Especially as Christians, juggling what the world tells us to chase with what God created us to rest in (His will for our lives) can be extremely hard to balance. On top of that, being in college means you’re in a prime season for building a foundation for the rest of your life. Have you considered whether or not you’re balancing these two very different perspectives the way that God would have you? Sometimes, just remembering that His will isn’t ours or the world’s helps us be prepared for what life has in store. Feel free to reach out to me at anne.hocking@acu.edu if you’d like to talk about this. 

1. Do your research. Hopefully, you did research prior to your interview but do some more. Refresh your memory. Try to have a basic understanding of what the company or at least the department does before your first day. Pinpoint some roles that you may be interested in learning from or some processes that you would like more exposure to and take the initiative to ask questions, maybe even ask to shadow those roles or observe those processes for a portion of your internship (if time and your job description allow).

2.  Start off on the right foot. Day one, go in professionally dressed, on-time, well rested, positive, eager to learn, and ready to ask questions when given the opportunity. Be ready for fast-paced and hands-on or for slow and no one has time for you yet. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. They are good! Just make sure you’ve been listening to what you’ve been told or that you fully read any manuals or other materials asked of you so you’re not asking questions you should already know the answers to. Clarifying and clearing up contradictions to things you’ve read/heard is good though. 

3. Offer to help. Especially if you step into a role where your supervisors don’t appear to have a lot of time to train or oversee you, take some time to learn the lay of the land and then offer to help with some things you think you’d be beneficial with and offer to provide your skills. Especially if it’s something you think you’d enjoy, most the time your supervisors don’t know what you’d like or don’t like or how much you can handle so you may have to help guide them as they guide you. Don’t be pushy or ask repeatedly, but showing interest is a good way to create unexpected opportunities.

4. Be careful about expectations. Sometimes having expectations creates a launchpad for disappointment unnecessarily. Go into your internship ready to be adaptable and with low expectations and you’ll be surprised about how much this serves your ability to be grateful for what does come.

First, be patient…

I know the feeling of a job not going as expected, especially if you had high expectations for it (see the first box at the top of this page), but even when things are different, they can still be great! First, I’d advise that you don’t judge too quickly. Be patient in drawing conclusions. If things seem like they’ve not started off well, it may just be a busy or hard season for the team you’ve stepped into. They may be new at supervising your role and are looking for better ways of doing things themselves. There could be numerous reasons for disappointment, but don’t sit in that. Instead… 

Look for perspective

Are you being too stingy with your willingness to help? Do you need to be okay with the mundane so you can earn trust and have bigger opportunities? Are your supervisors or colleagues passionate, perfectionistic, or micromanaging of the work? Hopefully, that means they care about outcomes and just need more time to see the benefits you bring. Look for their perspective and maybe even ask if the opportunity arises. Most importantly, optimism is powerful, so…

Try to be positive. Gratitude goes a long way. A dear friend of mine did an internship abroad some years ago and just before leaving to work with an orphanage, she broke her collar bone. She had surgery just days before leaving, was sore for weeks, and could only use one arm for most of her internship. On top of that, their days were not as they expected. Their language skills needed work. And their workloads were intense. This friend could’ve easily had a bad attitude but instead chose to start a gratitude journal and every day she would write out things she was grateful for (nature, experiences, stories of the kids, outings, learning opportunities, God’s grace and mercy, etc.) and she will tell you that this made all the difference in her summer. She easily could’ve come back bitter, but she came back changed and flourishing. Positivity is good when it is alone. It’s exponentially better when shared! So don’t just try to be positive in your own mind, but in word and deed, with your community also.  

Seek advice when needed. Especially if your internship is academically related and for an ACU class, reach out to your professor about what you’re experiencing. Let your instructor give you insights into what’s to be expected, what’s just a hard situation to push through, and what is a situation that needs to be addressed.  Even if your internship is not for a class, I imagine you have professors that would be glad to hear you and provide insights. Or, of course, I’m here as well – shoot me an email. 

Remember, internships are valuable because they are short-term learning experiences. This means they have an end date. Even coming out of an internship simply having learned that this is not a role you want to do long term or this is not a supervisor or company you want to work for, is a win! You now know more about your future direction than you did previously, plus you have something to put on your resume! You can do this. Take it one day at a time. Find joy in the suffering. Remember God loves everyone, even difficult people. Make it your mission to love well even when they don’t deserve it, just like Christ has done for each of us.

Looking for an internship course? Or just want to learn more about Vocational Formation & Work?