In early March, Kendall Camp had to pack and move to his home in Tracy from Atlanta to complete his semester as the classes went fully remote. He was happy to be surrounded by his family but was concerned about his upcoming internship. Not everyone is lucky enough to get signed for an internship during their studies. He had invested many hours in school management and extracurricular activities to be chosen for a summer internship at NBCUniversal in Los Angeles.
Even if it meant work from home, Camp was grateful that he did not lose the opportunity where many experienced workers had to lose their permanent jobs. Even though he missed the feel of a real-life corporate environment, he was grateful to have experienced and learned something.
Unsplash | Working from home isn't as exciting as a first-time in person experience
On his short journey of the summer internship, Camp learned a few ways to overcome challenges, which you can use in the upcoming lockdown days to serve as an intern.
Challenge 1: Socializing in a virtual workplace.
Do not think it’s impossible to make new friends and acquaintances from the comfort of your couch. Find virtual communities of other college students and groups of people related to your field on social media. Though you won’t be able to grab a coffee together, you can just chat, exchange numbers, share your experience, and stay in touch. Share your routine and in return inquire about theirs. Frequent chit chats would disclose the work environment and job requirements about the companies they work in.
Unsplash | Socializing isn't the same when you're stuck working from home
Challenge 2: Grabbing your seniors’ attention
Unlike previous days you cannot leave an impression with your classy attire. But what you can do instead is to create one-on-one chats with your supervisor or coordinators and offer your help. Show your enthusiasm towards work by taking initiative in offering your services for the upcoming project and assignments. All you need to tell your senior is, “I realize you’re overloaded with great burden for this project, let me help you with it”, and you're sure to win them over in no time.
Challenge 3: Creating a peaceful workspace
If you’re working from home, it’s difficult to restrict the whole family from entering your room or workspace. It gets distracting when you’re absolutely engrossed in your task and someone enters your room babbling about their recent encounter or a random joke. Make it a daily routine to announce your working hours to your siblings and parents before entering your private space. This way, it will be less expected from them to reach out to you in the middle of a meeting asking, “Can you hang up the clothes on the washing line?” or “lunch is ready, will you join us?”
It’s inevitable to undergo various challenges whether you are working physically or virtually. How you tackle them and manage to stand out from others during the internship is what your supervisors take account of. Don’t just try to survive these short-term but try to stay head-on if you want to impress your boss and land a permanent position.