My Learning Curve

Hi everyone!

Considering that this is our last week of semester/internships I thought it was appropriate to share some of the things I have learned from my internship experience.

Check, Double Check, and Triple Check!
If there is one thing I have learned in my internship experience it is that you must triple check all work you produce. If your supervisor doesn't find a mistake in your work, the editor definitely will! It may not be grammar mistakes either, failing to stick to the style guides can also trip you up and it can be incredibly frustrating getting your work back with red lines all through it.

Don't be scared to ask questions!
Although it may be daunting to ask your supervisor questions all the time, it is the only way you will learn. Everyone has been in our position at the start of their career and they got to where they are now by asking questions and learning. Plus, asking your supervisor questions is much better then just guessing how to do something and doing it wrong.

Research all avenues before asking questions!
Although you should ask questions if you need, it is also important that you make sure you check that you haven't already been given the information. It is frustrating for your supervisor and embarrassing for you if you are asking a question that you either already have the information for or should know where to find the answer.

Take notes on anything and everything!
Lastly, make sure to take notes on anything and everything at your internship. This includes when your supervisor is dictating tasks for you to complete (so you can come back to it later), how to complete hard-to-do tasks, and just any interesting points you may need to look at later on. This has proved invaluable to me and saved me from having be taught how to do things more then once.

I hope this helps! Thanks for reading and good luck with your final reports.

Kate