A Guide to Networking During Your Internship

You probably know how beneficial it is to form new connections during an internship, but you might now know exactly how to initiate networking conversations. So, here are some tips on how to start and grow your network during your internship in a productive and appropriate way.

Connecting with Fellow Interns

Making the connection

During your internship, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to make small gestures and begin your networking. Greetings in the hallway, small talk by the coffee maker, and chatting while entering and leaving the office are great times to get familiar with the interns working around you. You’ll also have opportunities to connect through longer conversations, including group projects, networking events, and, of course, lunch—going out to lunch together is a great way to get to know other interns on a deeper level.

You might ask another intern to eat lunch with you the next time you see them in the break room. Or you can send them a Slack message if you don’t typically run into them during the day. Taking the initiative to set up these conversations will be important in your networking journey – be proactive instead of waiting for someone else to reach out to you.

Having the conversation

During lunch (or whenever you find yourself speaking at length with a fellow intern), try getting to the heart of how you and your colleague can connect. This includes asking questions about their path to the internship, their academic experience, their goals, as well as questions about their personal life such as hobbies and interests. Be genuine and natural with your responses, finding areas where you can relate as well as areas that would be great for diving deeper and learning more. The goal is to have an organic conversation, so be mindful that your questioning doesn’t slide into interview territory. 

Following up

The initial conversation is only the first step. Afterwards, maintaining the connection requires a follow-up. Maybe you send them a message expressing your gratitude for the conversation and mention you’d like to have lunch together again in the future. Or when you see them in the hallway, you might mention something you did recently that aligns with something you discussed. Simple acts like this will help your connection blossom while interning together. After the internship, keep in touch while you both take on the next steps in your careers, whether that’s finishing up school or securing a full-time role. The connections you made during your internship will be invaluable for years to come, as long as you make an effort to continue the connection.

Connecting with Full-Time Staff and Leadership 

Making the connection

When it comes to networking with leadership or full-time employees, the first step is figuring out who you want to connect with. For example, if you’d like to learn more about the particular group you’re interning for and how to grow your profession in that direction, start by reaching out to a senior-level team member in the group. On the other hand, if you want to learn about how your department fits into the larger picture of the organization’s offerings, reach out to someone in a different department. Whoever you choose to connect with, keep your goals in mind.

The next step is the initial outreach. If your program is structured so that you work closely with senior employees, initiating conversations with full-time employees can look the same as it does with other interns. But if you don’t work closely with someone you’d like to connect with, you’ll want to adapt your strategy—and likely emailing them using your work email address will be your best bet. If they don’t recognize your name, they’ll at least recognize your company email address. Depending on the culture at your company, a Slack message might also work, but when in doubt, lean towards the more formal and professional email option.

In your initial outreach, the key items to include are a brief introduction, your reason for reaching out, and the conversation proposal. For these conversations, grabbing coffee near the office, walking in a nearby park, or even a formal meeting are great options for conversation settings and situations. If you’re unsure which one is the right one to ask for in your email, give a few options and say you’re happy to meet when and where it’s most convenient.

Having the conversation

The conversation itself can include questions similar to those you’d ask other interns, such as hobbies or personal interests. However, your questions should be catered more to the full-time level of experience. You could ask your new connection about their path to their current role, other positions they’ve had in the past, and what they’re doing now to increase their skills and knowledge. In order to be best prepared for this, do your research and learn as much as you can about them so your questions can be better aligned with their experiences and your goals. 

Due to the experience gap, finding ways to relate with full-time employees might be more difficult than it is with other interns. However, don’t let your lack of experience make you feel like there’s no common ground between you. Experience is only one option when it comes to finding common ground, but that doesn’t make it the most important or fruitful. Maybe you both share similar views about work/life balance or remote work. Maybe you both listen to the same podcasts or watch the same Netflix series. Whatever it is, finding common ground will help lead to an organic conversation, which will likely give you a more well-rounded perspective of the other person. 

Following up

Once you’ve had your meeting and parted ways, following up is critical. Following up with a full-time employee can look different from following up with another intern if you don’t typically see the full-timer around the office. One option is to ask for a monthly meeting where you two can catch up and keep in touch during the internship. Another option is engaging with them on LinkedIn and sending a personal message when you see one of their updates. At the end of the day, follow up in whatever way feels most natural to you. And once the internship concludes, don’t let your follow-ups stop. Network connections are (hopefully) career-long relationships. 

Aim for Progress, Not Perfection

You may often feel like everyone else is an expert networker while you’re still learning out how to send your first lunch invite. The big secret is this: nobody has it all figured out. Everyone is constantly learning how to be better when it comes to making new connections, which puts you on even footing. Just like in your work, mistakes will happen. You could have a flat lunch conversation or not do enough research before chatting. Don’t let any mistake discourage you. 

You might also see friends or classmates with more than 500 connections on LinkedIn, while you have 50. It’s important to remember that the number of connections you have isn’t as important as the quality of your connections. It’s better to have 50 people you chat to every month than 500 connections you haven’t reached out to in a year. Your networking journey will have ups and down, but keep learning, keep connecting, and keep growing your network