maximizing your experience

• Dress professionally and display a professional attitude.
• Be enthusiastic.
• Take initiative. Ask for things to do.
• Be a team player and demonstrate a willingness to learn and participate.
• Be dependable. Be on time or early each day and stay as late as necessary to finalize the day.
• Listen to your supervisor - words as well as tones and non-verbals.
• The supervisor should not hear excuses as to why something is not done.
• Become familiar with any computer software you will be using.
• Be ready to take constructive criticism.
• Learn all you can about the industry. Talk with a variety of people in the organization to get an overall picture. Be respectful of other's time but don't be intimidated because you are a student.
• Read everything you can get your hands on. This will help you learn about the company and industry.
• Don't gripe about grunt work. Everything has a purpose, so learn how the small tasks fit into the big picture.
• Seek out the best performers in the company and find out how they have achieved success. You can gain valuable information from them.
• Get in the information loop. Decisions are not just made in meetings.
• Learn where people talk and exchange business information. A word of caution - do not participate in company gossip! It is much better to keep your thoughts on business rather than the personal interactions of other employees.
• Ask to attend meetings and events. This will allow you to observe how things really get done.
• Don't burn any bridges. As a new employee, you are not in the position to be able to tell who can or cannot help you in your future career. Work hard to maintain a professional relationship with as many people as you can.