Your internship is terrible. Now what?

How to turn your lousy internship into a positive learning experience.

But, and this is a big but, there’s one obstacle keeping you from it: a sub-par experience and a micro-managing bully of a boss that you’re convinced is out to ruin your budding career (cue Kevin Spacey’s character from the movie “Horrible Bosses”).

While this may seem melodramatic, it holds a bit of truth.

What happens when your internship, well, really sucks? Suddenly, your dream job is put on hold, and you start questioning your career path because of a bad experience.

These three tips will help you turn an unloved internship into one worth cherishing.

Set goals

Whether you love your internship or hate it, remember your future employer will most likely ask about your experience at this company. This is the perfect opportunity to set personal goals and objectives.

Have writing samples to put in a portfolio, ask someone you trust for a recommendation on LinkedIn, or secure media coverage for a client and foster relationships with reporters. Walk away from this experience knowing that, although it wasn’t exactly what you expected, it taught you what you want and don’t want in a career.

Play well with others

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.