This summer, I interned at an educational tech company.
My job was to create fun activities for their learning program and test how easy their platform was to use.
During summer, I didn’t just learn tech skills — I picked up skills that I can use in tons of other jobs too.
Although internships might seem to offer little (especially in terms of pay), they provide a LOT of transferable skills that can be used in your career journey!
Skill 1: Attention to Detail
Paying attention to details means being careful and making sure everything is done correctly (pretty straightforward, right?).
I learned this skill by checking AI-generated captions for a company’s lecture video. I pointed out exactly where the captions were wrong (like if they didn’t match the speaker or had grammar mistakes) and gave ideas on how to make them sound more natural.
My supervisor was super impressed with how thorough I was and said my feedback helped them improve the captions during my exit interview.
So you see that paying attention to details helps you do a better job and shows your boss you’re serious about your work!
Skill 2: Initiative
Initiative means looking for chances to grow and taking control of your own work and learning.
During my internship, I wanted to explore different opportunities.
Even though I was assigned to the coding curriculum team, I reached out to the e-sports team just because I was curious about how they create their products.
I didn’t know much about their work. However, I still joined their meeting and took notes on everything I learned.
By stepping into new areas, I practiced speaking up, showed my interest in different parts of the company, and connected with teams across the company.
This eventually helped me grow my professional network, opening doors for future opportunities. I got to join their AI project later!
Let's Practice!
Imagine you’re interning in the marketing department of a company. One day, you hear about an interesting project in the tech department that involves using AI to improve customer service. You don’t know much about AI, but the project sounds exciting, and you want to learn more.
Which next step you should take to gain initiative?
A. Wait for someone from the tech department to ask for help so you don’t get in the way.
B. Send an email to the tech department introducing yourself. Ask if you can observe their next meeting to learn more about the project.
C. Start researching AI on your own, but don’t reach out to the team until you feel like an expert.
D. Tell your manager you’re interested in AI, but don’t ask for any involvement in the project.
Quiz
What should be the next step to practice initiative?
Skill 3: Critical Thinking
Critical thinking means looking at information from different angles, coming up with various solutions, and making smart decisions logically.
I got better at this skill by testing how easy it was to use the company’s platform. I thought like a new user, figured out what parts of the design worked and what didn’t, and suggested solutions after considering different options and their outcomes.
Developing critical thinking can help your career by allowing you to:
Make better decisions
Handle unclear tasks
Build strategic thinking for more effective results
Boost your creativity
Take Action
To get ready for building skills during your own internship, here are some steps you can follow:
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