用好这五招，把暑期实习变成工作机会

暑假快完了，你放弃跟好朋友去海边享受，选择去公司里努力实习。这是好事，可以提高毕业后找工作的机会，就算进不了实习的公司，也可以找别家公司。据美国全国大学和雇主协会的报告，在申请全职工作的2019届毕业生中，超过一半（52%）至少找到了一份工作。其中有实习经验的毕业生优势明显，实习过的毕业生约56%获得工作机会，从未实习过的毕业生里有44%找到了工作。

想在实习的公司转正？好消息是，其实上司可能也希望你能够留下。“随着就业市场收紧，越来越多雇主将实习当成低成本低风险的‘试驾’，为招聘正式员工做准备。”位于纽约市的ABS Staffing Solutions公司的首席执行官奥利尔·舒尔指出。“所以，如果公司招你实习，很可能是因为考虑正式聘用。所以别搞砸了机会。”

这也正是困难所在。舒尔补充说，虽然并非本意，有些实习生似乎并不懂得应该如何给人留下好印象，也不知道如何避免惹到同事和上级，怎么说呢，就是让人烦。实习其实是“真正的机会。”她说。“别只做表面功夫。要把实习当成彩排或现场试镜，或是持续两个月的工作面试。”

有五种办法能够帮助你脱颖而出：

1.放下手机。一天里偶尔看几次没有关系，但舒尔从雇主口中听到最多的抱怨是，现在的实习生“手机好像长在手上一样”。工作时花很多时间盯着手机屏幕，却“错过了实习的真正目的：学习业务，磨练技能，积累现实生活经验。”而且你向周围的人传达的信息是，感觉在当前公司以及当前岗位没有什么意思。这样一来，公司为什么要聘用你呢？

2.认真工作，积极参与。上班早点到。积极参加会议，像攒学分上课一样认真听（如果实习内容类似勤工俭学，没准还真能够积攒学分）。“认识公司里职位比你高，跟你差不多，以及‘比你低’的人，加强了解。”舒尔建议道。“主动帮助同事做一些其实不在工作范围内的事情。你越是撸起袖子努力干活，夏天过去之后人们对你的印象就越深刻。”这样一来也就可能建议公司招你做全职工作。

3.征求反馈意见。“这对所有人都适用，不仅是实习生。”舒尔说。询问目前工作是否在正轨上，以及有没有需要改进之处。”如果暑假刚开始上司就为你设定了具体的目标，持续汇报目标实现的进度，对任何有助于提高水平的建议持开放态度。“公司都喜欢看中结果的人。”舒尔指出。“要证明你也很注重结果。”

4.记住：没有愚蠢的问题。想知道怎么做一定会惹上司发怒吗？让上司布置你点任务，然后不做。等到上司问你为什么没做时，回答说因为不会。“人们经常不敢承认自己不懂。”舒尔指出。过去几年她的暑期实习生有时也会犯这个毛病。“但你去实习就是为了学习，而且面对不熟悉的公司和岗位，有些事不懂也十分正常。”提出问题“不会让人感觉你很傻。”她补充道。“事实恰恰相反。”所以大胆提问题吧。

5.勤做笔记。“我每天都记下创意、想法、任务、提醒，还有一些涂鸦。”英国企业家理查德·布兰森在2017年出版的自传《致所有疯狂的家伙》（Losing My Virginity）一书中写道。“如果不记下来，做之前就忘了。”布兰森认为公司能够成功跟保持该习惯有关。他还坚持让全体员工，从高管到入门实习生都培养做笔记的习惯。“如果我手下有人不做笔记，我会问他们：‘你这么重要吗？’记笔记并不会显得低人一等。”这是一个非常有用的习惯，即使（还）没有当上打破常规的亿万富翁也同样有必要。（财富中文网）

译者：冯丰

审校：夏林

So there you are, spending your last days of summer toiling away as an intern instead of, say, hanging out with your besties at the beach. Well, good news: that by itself boosts your chances of being hired after graduation, if not by this company, then somewhere else. Over half (52%) of the Class of 2019 who applied for full-time jobs got at least one job offer, reports the National Association of Colleges and Employers, while those with internship experience had an edge: About 56% of erstwhile interns received offers, versus 44% of grads who had never interned.

Hoping to get offered a real job at the enterprise where you’re working now? It might cheer you to know that your bosses are probably hoping the same thing. “In this very tight job market, more employers are using internships as a low-cost, low-risk way of ‘test-driving’ people for real jobs,” notes Ariel Schur, CEO of New York City-based ABS Staffing Solutions. “So, if they hired you as an intern in the first place, it’s probably because they’re considering making you an offer. Don’t give them any reason not to.”

Ah, there’s the rub. Even with the best of intentions, some interns seem clueless about how to make a great impression, Schur adds —and how to avoid striking coworkers and higher-ups as, frankly, annoying. This gig is “a real opportunity,” she says. “Don’t just go through the motions. Treat your internship like a dress rehearsal or a live audition, or like a two-month-long job interview.”

Here are 5 ways to hit it out of the park:

1. Put down your phone. It’s okay to take a quick peek a couple of times a day, but the biggest gripe Schur hears from employers is that the current crop of interns “treats phones like another extremity.” Spending huge chunks of the workday staring at that little screen means “you’re missing out on what you are there for: learning about the business, honing your skills, and getting real-life experience.” You’re also conveying the message to the people around you that you don’t find this company, or your role in it, all that interesting. So why would they want to hire you?

2. Be visible and involved. Show up early. Ask to sit in on meetings, and pay attention as closely as if you were in a for-credit course (which, if your internship is of the work-study variety, you actually might be). “Introduce yourself to people above, alongside, and ‘below’ you in the organization, and get to know them,” Schur suggests. “Offer to lend a hand on things that aren’t technically in your wheelhouse. The more willing you are to roll up your sleeves and pitch in, the more likely people will be to remember you when the summer is over” —and to recommend bringing you on full-time.

3. Ask for feedback. “This is a good idea for everyone, not only interns,” Schur says. “Ask if your work so far is on the right track, and whether there’s more you could be doing.” If your boss set specific goals for you at the start of the summer, report on how close you are —or not— to meeting them, and be open to any and all suggestions on how to up your game. “Companies want to hire people who are focused on results,” notes Schur. “Show that you’re one of them.”

4. Remember: There are no dumb questions. Want to know a surefire way to exasperate your boss? Just let him or her request that you do something, and then don’t do it. When asked why not, explain by saying that you didn’t know how. “People often hesitate to admit they don’t know things,” notes Schur, whose own summer interns in past years have sometimes taken this route. “But you’re there to learn and, being new to the company and the role, there are naturally going to be things you can’t figure out on your own.” Asking questions “won’t make you look dumb,” she adds. “Just the opposite, in fact.” So ask already.

5. Take notes. “I jot down ideas, thoughts, requests, reminders, and doodles every single day,” wrote British entrepreneur Richard Branson in his 2017 book, Losing My Virginity. “If I didn’t, I’d forget them before I could ever put them into action.” Branson —who credits the practice with his companies’ success— also insists that all of his employees, from the C-suite down to lowly interns, do likewise. “If somebody works for me and doesn’t take notes, I ask them, ‘Are you too important?’ Note-taking isn’t beneath anyone.” It’s a useful habit to cultivate, even if you're not an iconoclastic billionaire (yet).