This Spotlight Feature originally appeared on Quora.
Q: What are the best ways to excel in a summer internship?
A: Ask a lot of questions - This is SO important! Don't be afraid of sounding "stupid" or something. It'll be worse if you get blocked (ie, you can't work) for an hour. So, be brave! And this applies to more than just technical questions related to your project. Ask your mentor any questions you have about working at the company, career development, leadership, career path, etc! They're there not only as a mentor in the company but also to offer advice on how to be successful in your field! ... More >
- Elynn Lee, Google NYC Summer 2013, former Amazon and Facebook intern
Q: What are the keys to a successful internship experience?
A: If the goal is to learn as much as possible, the key is finding ways to ramp up your responsibility and involvement as quickly as possible. The key in this process is to take yourself from being an unproven commodity to a a trusted member of the team. ... More >
- Nathan Parcells, Founder of InternMatch.com
Q: What are some good practices to succeed as a summer intern at a Silicon Valley company?
A: A 3-4 month internship goes by blazingly fast. You will be amazed (yet again) how much time you have on your hands even after you work a full work-week. So work the full week. Push yourself, don't slack. That being said, cherish your time in the break room making friends and connections. After all that is said and done, you will end up home no later than 8pm on a weekday with nothing to do - so you will have plenty of time to get non-work fun things done. ... More >
- Akshay Gopalan, Graduate Student @ Stanford University
Q: How can I prepare for the first day of my internship?
A: Read up about your new company in the press and on their company blog. Try to get a feel for their culture, big product focus, what milestones they have hit and what they were excited enough about to share in the press... Read more >
Nathan Parcells, Founder of Find Internships
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