. "It's about being excellent."
Worker bees get the honey, say recruiters. A strong work ethic, says Steve Canale, manager of recruiting and staff at General Electric (GE), is the common denominator among those who snag full-time offers at GE. The same is true at Deutsche Bank (DB), and working hard is more important in the weaker economy. "It's not even just about being good now," says Kristina Peters, managing director and global head of graduate resourcing at Deutsche Bank. "It's about being excellent."
Basic rules, such as coming in before the boss and staying longer, still apply. But you also must take initiative to stand out. For example, you could spend some of your free time learning how to use new software to help you work faster or do additional research that wasn't asked of you for the big presentation. Perrella, who used to work at Citigroup (C), says he was always impressed when interns finished their projects early and anticipated what they could do next. Canale says that if you think you could be doing more, you should speak up because most employers will appreciate your willingness and desire to contribute—and they'll happily give you more work.
For more on this article, click here.
