A lot of people may complain about the difficulties of taking on a college internship, and with all the work you do for free, it’s understandable. You may be thinking that you’re going to learn some really exciting new skills and then find that the majority of your job is making coffee and taking lunch orders. However, if you’re a self starter, you may find that you will learn a lot more than the average intern. It’s all about how you take on the job. Here is how to get the most out of your college internship.

Be Consistent

Just because you’re not getting paid, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t required to be professional. You should always show up for work on time and you should always be thorough with any assignments that are handed your way. You may not feel like your job makes a difference, but in fact, for most businesses, the work done by interns is often a very necessary part of keeping the machine running.

Be Observant

If you want to get the most out of your internship, then you shouldn’t wait around for people to train you or tell you what to do. If you notice that someone might be taking on tasks that you feel you could handle, then you should start observing them very closely. If you’re earning UAB’s online economics degree, then some of the major economic concepts might be more fresh to you, and you might start to notice a few blind spots here and there.

Be a Self-starter

You never know how much you might learn by observing, and if someone gets sick or can’t complete their work for any reason one day, you could really impress your superiors by taking on their job. This could look very good for you if you intend to apply for a paying job once you graduate.

Behave as Though You’re a Paid Employee

If you’re constantly sitting around and waiting for somebody to give you instructions or watching the clock and asking if you can leave early, then it’s going to be clear that you’re not very committed to your job or have much ambition. Not only that, but your appreciation for the job will definitely be in question. No matter what is happening on any given day, there’s always more that you can learn, so don’t take your time or anybody else’s for granted.

Get Your Resume in Early

If you do a great job as an intern, then you’ll probably be an amazing employee. Having worked for the company already, you will definitely have preference when it comes time to hire new employees. That’s why you want to make sure that you get your resume in as early as possible and make it known that you’re hungry for the job. If you know you’re good at the work, but you don’t like the company you’ve been interning for, then it’s a good idea to apply for a job with their main competitor instead.