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MAKING THE MOST OUT OF BEING THE OFFICE GOFER
Being the most junior person at your internship is no fun and brings with it a great deal of gofer work, but it's not all bad either, if you know how to take advantage of it.
"Most of my job entailed photocopying, scanning, and doing odd jobs for my boss and his group. Eventually I got bored with much of the work. What I gained from this job is the knowledge that I don't want to do office work for the rest of my life."
Mathematics major,
College of William and Mary '03
You'll have to get used to the fact that you're pretty low on the totem pole, which means that no matter how great of an internship you have, you'll still be subjected to a certain amount of gofering and photocopying. Be prepared to develop intimate relationships with photocopiers, fax machines, and filing cabinets.
But being a gofer has its benefits. Doing the grunt work for various people, even though it isn't necessarily fun, gives you a chance to interact with them and get to know what they do, and what they're like. Part of what's valuable about an internship is getting to understand what the day-to-day is like at that particular organization. Reading job descriptions can only get you so far-by observing what employees do, you'll really get a sense of what their jobs are like.
Also, when employees get backlogged they'll be grateful for any assistance you can offer, even if you're only performing the most mindless and menial of tasks-it's one less thing they have to worry about. If you stick it out with the menial tasks, you'll start to develop relationships with co-workers. This is your chance to prove that you're a responsible and reliable worker. Once your co-workers see your face often enough-and once you've shown that they can count on you-they'll remember who you are. Then, when they need assistance on more substantive projects, they're more likely to ask for YOUR help, as opposed to the help of the intern down the hall, with whom they've never interacted.
"What I've learned about interning is that you have to find something no one else in the company wants to do, and then do it well. After you do that once or twice, the people you work for will find you invaluable."
English major,
Columbia University '03
Copyright © 2002, 2003 by NATAVI GUIDES.
Check out more student advice on scoring an internship...
• MASTERING THE SKILL OF NETWORKING
• USING EMAIL COVER LETTERS EFFECTIVELY
• ORGANIZING YOUR INTERNSHIP RESUME
• ENGAGING YOUR INTERVIEWER
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