This past April, my Honor Society hosted a speaker at our last meeting of the school year. Her presentation was all about “how to make the most out of your summer.” When discussing internships and professional opportunities, she kept telling us to “keep an open mind and let your career happen.”
I thought she did a lovely job, but I didn’t take her advice seriously until my summer internship actually started. There, in day-to-day work, I had many reminders from many people to keep an open mind throughout the program.
My mentor, my fellow interns, my manager, my dad, and my intern coordinator all offered advice and reminded me to remain open minded and consider new possibilities, often without even knowing it:
1. My Mentor – Keep an open mind about your day-to-day.
I have always been someone who likes a schedule. There’s something wonderfully responsible about waking up at the same time, starting school/work at the same time, eating lunch at the same time, getting ready for bed at the same time… and then doing it all over again.
I expressed this to my internship mentor on one of the first days of work. “I just love being consistent,” I told her.
“Me too!” she said, and a rush of pride filled my chest at the realization of our similarities. Then, she continued: “Well, kinda… I like to wake up at the same time every day, but I sometimes use that time in the morning in different ways. I’ll wake up early to workout, start work early, or do some chores. I do whatever will set me up for success on that particular day. It just depends on what the present needs.”
This perspective of consistency floored me, and I felt a little silly that I had never thought of a schedule in that way. Her advice of using having regular habits (waking up at the same time each morning) but also variances (using that time in different ways) changed the way I saw my schedule and helped me make it more effective and efficient.
When starting a new experience, I recommend keeping an open mind about what your day-to-day life looks like.
Find the habits – such as waking up early, taking walks throughout the day, having healthy meals – that serve you, no matter what. Don’t stray from what’s unbroken.
However, that flexibility that my mentor is referencing is what will help you succeed and keep you from burning out. Allow lunch time to vary so you can eat with different people. Don’t just wake up early to workout, but also to do laundry, start work early, or treat yourself to coffee.
A healthy habit is wonderful – but not if it is not serving you.
2. My Manager – Keep an open mind about progress and technology.
With all the current changes in technology, I was curious how AI has impacted my industry when starting my internship. So, when meeting with my manager, I wanted her advice on how to use it. I brought some SEO AI research with me and asked about its relevance.
Her response? “It’s great! AI is not going to take your job. Not knowing what to do with it will.”
AI might not apply to your job, but all jobs are impacted by their industry’s progress and every-changing technology. I’ve learned to not hide from this progress, no matter how much it scares you. Embrace it. Research it. It will help you take control of your own work.
Not every manager will embrace progress like mine does, but that’s okay. You are in control of your reaction to progress.
Having the capacity to understand present technology will help you stay on top. Having the capacity to predict future technology will help you dominate.
3. My Fellow Interns – Keep an open mind about your major.
A whole group of the marketing interns had lunch together in the cafeteria, a mix of lunch boxes and purchased pizza, burgers, and chicken tenders filling our table. Full-time employees walked past our table as we told stories of our Midwestern childhoods; tall tales featuring fishing poles, water slides, and long car rides.
Eventually, we pivoted from the sugary-sweet days of childhood to the carbonated and thrilling weeks of college. It was then that we discussed our majors. “I’m Management and English/Creative Writing,” I admitted, somewhat embarrassed to have such artsy focuses.
I was sure the rest of them would be marketing majors to perfectly match their internship titles. I had walked into this experience feeling behind. I have marketing experience, and I earned my spot fairly in the intern program with multiple fantastic interviews and stellar networking skills, but there were still some insecurities filling my head and churning in my gut in the first two weeks of my job. Without the academic training, how can you perform well?
I was proved wrong. “I’m journalism!” one said as a third told us she majored in communications. Another explained that they were a marketing major but also finance and economics.
Hearing that many of my colleagues – who also earned their spots fairly – were non-marketing majors was a fantastic reminder to be open-minded about what my college majors could give me.
It’s importance to maximize your education, but don’t let it define your skillset.
Who cares if you didn’t major in Marketing? When my English degree taught me how to edit papers and offer constructive criticism, I took that information and ran. When a Management class taught me the importance of target audiences, I used my professors and the Internet to find out more.
And let me be clear: I find my education incredibly important. I take my grades too seriously, and I am proud of my relationships with my professors and my school. And I know that this advice doesn’t apply to all majors and careers, but I think it’s fair to say that it does apply to most.
I hope it goes without saying, but your major does not define you. Education opens doors – and you choose which internships, jobs, and careers to enter and exit.
4. My Dad – Keep an open mind about your independent projects.
My dad – a successful, kind, and experienced leader within his field – has been very careful to allow my internship to be mine. I’m sure he has many comments and concerns as he watches me tackle this new experience, but he keeps most of them to himself.
However, he did offer one important piece of advice: “When researching things you’re interested in and getting your own projects, think about what you like and don’t like about your job.
Look at your independent projects with an open mind and use them to figure out what you want to do next.
Don’t feel like you have to do this specific job for the rest of your life.”
This advice has helped me take notes on what I want my career to look like. I go through projects remembering the thrilling parts of the work, but I also take note on what has left me drained.
I think this self-reflection is important. Roadmap your upcoming career using what you know about your current job. It won’t offer a perfect plan, but I’m glad to have it and have the tools to know what I want next.
5. My Intern Coordinator – Keep an open mind about your future.
“I wanted to be a radio broadcaster,” my intern coordinator told me during our 1×1 meeting. “I loved the idea of being an on-air personality, but I don’t care that my life went a different way. Thank God it went the way it did and I had an open mind. Now, I have a job I really love now.”
“So are you glad that you’re where you’re at?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely. My job – working with all you interns and getting to be surrounded with such intelligent creatives is the best career decision I ever made. Couldn’t be luckier.”
She inspired a hopeful thought.
She reminded me to keep an open mind about my career and resist the urge to latch onto the first job that calls my name.
Her story told me of the importance of staying flexible and open to new possibilities.
Some of us know exactly what we want to do when we grow up, but that wasn’t my case. I alway knew I wanted to be a writer, but what do I do I want to do with that skill? I couldn’t have told you up until about a year ago.
Even if you do know, I recommend an open mind about your future as you dive into this new experience.
Use what you’re learning now to inspire new possibilities.
Who knows where it will take you?
Allow yourself to be persuaded by your experiences, your mentors, your internship, your feelings, and your life. Stay flexible, and stay open minded.
Best of luck with your internship or next experience. Be gritty. Stay graceful.
