With virtual internships emerging as the new normal for the foreseeable future, it may be best to examine how to successfully stay on top of your virtual internship and complete it as if you were doing it physically.
To make the most out of your virtual internship, it matters what you put in. Aspects such as self-care, communication, morale, cultural fit, and openness to learning will impact the quality of your internship.
1. Self-care
Find a middle ground between consistency and flexibility. Creating a routine can enhance productivity and bring structure to your life, the latter of which is sometimes difficult to achieve when working remotely.
Try to work around the same hours most days and in the same location. However, don’t forget to take advantage of the autonomy provided by the digital workspace as well. The ability to adjust your hours and location as necessary, can help you tailor your professional responsibilities to your lifestyle and preferred work habits. Perhaps you are most productive first thing in the morning or prefer to do your morning exercise and then start working; experiment with your schedule to find what works best for you. Of course, clearly communicate your expectations and committed timeline to your engagement team members.
2. Communication
Although collaborating via digital platforms reduces the spatial barrier to communication, it is important to recognize that it introduces an emotional disconnection between team members. In order to counteract this effect make a conscious effort to build relationships. Set up virtual coffee chats with coworkers and supervisors to accelerate your integration into the group and facilitate meaningful relationships. In fact, the quantity of my meetings has increased post-COVID and I have daily touchpoints at the end of the day to make sure everyone feels connected and engaged. We always want interns to succeed because while an internship is a process for firms to evaluate the interns it is also the time for the interns to evaluate the firm to see if they can build their career there.
LinkedIn is a great tool for networking with other professionals in the industry. Don’t limit yourself to your engagement team. Reach out to other members of the firm or even to people outside the firm. Take advantage of the flexibility that remote work has introduced into everyone’s schedules and connect with someone you might not have had a chance to meet in an in-person work environment.
3. Morale
Working from home can sometimes become monotonous, so facilitating social interactions within your team can increase engagement and morale. Get creative when planning virtual get-togethers; online escape rooms, web-based game nights and virtual happy hours are just a few ideas for bonding with your coworkers.
Additionally, conducting regular team check-ins can boost employee happiness and ensure everyone is on the same page. Frequent socialization, even in a professional context, helps improve mental and emotional health and also provides an opportunity for everyone to continue strengthening their interpersonal skills while working remotely.
4. Cultural Fit
It can be challenging to adjust to the culture at a new firm, even more so virtually. Nonetheless, the best course of action is to attend any and all social events; these include board game nights, virtual happy hours, and volunteering to facilitate the all-hands meetings. Additionally, connect with everyone. Try to reach out to your colleagues, supervisors, and people from other business lines to learn about their work and what they like to do outside of work. However, don’t forget that quality is more important than quantity. Don’t just network for the sake of networking. Be genuine, be interested in your colleagues, and always be curious to learn.
5. Continuous Learning
Learning extends far beyond the classroom and a virtual internship offers the flexibility to learn at your own pace within the firm. Developing a knowledge base on market news or specific industries, and developing a hard skillset (e.g. Excel, PowerPoint, and SQL) can prove valuable over the life of your career. If you can get access to slides or models from past engagements, this will help you get accustomed to your firm’s or engagement team’s style. This will accelerate your learning.
Additionally, if you know a Partner or a senior member who publishes research reports raise your hand and see if you can get involved. These research reports will give you in-depth insights into the inner workings of the company and may lead to new opportunities to get staffed on a project.
Conclusion
Remember that the ‘virtual internship’ is new for everyone and before it becomes fully institutionalized each individual’s style will be different.
If you can just remember the five key elements outlined above (i.e. self-care, communication, morale, cultural fit, and continuous learning) and take the initiative to broaden your horizons, then this will greatly improve your chances of completing a successful internship.
Jason Oh works in the Strategy/M&A – Global Wealth & Asset Management team at Manulife. Previously, he was a Strategy Consultant at EY and Novantas with industry focus in the financial sector where he advised on corporate strategy planning, commercial due diligence, and data analytics.
Image: Pexels
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