Summer needs to get a speeding ticket because I am already down to one week left of my Nordstrom Internship! It was an amazing experience, to say the least. I have learned so much about the company and myself about my career goals. During these nine weeks, I wrote down a few of my insights from the experience that I thought would benefit anyone that wants to get the most out of their internship or for those graduating college soon.
Getting the Most out of an Internship
It’s okay to make mistakes.
I definitely made some mistakes during this internship, and that is completely normal! When you are starting a new position, it is natural to forget how to do something correctly, or it might take a few times to get it right. Everyone messes up sometimes, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you do. And don’t ever let anyone (such as coworkers) bring you down for messing up. They were once in your position and should be understanding, not condescending.
Put your name out there.
If there is one thing I learned from this internship, it is to talk to everyone and anyone. However long your internship may be, take every day to talk to someone new. I always ask questions about a person’s career history so I can gain perspective on what path I might take to reach my goal.
Be open with your supervisors on what you want to do in the future.
Your managers hired you for a reason because they genuinely believe you have the best skills for the job! So take this opportunity to learn as much from them about how to walk up the job ladder. They can help strengthen your skills so you can apply for a bigger role.
Try to find balance in other areas of your life.
I’m not gonna lie and say this experience didn’t consume my life. I loved going to my internship, but since this was my first taste of a full-time job I found it hard to balance my non-work life! Some days I would come home exhausted and not want to go to the gym, and other days I would cram in seeing friends and hanging out with my family. Finding balance was tough for me this summer and although I didn’t achieve everything on my summer bucket list, this Nordstrom internship was all worth it.
You (probably) won’t get your dream career right after college.
This is a tough one for me to realize, but when I had the opportunity to speak with the store manager, he brought a new perspective to the table on my career path. There is this expectation for college students to have the perfect well-paying job right out of college because you just spent four (or more) years of your life studying exactly what you want to do. Well news flash, it isn’t all butterflies and rainbows right out of college.
What my manager told me is that it’s better to grow as a person and learn everything about a company, (or similar companies) before you take that big job role. Once you do reach your dream career, you will have more maturity and be better positioned for that job. Ultimately, this is what internships are for, so you can learn about a company/role and decide where you fit in best.
Check It
Outfit from the photo’s:
BLOUSE: asos.com
PANTS: Express
SHOES: Target
EARRINGS: Fabrik’
I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts! If you’re interested in pursuing an internship or career opportunity with Nordstrom, head over to their career page and see if there’s a position that fits you!
Stay Stylin’,
Lindsay
*Photography by Bradley Yates (aka my dad ;))
