Remote work will take some time before you get used to it, and even if you do, it can still be a challenge. If you’re about to embark on remote work through an internship, you need to be prepared and ensure you fulfill all your responsibilities—with all the distractions at home.
Check out these tips to help you out:
Working remotely provides more flexibility but at the cost of more challenges in maintaining open lines of communication. It’s essential to ensure that you maintain excellent communication with people you’re working with. By doing so, you connect with other people professionally and potentially, build a network you can use for your career.
Another thing is to make sure to respond to messages and emails promptly and send updates to your team and your bosses, when necessary.
Since you have more flexibility working remotely, you need to stick to a schedule. Without a schedule, it’s easy to get lost in a myriad of tasks, and it can be challenging to meet deadlines. Stay on top of your workload and organized by having a schedule. Before a week begins, set your schedule complete with to-dos and their corresponding deadlines. You can also do this before you start your day.
Remote working, albeit fantastic, may be challenging, especially when it comes to your goals. Nobody’s going to hold you accountable for your productivity every day, which means that even if you’re an intern, you’re your boss at home.
Stay on track of your goals by writing them down and referring to them regularly. Doing this will keep you organized and help you stay on top of your game.
Internships are typically project-based, which means that it’s easy to treat them like a side-hustle. If you want to secure a spot in that company, however, you need to treat it like a regular job. Set aside dedicated time to get tasks done for your internship and create a space in your home where there are no distractions so you can work efficiently throughout the day.
One of the best things about an internship is that you get real-life experience in the industry that you want to be a part of. You see how it works, you get to meet influential people, and so on.
Maximize the opportunity by asking for feedback. The feedback will help you improve on certain aspects while you also gain deeper insights into your strengths that you can enhance in the future.
Keep in mind that not all feedback will be great, so make sure to accept each one gracefully and then work to better yourself in areas that need more improvement.
Whether your internship lasts a whole month or for an entire semester, keep track of your achievements and improvements as you go along. Doing this will give you the chance to reflect on your growth once the experience is over. Your manager may also benefit from this to help him or her identify any achievements that can help the company. Who knows? You might even get a real job offer!
A remote internship is a challenge, but as long as you stick to these tips, you’ll be able to go through it smoothly. Having a schedule, asking for feedback, setting goals, and treating it like a regular job are some of the things that will help you stay on top of your game while you work remotely as an intern.
Start gaining experience and apply for an online internship today. Check us out at Virtual Internships to help you find the right internship in the career field of your choice!