How I turned my internship into a full time job

Hi networkers,

By now you’re probably aware of my internship journey.

But it just occurred to me that I never explained how I got my full time.

So that’s what today’s topic is, how I went from a 4-month contract to a full-time offer by doing 3 things.

Here’s the route for today

🎙️ Topic: How I Got My Full Time Offer

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TOPIC
How I Got My Full Time Offer

What if I told you that I landed my full-time job without applying at all?

Instead, I landed it through an internship within the company; it was an internal conversation.

The internship was my last one before graduation, so I had 2 choices.

1. Make the most of it and get accepted as a full-time, or

2. Repeat the whole recruitment cycle

The choice was obvious.

Here are the 3 things I did during that internship to secure the full-time.

Networking

My 1st plan of action was to get to know everyone on my team as fast as possible.

Why? Because rapport is essential. People need to know you exist before you can be recognized for your work.

There were 15 people on my team, and within the 1st month, I had booked a 30-minute coffee chat with each of them.

💡 This did 2 things:

1. It created a good 1st impression because it showed them that I was outgoing and willing to help.

2. It unlocked project opportunities! My first project wasn’t from my manager but from one of those coffee chats I had.

Taking Initiative

A skill that leaders love is the ability to create your own work.

In other words, I didn’t wait around for tasks to be assigned to me. If I was free, I would ask around to see if I could help with anything.

And if there wasn’t work, I would do online learning courses with LinkedIn.

💡 This did 2 things:

1. It further strengthened my image of someone willing to help.

2. It gave my manager the confidence to let me work autonomously which led to a healthy work-life balance.

Being Direct

The thing is, a lot of interns (including me) have the assumption that if they work hard enough, they’ll get rewarded with a return offer.

That is a lie.

You’re managers aren’t mind-readers, they won’t know what you want unless you tell them.

To earn anything, you have to reach out and grab it for yourself.

About 2 months into my term, I brought up the possibility of returning full-time.

Of course, I was nervous to ask, but since I had built a good reputation doing the previous tips, my manager was open to discussing it.

After 3 separate discussions, I got the approval for a full-time offer, and the rest was history!

But the opportunity only came about because I brought it up, not because I deserved it.

My advice to you:

If you’re looking to make the most out of your next internship, implement these 3 tips to secure that return offer!

See you next Tuesday 🤝

-Michael Ly

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