Five great internship tips

Highlights:

• The RingTern program is RingCentral’s award-winning internship

• Focus areas typically include: marketing, finance, sales, IT, engineering, HR, and legal

Summer’s just about here, and for a lot of new or soon-to-be grads, that means it’s internship season. We talked to a few of our former RingTerns and came up with five tips for making the most of your experience, whether it’s with RingCentral or any company: 

Tip 1: Study up.

You’ve probably already done a ton of research on the company you’re interning with. (If you haven’t, you should.) But now is also a great time to study their industry as a whole. Check out the competition and survey the competitive landscape. Once you have a strong sense of the organization’s mission and position in the marketplace, you’ll have a better idea of not only what you’re doing, but why.

Tip 2: SMARTen up.

Typically, companies give interns a set of straightforward goals to meet. And that’s great. But it’s good to set goals of your own for your internship, as well. What skills do you want to learn? What experiences do you want to get under your belt? Taking the time to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) metrics around your own goals will help you make the most of your experience. 

Tip 3: Put your hand up. 

Innovation happens when people wonder why…then think, why not? It’s all about contributing, and ideas have the best chance to succeed when everyone brings value to the process. So never be afraid to point out things that don’t make sense, or just ask questions. 

Tip 4: Buddy up.

Internships are a great time to grow your network and build relationships both inside and outside the company. Remember to keep in touch with all the people you met during your time here – you’ll definitely see at least a few of them again somewhere down the road.

Tip 5: Open up.

Be professional? Yes. Be someone you’re not? Never. An internship is your opportunity to demo a company just as much as it is their opportunity to demo you. It’s a chance to see what working with you is like, and a chance to see what working for them is like. The more honest both parties are, the more useful the process becomes. 

“This experience was truly a learning experience, one that I was able to witness the value of the work that I was doing. I felt embraced by every person that I talked to, and saw their willingness to help in any goals I had created for myself in this internship.”  – Tasimba Jonga, Employee Success Operations Intern

“The most significant piece of advice that I can give to the next intern in this position is to be proactive and have great communication with the team.” –  Kyle Izzo, Account Executive Support Specialist Intern

RingTerns by the book

If you’re not familiar with our RingTern program, it’s an award-winning global internship program that gives new and soon-to-be graduates in the US, UK, France, China and the Philippines the opportunity to get hands-on experience and be a part of the RingCentral culture. Last season’s class even put together their own “advice book,” which was the inspiration for many of the tips we shared today. 

Want to be a part of a RingTern class of your own? Check out our University Recruiting page for more information. 

Originally published Jun 06, 2022