Landing The Return Offer

By Ellie Hooey , Strategist at Ogilvy New York

Congrats! After countless applications, awkward networking calls, and that endless stream of unanswered LinkedIn messages, you're now preparing for your internship. While getting your foot in the door seems like the hardest part, transforming that summer gig into a permanent role is an art form all its own.

Having been both an intern and mentor to others, I've noticed commonalities of what makes interns stand out and ultimately receive return offers. Here are key strategies that can help you make the most of your internship and position yourself for a full-time role.

Do the Extra

Go above and beyond the tasks you receive. Think about how your contribution will be used, look to the next milestone, and lay the groundwork for your manager’s part of the task. If you’re asked to pull data, include some insights you think are meaningful. If you’re asked to take notes, write a comprehensive recap with next steps. The goal isn't to simply do more but to add value that helps your team operate more effectively. As an added bonus, you’ll start getting more interesting work because you’ve proved you can handle it.

Self-Solve

You’re going to be doing a lot of things for the first time, and you’re going to have a ton of questions. That’s OK! Before reaching out to your boss, spend 15 minutes trying to figure it out for yourself. If you can’t find the answer, explain what you did to try and get to a solution, For example,"I've tried X approach, and checked Y resources. I'm still stuck on Z. Could you please help me?". Showing that you are resourceful not only impresses others but also helps you learn and practice new skills–perhaps most importantly, problem-solving.

Be a Team Player

During an interview activity I oversaw, groups of candidates constructed a tower with straws and masking tape. For assessors, it wasn’t the person who made the tallest tower or the person who spoke the loudest that stood out. It was the tape ripper who impressed the hiring committee. Tape rippers weren’t the showiest people, but they were team players, taking initiative to enable progress and ultimately get an important task done.

Be the tape ripper in your intern class. Anticipate what needs to get done before you’re asked. It might not be the sexiest of tasks, but it plays an essential role in the final product. Your team will appreciate your hustle and initiative, because no straw tower can stand tall without a great tape ripper.

Become a Sponge

In addition to all the research and note-taking that you will likely be responsible for as an intern, your #1 job is to learn. Seek out information everywhere – attend seminars, do research deep dives. Ensure you are an active listener by taking notes during meetings, even when it’s not your job, so you can observe how others interact and make decisions. Ask a lot of questions – wait for an appropriate time to ask and frame them in a way that shows you’ve done initial research. Calling back to being a self-solver, never ask a question that can be answered by a Google search.

And, finally, turn all of that information you soaked up into action. Show your manager and colleagues everything you’ve learned by connecting new concepts across projects.

Build Your Network

This summer is a great opportunity to meet people and learn from their experiences. In addition to program-sponsored happy hours and lunches, reach out to EVERYONE – not just your immediate team and department – for a coffee chat. Before these chats, do your research, have questions and consider what the end goal of the meeting is. Being prepared makes these meetings less awkward, and more valuable.

During these connects, listen more than you speak, be mindful of time, and look for any common interests that can carry the camaraderie forward.

When you get back from the meeting, write a thank-you note (email is fine, handwritten goes a LONG way). And write a GOOD thank you note. Go beyond “Thank you for the coffee.” Reference something they mentioned during your meeting that was especially impactful, or mention how you personally will implement a piece of advice. Thank you notes are a great way to end your internship, too. Showing gratitude to the people who impacted you will help them remember you.

Be the Fountain

If you choose to follow one piece of advice from this article, pick this one. The energy you bring into a room is paramount to your success, so be a fountain of energy, rather than a drain. Some actions of a fountain are saying “yes,” raising your hand, practicing grit, and exhibiting curiosity or passion no matter the task. Even something as simple as a smile or a, “How was your weekend?” goes a long way.

As David Ogilvy himself suggests in Principles of Management, “Get rid of sad dogs who spread gloom.” First impressions are lasting ones, and being a fountain is the best way to start your career off on the right foot.

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While your internship is like an audition for a return offer, and these strategies will help you get that offer, it’s also a chance for you to assess the position. At the end of the internship, you get to choose if that job, that company and that industry is right for you. Most people spend one-third of their life at work, so building a career you love is important. Being an intern is the first step in building that career, whether you get (and choose to accept) a return offer or not. Good luck – you’re going to crush it!