How to leverage your summer internship into a full-time offer

By Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster.com

Congrats, you crushed your summer internship! 

If you clicked with your colleagues and boss, enjoyed the work, and felt right at home with company culture, you may be disappointed that the internship is coming to an end.

After spending several weeks building relationships, learning the business, and contributing to projects, it’s natural to wish it could continue. The good news? It potentially can.

It’s not an anomaly for an internship to lead to a full-time job offer. When I worked in corporate recruiting, hiring managers frequently described internships as a “test drive.” They weren’t evaluating whether interns could complete assignments. They were assessing the overall fit, basically someone the team could work with every day (and late nights during busy season), as well as if they were eager to learn, grow, took initiative, and accepted feedback.

Whenever an intern checked those boxes, hiring managers often wanted to hire them for a start date after graduation or keep in touch to extend an offer closer to their graduation date.

That said, even if you’ve done excellent work, a job offer isn’t automatic. Budgets, hiring freezes, and business needs can all affect whether a position is available. The good news is there are several things you can do to maximize your chances. Here are four of them.

Do impeccable work

This goes without saying. Be an exceptional intern! Show up on time (even better? A few minutes earlier than necessary). Work well with others and become a team player with a positive attitude, that person everyone goes to when they need help fixing the printer or simply to grab a cup of coffee. 

Double-check your work before submitting it, if you make mistakes at first, be open to feedback and ask why so you don’t repeat them, ask thoughtful questions if something is unclear, and think as a problem-solver once you have access to the resources to succeed. Raise your hand during meetings whether it’s to volunteer to support teammates with a project or brainstorm a new idea. 

Update your resume

Revising your resume either during your internship or right after it ends is necessary, but when you do it sooner rather than later, you’ll have it at your fingertips for HR. Think about the projects you worked on and skills you built, and power responsibilities with action verbs. 

If you have a ton on your plate while getting ready for your next semester and a mental block with your resume, no worries (here’s a quick refresher to get you back up to speed.)

Quantify as much as possible such as how you contributed to projects with overall outcomes; if you don’t know how much money was generated or saved, for instance, feel free to ask. You can say something like, “With the project this summer, you mentioned, we were able to save the company money. I’m updating my resume, is there a specific number I can mention?”

Communicate with your boss

Your boss isn’t a mindreader. They won’t know your intentions if you don’t articulate them. They may be busy and it may not occur to them how much you enjoyed working there or they may figure you have post-graduation plans that include grad school or other employment plans.

Toward the end of your internship, schedule a brief meeting you may want to say something like, “I really enjoyed working here! Do you know if full-time opportunities may be available next June? And what’s the best way to stay in touch for opportunities when they open up after my graduation?”

Your boss may not know hiring needs yet for the following summer, but you may want to plant a seed of your availability for holiday breaks throughout the year.

Your boss may recommend that you speak with HR and give them your resume. The key is to not have the conversation on the last day of your internship. Leave enough time such as the last entire week if your boss recommends you schedule meetings with other internal people. This will give you time to meet face-to-face. You may also want to ask that person the best way to stay on their radar screen and the hiring process timeline.

Network internally

Your manager isn’t the only person who should be aware of your work. When you already have a foot in the door as an intern, leverage potential connections by building relationships. This starts with your peers such as fellow interns and full-time staffers. Ask them to join you for lunch or coffee. Have meaningful conversations and ask questions.

Expand outside your department, too and attend company events such as a summer barbecue. Ask a department head if they have some time to chat, then get on their calendar if you want to learn more about their group. Express to them how much you enjoyed working there in case they have a future opening if your current boss doesn’t have one available.

Stay in touch

Even though your internship may be ending, your relationship with the company doesn’t have to – in fact, it could be the opposite. Instead, think of it as the beginning of its journey.

Within the first week of the end of your internship, mail a personalized handwritten thank you note to your manager and anyone who impacted your experience. If you spoke with HR, you may want to send them a note as well thanking them for their time. 

Connected on LinkedIn, ask your boss for a testimonial, and stay in touch whether it’s commenting on their social media posts or reaching out to give them an update on your classes.

Final thoughts

Above all, extending your internship into a full-time job offer depends on the hiring needs of the company, but what’s in your control involves leaving a lasting positive impression and building and maintaining relationships with people, not just your boss, in the company.

If a full-time job isn’t available by your last internship day, that’s not a completely shut door. The skills you’ve built and reputation you established can open doors for you well beyond your internship. Stay in touch and feel free to send them your resume again if you add new internships in the fall and beyond.

You never know when a former manager or colleague will reach out to you when an opening becomes available, so continue nurturing those relationships. They may move on to another employer and think of you when a position opens there, making it all the more important to stay in touch.