10 Top Goofs Interns Make

Internships are becoming more important as an entrypoint to the working world. Here are the top mistakes interns make, and how to avoid them

When companies like Philip Morris come recruiting on college campuses, they can put on quite a show for starry-eyed undergrads, as Andrew Dill, a student at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business can attest. After potential interns are wined and dined with fancy meals and frequent follow-up phone calls, he says, "You start out thinking it'll be a 10-week carpet ride." But when the wooing ends and the work begins, interns may find the ride to be a bit bumpier than expected, especially for college students who are first-timers in the corporate world.

While sweatpants and gum-smacking won't lose you points on your finance final, as an intern, what you do often counts as much as how you do it. And unlike a summer spent lifeguarding by the pool, the consequences don't end when you hang up your whistle. An internship is potentially the beginning of your business career, says David Sanderson, head of global recruiting for Bain & Co. "Every interaction you have is making an impression." And even interns who understand the importance of an internship are often clueless about just what kind of impression they're making.

Think working late makes you look dedicated? Your boss might just be wondering why you can't get your work done on time. Or is your air of confidence coming off as cockiness instead? We asked top recruiters and former interns for the low-down on the top intern mistakes -- and got their advice on how to avoid them.

1. The entitlement syndrom

With the strongest job market in half a decade (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/21/06, "The Jobs Come Looking for Grads"), it's true that by landing an internship you've already sweetened your chances of securing a full-time position. Georgia student Andrew Dill says he saw many of his fellow interns slip into complacency -- coming in late, or taking two-hour lunches, with the attitude that, "Oh, it's just an internship." But an internship is also a summer-long job interview. "Interns are being scrutinized as they go through their summer even as they scrutinize us as a potential employer," says Margaret Ashida, Director of University Talent Programs for IBM (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/30/06, "Big Blue on Campus"). You wouldn't be late for a job interview, would you?

2. No flip-flopping at the office

Though it seems that even the most buttoned-up firms have engaged in some collective tie-loosening as far as dress code is concerned, recruiter Christine Layton at PriceWaterhouseCoopers says that misinterpreting "business casual" to mean just "casual" is a common intern mistake. Monica Schulz, a senior economics student at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business, says her intern coordinator at Merrill Lynch has to repeatedly remind female interns that open-toed shoes and tank-tops were not appropriate office wear. While standards vary depending on your location and job function, interns with job responsibilities that include a lot of client interaction should be prepared to dress more formally. And when in doubt, Layton says, "go conservative." Button up that button-down.

3. Forgetting to unplugs

It's obvious that using your cell phone to firm up your weekend plans isn't the best way to make a good impression in the workplace. And many companies explicitly forbid interns from blogging about their work. But even if you think listening to your iPod or chatting on Instant Messenger isn't interfering with your job responsibilities, your behavior might be interfering with the way you're being assessed as an overall professional -- especially by members of, ahem, older generations. E-mail is another area where recruiters say younger employees too often err on the side of informality. E-mail may be a less-formal medium, but that doesn't mean you won't be judged on your spelling errors -- or your abuse of the all-mighty "reply-all."

4. Being a wollflower

Painfully shy interns are at a definite disadvantage, says Roger Conner, Vice- President of Communications at Marriott International. "They may be quite intelligent, but it does not reflect well on them." Good interpersonal skills, such as making good eye contact, are extremely important, he says. Put those skills to use, and take advantage of company-wide events to get some face time with the company's top brass. Kevin Bell, an intern-turned-full-time-employee at IBM, says higher-ups are often more than willing to share their advice with interns, when asked. "Maybe they can spare the 30 minutes on their calendars, and maybe they can't -- but it doesn't hurt to try."

6. Grunting about grunt work

Monica Schulz says one intern she worked with at Merrill Lynch started shirking on menial tasks like filing client records midway through his summer internship, reasoning that by the time his supervisor found out, he'd be long gone. Yet whether it's making photocopies or placing dinner orders, administrative duties are a fact of life even at top-notch internship programs. "We treat interns as first-year associates," says Christine Layton, PriceWaterhouseCooper's New York Metro Recruiting Leader, "but regardless of what level you are, there's always going to be some mundane task that you don't particularly enjoy doing." So just smile and do it.

7. Missing the big picture

Recruiter David Sanderson says that "spending as much time as you can with as many people as you can" is the best way to learn about the company you're working for. Don't be afraid to venture outside your immediate team or department to learn how your responsibilities fit into the big picture. Tristi Kersey, a newly minted graduate of Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, says that's how she gained an edge on her final project at Miller Brewing Co. last summer. While other branding interns dug in with their teammates, Kersey reached out to representatives in operations, sales, and finance to get their advice, which she says brought a broader insight to her project as well as a better understanding of the business at large. Big-picture thinking can also be a boon for making grunt work a little less grunt-worthy, says Kevin Bell: "Being able to see a project's end goal really helped motivate me when I was working on smaller tasks."

8. Failing to ask questions

Tristi Kersey spent the first month of her internship at Miller Brewing Co. trying to work through her project deliverables on her own. It wasn't until her first deadline was approaching that she finally asked her manager. Luckily, she got the clarity she needed before it was too late. And while asking questions can be crucial to avoid wasting time and energy by approaching problems in the wrong way, they can also speak volumes about your desire to learn. There's perhaps no better way to show off your intellectual curiosity than by asking intelligent questions. It's the rare person in any organization who knows everything.

9. Rejecting criticism

One downside of a recruiting process that often targets confident student leaders is that you have an internship program staffed by interns who act like, well, confident student leaders. Students used to being at the head of the class may not be as open to criticism as they should be. Instead of really listening to feedback, says Georgia's Andrew Dill, a number of interns he worked with simply shut it out. And he wasn't the only one who noticed the negative attitudes that resulted. Overly cocky interns aren't just making a bad impression; they're also missing out on valuable opportunities to improve their skills, says recruiter Christine Layton. "Critical feedback is the most challenging to give and receive -- but it's also the most useful." That means it's smart for interns to seek out constructive criticism, rather than waiting for a formal review.

10. Wasting time

Recruiters consistently cite being proactive as one of the most important qualities in a successful intern. If you're waiting to be told what to do, says Roger Conner of Marriott International, you're not doing enough. The summer's short, and there's a lot you can learn by asking for new tasks. And please, he says, "Don't play solitaire."

By Kerry Miller