Congrats! You were able to get an internship, and now it’s done. You put in the work for 10-12 weeks, working on a team and individual projects. Now, what’s next?

Let’s take a look through the things you should do once your internship is over. These tips will help you once you figure out what your next steps in life are.

Expand Your Network

If you haven’t already done it, one of the first things you should do is to add all the people you worked with to your LinkedIn network. Next, you might ask: Why makes it so important?

Well, research has shown that you are much more likely (almost 4x more) to get a job if you have referrals. And the best people to get referrals from are the ones you worked with. So, staying connected with them is crucial for your long-term plan, whatever it may be. This is even more important if you were not called back and are now looking for your next job role.

Use Your Network for Recommendations

Now that your internship is over, the next step is to get started with your next role. If you’ve worked with a colleague who appreciated your work, contact them and ask for a recommendation. This is where the first tip comes to use. Use LinkedIn to connect with them.

If you receive a recommendation, be sure to remember and reciprocate the kindness when the time comes.

Internship Diary

Record everything you did throughout your internship in written form. Ideally, it would be best if you did this during each step of your internship. But even if you didn’t, you can do it now.

This gives you a precise idea of what projects you were involved in and how you contributed to the work. So now, you’ll have no problem presenting this experience in your resume.

Show Your Gratitude

Some words of respect and gratitude go a long way. Express your appreciation to people who have helped you along your internship journey. This includes everyone from your fellow internees to the manager and mentors.

Simple thankfulness emails and notes might be what makes you stand out the next time they’re looking for someone to work with.

Ask for Feedback

This is another thing you should try to incorporate during your internship. But even if you didn’t get a chance then, be sure to take some time to ask for feedback when your internship ends.

Talk to the people you worked with closely. This can be your fellow internees, your mentor, or sometimes even your VP. Ask them for feedback. What went right and what didn’t.

Some starting points of conversation can be:

• What are the areas of improvement you should work on?
• Did you fulfill their expectations for your particular role? If not, how can you improve?
• What are the things they liked about you and want you to take forward in work?
• If you were to get a callback, how can you improve your quality of work?

These insights can help you a lot in the future, whether you end up working in the same place or not. So don’t shy away from politely asking your fellow colleagues for some feedback.

And there you have it! Five things you should do as soon as you’re done with your internship to help you in your future plans.