1. You act entitled. It's wonderful that you're a smart go-getter who landed a killer internship because of what you do at school. But less talking about it and more proving it, please.
2. You don't respect your supervisor because she's a few years older than you. Whether she's 10 years older than you or 10 minutes older than you, that doesn't really matter. She is where she is because she did something right. Instead of not wanting to listen to her (because "what does she know?"), start taking mental notes and showing respect.
3. You want to do the bare minimum because you think you just need the name of the company on your résumé. You can intern at the best place in the world but if you're the laziest human ever, that name won't magically get you places. You get yourself places, and crushing it at every internship is how you start.
4. You're bitter because you are "overworked and underpaid." I'm not saying the system isn't flawed, but instead of putting your energy into complaining about what you're not getting out of the program, like a ton of money, find ways to get more out of the program, like a future job because you're networking your booty off.
5. You and your intern friends talk in the elevator about people in your office. You probably don't know everyone in your office, even if you think you do. That random woman in the elevator could possibly be great friends with the person from your office you were talking about.
6. You think your fellow interns are your enemies, not your friends. They are totally your friends! Don't compete against each other, work together. If one intern messes up a project, it looks bad for all the interns.
7. If you're not finished with a project, you think it can wait until the next day because it's 5 p.m. Your work day is not confined to a 9-to-5 box, and once you open your mind to that, you will be the best intern and even better future employee.
8. You put more effort showing off where you intern than you put into actually interning.An occasional post to Instagram of your office is no big deal. I did that and I am sure interns before me did that too. But you should absolutely not spend more time picking out a filter for the picture of your desk than you do on your work. Especially not on a regular basis.
9. You're dressing like you work there, not like you're trying to work there. It's better to be known as the intern who dresses in a way that's not quite trendy yet is professional than it is to be the intern who has a great outfit but whose butt cheeks are always hanging out.
10. You're totally OK with having down time and don't ask for additional projects. Always ask for more. Just because you ran out of work doesn't mean you should be hanging out and sending Snapchats until someone asks you to do something. Pitch ideas, and use the spare time to show your bosses how great you are.
11. You aren't networking with your bosses to ensure they'll remember you. Smile and be nice. Always. Build relationships with people in the office because the networking doesn't start when your internship ends and you have to keep in touch. No, networking begins the moment you walk through those doors.
12. You talk for the sake of talking. Make worthwhile comments. You don't want to be that babbling intern no one can stand, but the polite intern who always has something intelligent to say.
13. You ask questions that were already answered. Pay attention, lady!
14. You don't ask questions because you're afraid of messing up. If something wasn't explained, then ask for clarification. Don't waste time and resources doing something completely wrong.
15. You don't act like everything you're asked to do is important. If you are asked to go pick something up, it's because it's a legit task that no one else has time for. This isn't the time to roll your eyes or take your time doing it because it's just an errand.
17. You receive feedback, but you don't act on it. Treat feedback as a gift. When one of my bosses is willing to tell me how I can be better at my job, it's like they're whispering the secrets of success just to me! Someone taking the opportunity to tell you how to improve instead of deciding they don't care enough about you to tell you how to fix it is an amazing opportunity that you should embrace and of course, improve on.
18. You think that you can drink at office happy hour because everyone else is. Like it or not, you are not an equal. Office happy hour is not the time to act like one either. If you want to attend happy hour, that's fine, keep working your way up and you'll get there eventually.
19. You forget that your boss has bosses. You report to your boss, who reports to his or her boss, and so on and so forth. It's a chain reaction, and it starts with you. If you're making your boss happy, then their boss is happy, which means you will be rewarded. Just because the leader of the office isn't giving you tasks directly doesn't mean they don't know when they're getting done right and when they're getting done wrong.
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