Got My First Internship!

[gatormoe1]

Yay Me!

Ok now I need the pub support. A few things I want to know...

So I'm on the fence about the first question, I read a lot of forums, blogs etc.. that say bring a notebook, but some that don't specify, should I bring a notebook? Keep in mind this is a IT internship at a company that does PC repair, custom builds and some networking stuff. Will taking a notebook make me seem like I don't know enough, or will it make me seem like I'm trying to soak in any information I can?

Second thing and this is more of an open question, does anyone have any advice on how to take an internship and turn it into a job? The president of the company (small company, probably less than 20 employees) said they hired the last two interns and basically made it seem like if I work out, they would hire me.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[hgators]

Bringing a notebook (and a pen, ha ha) shows you are interested enough in what people are telling you to write it down. It also shows you don't think you know everything already.

For what it's worth, first there, last to leave, no job too small, too dirty or beneath you is always impressive. The goal is what's best for the company and not just you, show that you get that and off you go.

Good luck!

[ovillegator]

Originally Posted by hgators

Bringing a notebook (and a pen, ha ha) shows you are interested enough in what people are telling you to write it down. It also shows you don't think you know everything already.

For what it's worth, first there, last to leave, no job too small, too dirty or beneath you is always impressive. The goal is what's best for the company and not just you, show that you get that and off you go.

Good luck!

Yes to the above, and I'd add, remember they are looking for someone who is pleasant to be around for 8 hours or more every day -- so be nice and helpful!

They hire people not just based on skills, but also attitude and friendliness.

[RepubliGator84]

I'd take the notebook and I wouldn't worry saying anything about wanting to turn the internship into a job.

If you work hard, do good work, and get along with the people in the company the rest will likely take care of itself

[gatormoe1]

Thanks for the advice, it seems unanimous from here and everywhere to take a notebook, so I'll bring one. I haven't asked about being paid or turning it into a job offer but the president mentioned it herself (the possibility of it being a job offer later down the road). So when I'm not there I'm going to have my nose in the books, probably learning more about PC repair since that is where it seems I will be at to start out.

I'm at "The bench" where PC's go to be fixed etc. I did over hear the president talking about a new system for ticketing and I went home and downloaded a trial version of it to become an expert with it before they bring it into the company. So hopefully they bring that in soon and I can show them I know it before they do.

[vaxcardinal]

president is female...so that opens up other possibilities for turning this into a permanent job

[Welshgator]

I still have notebooks from 26 years ago, when I first started working in my current field. There weren't many laptops around back then...
I think it will be a good thing for you to do. Show you are paying attention to what is being said though and make a point of jotting a small note afterwards. I occasionally teach some undergrad and grad students some practical work. I find that the ones who are busily scribbling while I am showing them something generally miss the whole picture of what I am trying to teach them. I usually tell them up front to just watch what I do the first time to get the overall picture. Next time around they can get more detail and make notes. Last few classes, they're all into taking pics with their smartphones and such.
Good luck with the internship. Does the company produce PCs and take return repairs or do they just do general PC repairs for other departments? Do they focus on one particular brand like Dell or anything?

[JohnC1908]

Originally Posted by vaxcardinal

president is female...so that opens up other possibilities for turning this into a permanent job

I wouldn't use the word permanent but you'll be employed for a bit.

[Welshgator]

Originally Posted by vaxcardinal

president is female...so that opens up other possibilities for turning this into a permanent job

There you go Moe, maybe she's one of those cougar types. Jaggator will probably be posting pics next week. You can keep them for filing a harrassment law suit if she messes with you or it turns out you don't like the job anyway.

[GatorAbe7]

If they told you they hired the last two interns, and you're "in the door" as long as things work out, it means you have a permanent job barring that you remain competent and don't bring problems upon yourself, such as habitually showing up late, pissing off customers, neglecting customers, showing up smelling of alcohol, or disappearing for long periods during the workday. These should sound like no-brainer warnings, but at least weekly someone in my employer of 650 requires hard correction.

[toon66]

Originally Posted by gatormoe1

Yay Me!

Ok now I need the pub support. A few things I want to know...

So I'm on the fence about the first question, I read a lot of forums, blogs etc.. that say bring a notebook, but some that don't specify, should I bring a notebook? Keep in mind this is a IT internship at a company that does PC repair, custom builds and some networking stuff. Will taking a notebook make me seem like I don't know enough, or will it make me seem like I'm trying to soak in any information I can?

Second thing and this is more of an open question, does anyone have any advice on how to take an internship and turn it into a job? The president of the company (small company, probably less than 20 employees) said they hired the last two interns and basically made it seem like if I work out, they would hire me.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Bring a notebook, take notes and do not be afraid to ask questions. Prove yourself to be an absolute team player, offer to do virtually anything and do it quickly/correctly. Always be on time and don't leave early. Make a positive impression on everyone. Assuming you are a male, don't bang the cute girl in the company or anybody else for that matter. Above all else just work really, really hard and appreciate the opportunity presented to you. You won't be expected to know everything or even anything but you will be expected to be engaged and to learn. Best of luck to you, knock 'me dead!

Keep us up to date.

[secgator]

Originally Posted by Welshgator

There you go Moe, maybe she's one of those cougar types. Jaggator will probably be posting pics next week. You can keep them for filing a harrassment law suit if she messes with you or it turns out you don't like the job anyway.

Trust me....JAG already HAS the photos. He is just sandbagging for the time being.

[rounds]

Sexual harrassment from or to is a career killer. Avoid it like the plague.

[Welshgator]

I'm sure GatorMoe knows I was joking about the harrassment stuff. Right Moe?

People do all sorts of weird stuff though. Guy I work with used to record memos on one of those little recording machines a few years ago. He'd record things like, " Head of dept said I need to move faster, I think he was insinuating I am overweight or calling me fat."
He was trying to compile legal evidence in case he ever got his a$$ canned. The guy is always looking for some angle or way to get out of doing any work.

[gatormoe1]

Originally Posted by Welshgator

I'm sure GatorMoe knows I was joking about the harrassment stuff. Right Moe?

People do all sorts of weird stuff though. Guy I work with used to record memos on one of those little recording machines a few years ago. He'd record things like, " Head of dept said I need to move faster, I think he was insinuating I am overweight or calling me fat."
He was trying to compile legal evidence in case he ever got his a$$ canned. The guy is always looking for some angle or way to get out of doing any work.

No and now I'm fired already!

[kurt_borglum]

If it is an IT company, shouldn't you bring and IPad or something electronic rather than pen and paper?

[Welshgator]

Originally Posted by gatormoe1

No and now I'm fired already!

So, you did get laid then?...

[gatormoe1]

Originally Posted by kurt_borglum

If it is an IT company, shouldn't you bring and IPad or something electronic rather than pen and paper?

If I actually had the money to afford one? Absolutely.

[rpmGator]

Learn how to brownnose. Most of the time, the noser's keep their jobs when more productive people who just do their jobs, don't.

While I kid, its a fact of life.

[phatGator]

Congratulations!

Some good advice already. A few thoughts:

Attitude attitude attitude
Work hard
Be dependable
Be honest
If you finish everything assigned then ask for more work or find something useful to do.
Make sure you are doing what the boss wants and not necessarily what you want to do.
No presumptions: make sure you have all the information you need to do the job.
Make sure you know how long they expect a job to take.

These might seem boring but it's what most companies want to see in an employee. The company I work for at one time had 20 interns out of 80 employees. The goal was to identify people we wanted for full time.