Whether you’re working at an on-campus job, in the midst of your internship, or starting your first professional job after graduation from UMD, we want you to be successful and confident in the work you’re doing. To that end, we’ve assembled a number of tips and ideas to help you be successful in whatever experience you’re engaged in or are preparing for at the moment.
Tips for Success
Tips for Success
Set Yourself up for Success
- Track what you do and accomplish during the experience - this can help when meeting with your supervisor, evaluating what you like/dislike about the role, updating your resume, and figuring out what’s next for you.
- Take it seriously. Show up on time to work, meetings, and training. Be fully present and prepared in meetings. Be respectful of people's time and experience.
- Do you have a longer commute to your position? Maximize your time by catching up on the news, listening to podcasts, and/or keeping up with the trends in your field. The commute can also serve as time to prepare yourself for the day and to decompress after your work is done.
- Managing your time in a more professional role is different than when you’re a student. Find what works best for you.
- Figure out a system to help keep you organized while in training and once you’re working on projects/tasks.
- Take notes. You will encounter a lot of new things and this is normal. Take notes that make sense to you will help you with your transition into your new organization.
- Personalize your workspace as you’re able.
- Take your breaks - this can help you to be more productive in your work.
- Check in with yourself periodically throughout the experience and reflect on how it has been going. Tweak as needed.
- Communicate clearly. Use grammatically correct complete sentences in email communication. Create an email signature and voicemail message. Learn how to check your voicemail. Introduce yourself to new people.
- Be flexible, proactive, and ready to learn.
- Learn from your mistakes.
Working with Your Supervisor & Colleagues
- Set attainable goals with your supervisor about what will be accomplished throughout and by the end of the experience.
- Be coachable. Take feedback as an opportunity to improve your skills. Have an open mindset that appreciates learning about the organization's culture, people, processes, norms, and priorities.
- Check in with your supervisor on a regular basis. Ask questions. Get feedback. Review your goals and projects.
- Ask questions. It is OK if you don't know an answer. Find answers through your connections and ask for help or clarification early in the process, even if you already asked the same question.
- Show initiative. Anticipate or solve problems you see. Use your fresh perspective to ask questions about systems and processes or identify redundancy and inefficiency. If you finish a task ahead of schedule, ask where else you can assist.
- Be thinking about who at your organization you want to ask to be references for you. Ask before your last day of an internship or co-op.
- Be professional and maintain a positive attitude.
Company Culture
- Learn your organization’s company culture (mission, values, organizational structure, clients/customers, dress code, philanthropy, etc.).
- Create connections. Look for opportunities to get to know people in similar roles, in your department, and outside your normal groups to understand the bigger organizational picture.
- Interested in having your internship/co-op/student teaching/field placement transition to full-time? Explore how you could make that transition and organization benefits such as retirement, insurance, and continuing education.
- Environment can be a huge factor in being successful at a position. Take notes about your role and what works (or doesn’t) for you: nature of the work, people, and work setting, to help with your next search.
- Research how your organization invests in its people. Training, help with furthering education, personal growth, benefits, and more. Keep learning and take charge of your professional development.
After the Experience
- Reflect upon the experience. What did you learn? What skills have you gained? What didn’t go well? How do you want to build upon this experience?
- What did you learn about your industry during your experience? How will you bring that back to your classes?
- Update your resume.
- Practice talking about what you learned, accomplished, or gained during your experience for future interviews.
- Didn’t like your position? Figure out if it’s the work, the people, the supervision structure, and/or the organization. Find both positive and negative things to take away from the experience to help you navigate future roles.
- If possible, have multiple experiences. This can help you to figure out what you like and need from the work environment (tasks, company culture, supervisor relationship, etc.).