Dare to ask questions
“When you are done with something, do not sit around waiting; instead, ask if there is still work to do,” Dalal, second-year student of Tax Law & Economics, recommends. Her fellow student Sana believes that in any case, asking questions (or daring to ask them) is recommendable. “You should not think: they might think I am dumb.” Vincent, fourth-year-student of Business Administration/Management Economics and Law (MER), could not agree more. “Be brave! Rather than asking whether your supervisor wants to read the entire document that you are working on all the time, ask specific questions.”
Yacintha, student of English at the teacher training college, also believes it is important to take the initiative. “For example, suggest to help organise a school camp or supervise at a school party.”

Say what is bothering you
Naomi, third-year-student of Social Educational Care (SEC), is doing a placement at the Youth Care Office. Especially in this sector, it is important to tell your internship organisation who you are. “During my interview, I talked about problems during my own childhood. It was scary, but good.” Second-year student of nursing Lisanne learned from personal experience that if something is bothering you, you should just talk about it. “During my internship, I was really thrown in at the deep end and poorly supervised. I said something about it, and now, things are better.”

Go along on team outings
Show interest in your colleagues. “Also join your colleagues on team outings, for example,” Dalal advises. In other words: be social – and in Vincent’s case, this meant that he also got coffee and had a chat with people from other departments sometimes. Incidentally, in the experience of Yacintha, teacher in training, over-socialising is not good either. “Once you have taught your class and the break starts, it is best to start writing your reflection right away. Being sociable during the break is a pitfall.”

Work neatly
An obvious point, perhaps – and the consequences of something going wrong will be more significant for some study programmes than for others. Yacintha: “We have to check – paper – tests done by students. If, in that case, you lose a test, it looks very sloppy.”

Put your mobile phone on silent mode
Vincent: “Personally, I am not that addicted to my mobile phone, but in my opinion, it is best to put your phone on silent during a internship-day. Unless you receive messages on your phone that are relevant to your job.” This is not the case for Lisanne, who is doing an internship at Humanitas. “House rules state your phone should be turned off when you are working.”

Prepare
Before starting an internship, it is useful to find out what kind of company or organisation you will be working at. What do they do? Who are their competitors, etc.? Naomi, who is doing a internship at the Youth Care Office, is a little embarrassed that she had not prepared properly. “I did not know the difference between open and secure child welfare institutions…”

Jos van Nierop