Successful internships: top tips from OU interns

Posted on 2 August 2024 • Career planning, Graduate opportunities, Jobs, internships and work experience

Weighing up the pros and cons of applying for an internship? Wondering if you would be able to juggle another commitment with your busy life? To help you decide, read our guide The benefits of doing an internship and the following top tips from students and graduates who recently completed an internship through the OU.

Remember to check OpportunityHub regularly for new internships exclusively for OU students and graduates, ranging from work with our faculty teams to exciting opportunities with external employers. If you have any questions about our exclusive internships, contact us at .

1. Manage your time and don’t be too hard on yourself

Many OU student interns say although they found balancing their responsibilities a challenge, they don’t regret their experience for a moment.

“Appreciate what you can do and don’t feel guilty that you can’t do everything in the time that you’re given.”
OU student Sarah, intern with the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies

Student intern Sarah admits that she had to learn how to balance her time. She worked on an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion project that she was particularly passionate about, so she wanted to do as much work as possible for the benefit of the wider student community. However, she had to accept that despite working as hard as possible, she is only one person, and so prioritised what would make most impact in her time as an intern.

Keeping written track of tasks also helps manage your time. Nibis interned within our Faculty of Business and Law and worked two part-time jobs after graduating with her degree in Business Management (Marketing). She recommends keeping a hard-copy agenda and writing down every task and meeting to ensure nothing is missed.

2. Communication is key to coordination

“Many people work part-time with the OU or juggle two jobs … so allow plenty of time for interaction because if you’re working on a Monday and Tuesday and someone’s working Thursday and Friday, you’re not going to hear back for a week. So, if you want a quick response, sometimes you have to plan ahead.”
OU student Jo, intern with the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies

OU student interns also stress the importance of honest and open communication, particularly when facing challenges. Their advice is to speak to you line manager if you need extra time for a task or if you’re struggling to balance their internship with assignment deadlines. Interns find line managers are very supportive if you are open and honest with them about any issues with your workload.

3. Take time for yourself

A theme that comes up often with our interns is the need to pause everything and take some ‘me time’. When you have so many commitments in life, it’s easy to want everything completed as quickly as possible and to please everyone at all times. But this just isn’t feasible. Our interns say sacrificing some time for themselves meant they were more productive in their work and happier in general. They said it also made them feel more confident in their abilities and in applying for new opportunities once their internship ended.

If you have any questions about our exclusive internships, contact us at .

 

Hanna Konnovs is the Placement Co-ordinator in Careers and Employability Services. She helps to offer the OU’s exclusive internships to our current students and recent graduates. She loves working within higher education and playing a part in helping our students on their career journeys.