It’s been two months since I joined Sinclair as an intern and every day here has been unique and fruitful. Approaching the end of my internship, I started to review my experience and realised that there are four things that I wish I had started doing earlier to bring out the best in me as an intern. They might not seem important, but are all very useful.
Always take notes
Unless you have superpowers, you can’t actually remember every word that you hear! Therefore, always take notes whenever there is a team meeting, internal briefing for an event or if a colleague is assigning tasks. Don’t be afraid to check with others to make sure you are clear about what to do.
Keep a logbook
Keeping a logbook is super useful for interns. Who assigned the work to us? Which client are we working for? What is the task? Any difficulties that might require extra attention? How long did it take to finish the task? If all the answers are marked clearly in your logbook, similar tasks can be completed faster and better next time round.
Be brave enough to ask questions
Asking questions can be embarrassing for some people (including myself!). However, it’s probably more embarrassing to fail at a given task. Figuring the answer out yourself without asking others is great when you have time, but in a fast-paced industry such as PR, ask your colleagues how you can get the work done faster. It is absolutely okay for a student to have to ask, because that is why we are here as interns – to learn.
Manage time well
It is very common for a PR intern to be given lots of assignments since there are a great deal of people working in an agency who would love to get you involved. But your colleagues probably won’t have a full understanding of all the tasks on your list. In order to finish tasks assigned by different teams on time, time management is super important. Remember to ask for the deadline, state your availability upfront and prioritise tasks according to urgency and importance. If you are not going to meet the deadline, do notify your colleagues as early as you can.
Although I wish I realised these four little things on day one of my internship, instead of now, it is never too late to implement them.
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