If you were fortunate enough to complete an internship this past summer you may be looking at your return to the classroom as a change (perhaps welcomed, perhaps not) from the world of work and back to the more familiar environment  of classes, tests, papers and socializing with your friends.  Indeed this is a change but in many ways you should view your internship as an extension of your studies and vice versa.  This should not be seen as a start and stop relationship.

You no doubt were exposed to several dynamics within the work place that are also critical in your academic environment - these dynamics are universal in a work or academic setting and focusing on them for continual improvement will serve you well in both.  Here are a few:

Communication skills– the work environment is a social environment albeit, one with more rigid standards than found in your interactions with friends and family.  Adjusting to this different standard may seem difficult at times and takes some getting used to but it is a must in the workplace and you must adapt. For example - the questions you ask of your mentors and supervisors at work need to be clear and concise.  If their response in not equally clear, ask further questions – don’t feign understanding.  Knowing what is expected of you and delivering against expectations is critical in the work place.  The same holds true in the classroom but many times questions won’t be asked for fear of being singled out.  The work environment does not tolerate this - as you may have found out through your internship.  Use that newfound understanding in the academic setting if you don’t already.  Make it a habit.

Time Management Skills– certainly you need to manage your time in school – classes, papers, tests - and you may be balancing all of that with work-study responsibilities as well.  However, the difference between the school environment and the work environment is that in the former, it is largely managing your time for yourself and if not done well the consequences generally impact you and you alone.  In the workplace, your actions most always have an impact on a co-worker and/or a customer/client.  If you are late or unprepared with a promised deliverable the consequences may extend far beyond you.  Developing a proclivity for adhering to deadlines is not only a requirement in the workplace, it is something that when established as a routine will give you tremendous piece of mind and diminish stress.

Relationship Skills– The above two focus areas will serve you well in the relationship department – critical for workplace success, both internally (with your co-workers) and externally (with customers/clients/workplace stakeholders).  But good relationship skills extend beyond these two areas.  You need to connect………and I don’t mean via Facebook, Texting and Twitter.   In many cases the onus is on you to “get the ball rolling” with new co-workers and acquaintances.  If your internship experience had you sitting in an office or a cube waiting for someone to come by to introduce themselves to you, you know what I’m talking about.  You probably felt a bit alone and outside the mainstream.  But, if you took the initiative to circulate and introduce yourself, foster conversation and show interest in your surroundings, you had a much better experience from the outset.  It is not easy;   people are generally shy by nature. But if you can overcome this shyness, you will be amazed at how much more comfortable you can feel in a new environment - work or otherwise. Your academic surroundings represent the perfect stage upon which to practice this facet of relationship building. 

Teamwork and Responsibility– If you interned for a company with more than one employee, you became part of a team – and the expectation from the day you walked in the door was that you would be a “team player”.  That is an overused phrase, but perhaps because it is true. Everything you did had some bearing or impact on someone else in the company.  Often we lose sight of that fact because we become singularly enveloped in the task at hand.  That certainly seems to be the case within academic surroundings – with a head down over a book, “cramming” for that critical exam.  Seek opportunities to be part of a team - not just in the sports or game sense, but in any pursuit in which you may be involved – from dealing with roommates to contributing to a team project or case study. Seek to develop a teamwork frame of mind by recognizing those around you who may be impacted by your actions.

As you continue through your college experience and move on to your next internship or to a full-time job, you will never encounter any opportunity that doesn’t reinforce the four areas mentioned here.  Make them a part of your everyday life and you will transition much more smoothly to new experiences and be looked upon as someone who values the essentials for success.