10 Ways To Impress Your Boss As An Intern.

Being an intern can at times be daunting, everyone thinks you are not that important, you buy fat cakes for them, collect clothes from the dry clean and stuff. It’s time you put your foot down, the person that you have to impress is your boss, because you might get a permanent job or a good reference. Your boss is the person with the greatest potential to improve your work life, since he or she has the most direct control over your day-to-day activities. There following tips will help you get ahead.

1. Take Initiative.

Most people in the workplace don’t struggle to get their work done, they struggle for recognition and new challenges. If you see a new project, go after it. If you see something that needs doing, do it. The higher you go in a company, the more you’re steering the company, and that means taking risks.

2. Come Prepared.

If you’re showing up to work prepared to work, you are on the right track. You should show up prepared and you should stay on top of your work throughout the day. You should be prepared with all the information you need for each meeting or project.

3. Have An Informed Opinion.

Know the state of your division and know the state of the marketplace you work in. Then, develop an opinion about how to improve realistic ways your team could try something new. Having an opinion is the most common thing in the world in business, but having an informed opinion is depressingly rare.

4. Save The Company Money.

Making your employer more money is a contribution to the central goal of your company (it is, quite literally, the bottom line). While you can contribute to the company’s profits in many ways, you have direct control over cutting expenses.

5. Dress To Impress.

You know the old adage, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have”? No? Well, learn it well. Look at what the permanent employees on the next rung of the ladder are wearing, and dress like that. Even if you’re not trying to get promoted, but just want to expand the job you have, dressing well and grooming properly is a nice way to do it.

6. Read.

Yes, read at work. Do keep a relevant book or industry magazine on hand, and pull it out whenever you have a few minutes of downtime. Read a few pages after you complete a task as a short break from work and you’ll find it easier to refocus on your next task.

7. Come Early And Leave Late.

Quality is more important than quantity. As long as the quality’s there, the quantity helps too. Nobody’s asking you to stay an extra four hours. In fact, don’t do that as it can actually make it look like you’re falling behind or not managing your time correctly. Instead, look at it from your boss’ perspective, he wants the job done.

8. Keep A Clean Work Space.

If you have no paper on your desk, it doesn’t look like you’re working. But if you have no desk visible under all that paper, it doesn’t look like you’re working either. Why is your work piling up on you like that? We know, we know, you need all that paper. Well, if the stuff you have out is that important, it’s worth having it organized and usable.

9. Highlight Relevant Industry Innovation.

Even if you’re in an industry that you don’t plan on being in forever, you should know your business. It’s what you do every day, so you may as well be the best at it. This includes knowing the industry. When a news story covers your industry, clip the article and e-mail a scan of it to everyone on your team, boss included.

10. Complete The Task Everyone Forgets.

There are little things in every workplace that everybody forgets, from specific work processes that get overlooked to maintenance issues like turning the fans on in the morning. We’re not saying you should be the one who cleans up the coffee station every morning, but you can pitch in and take some pride in your work area.