Keeping in Touch After the Internship Ends

Congratulations on surviving your first internship!  Whether it was an enjoyable experience or more akin to a root canal, you still want to get the most out of the opportunity to ensure your future success.

As your internship is winding down, you may be asking yourself:

Did I get everything out of this opportunity and is this truly the end? 

It doesn’t have to be the end.  It’s up to you to maximize the opportunity: 

Look back to your internship description.  Did you complete everything?  Did you accomplish items not on the list?  Make a summary of everything you learned and did plus any accomplishments – this will serve as the foundation for your resume and recommendation letter requests.

Ask for 15-20 minutes.  You may already have time booked to meet with your supervisor to recap your internship but if not, ask for a meeting!  Also ask for time with other leaders you worked with and with whom you want to maintain a relationship.  Ask them questions about themselves, how they started their careers, and advice for you as you continue your education.  This will give you content to use in your personalized thank-you notes.

And, remember it’s up to you to keep the relationship alive.

That sounds great you think… but how do I do that?

First – connect with them before you leave. 

Ask for a letter of recommendation from your supervisor detailing not only what you did but how you did it; you may need to prepare a draft for him/her so know what you want written about you.

Hand-write a thank-you to your supervisor.  Paper & Pen!  It will set you apart from the crowd and will seem much more personalized and heart-felt.  Don’t worry, you won’t come across as a relic from the Flintstone age as you will also:

Send an individual email to each leader, mentor or supervisor before you leave.  Thank him/her with specific examples of how s/he helped you.  Include your email address, LinkedIn profile URL (if you aren’t already connected), and cell phone #.  Let them know that you’d like to keep in contact.  If you are considering another internship or future employment with them, let them know that as well.

Use the power of LinkedIn – if you haven’t joined yet, do it, as it will be an immeasurable help to you now and in the future.  Be sure to add your internship to your profile so that your recommendation is visible to all.  Add your supervisor and others at the organization that you worked closely with.  Look for the organization in the company page and click follow.  Also, check for any groups related to that organization – some organizations have groups specifically for interns, past or present employees.

You can also send out a more general thank-you / good-bye email to the larger group that you worked with.  Do not send out a company-wide missive if you work for a large organization – that’s usually frowned upon - choose your recipients wisely!  If it still is a rather large list of recipients, consider putting them in the BCC field to avoid the dreaded “reply to all” emails.  For the content, make it short and sweet like your internship J

OK, that makes sense… but now that I’m gone, how do I maintain that connection?

If you’ve followed the above advice, you’ve set the stage for ongoing communication.  The easiest ways to maintain a professional connection are:

icon adapted from neilchughes.com

LinkedIn: Like or comment on posts or activity from individuals, groups or the company.  If appropriate, create a post in a group.

Twitter: Follow them and the company on Twitter.  Before you do, make sure your Twitter handle and prior tweets are professional and are what you want to represent you going forward in your career.  If it’s not, consider creating a new one rather than renaming your current one.  Once that’s done, reply and favorite their tweets! 

email: Send a link to an article that you think will be of interest. Make it short and on topic and of importance to them. You don't want your only communications to be when you need something. This can also be sent via Twitter or LinkedIn.

Alerts: Set Google and Yahoo alerts to get updates on the organization, industry and leaders. 

Visit: If you can stop by the office occasionally, do so, but not too often and always be respectful of their time. 

If the organization has events open to the public (job fairs, fundraisers, community programs), go!  If they need staff to help run the event, volunteer!  It’ll show commitment and initiative.

Alright, I can do that but how often is often enough but not too often?

Good question!  It’s a balancing act and you’ll need to use your own intuition to figure it out.  As a general rule though:

Maximum: Monthly – send an email, tweet or post. It can be about news you saw about the company, an article you read about the industry, something that you think would be of interest to that individual, or an announcement about you.  If you are going to reach out this often, be sure to vary the contact methods, recipients and message.  Remember the tips above.

Minimum: 2x a year –  if you’re struggling to find things to write about or send, time it with your academic calendar; send a note about a course you are taking, or are considering and ask for quick advice or relate it back to your experience at the organization.  It's OK to spread it out but not too far out; if you reach out less than 2x a year, wonderful you and your internship may fade into a distant memory.

Recommended: Quarterly – reach out to your top contacts every 3 to 4 months or so and include an update on yourself in your note.

Occasion: Opportunistic – drop by the office, event or program when there’s something new going on.

If it feels like too much, it probably is. If you aren't getting any responses to your email, then reconsider your contact strategy.  

Whew.  Is that it?  Any other advice?

Don’t forget your fellow interns!  They feel your ‘pain’ and can be invaluable resources for your next internship and future career.

Remember, definitely keep in touch – your mentors, leaders, and fellow interns are relationships you should value and cultivate.  Even if you don’t want to work in that organization or industry once you graduate, it’s still a world of ‘who you know’.  Be you, be respectful and be professional.

Credits: Icons created from PowerPoint clipart