Your Internship Is Ending. Don’t Leave With Just a Resume Bullet

THE EDIT Issue 11

There is a strange moment that happens toward the end of an internship. After weeks, or maybe months, of figuring out where everything is, learning everyone’s names, deciphering your manager’s communication style and trying very hard not to make a mistake, you finally know what you’re doing.

You know which meeting always runs over. You know who actually has the answer when you need something. You understand the spreadsheets that looked like another language on your first day. You know where the samples live, which Slack channel people actually respond to, how early you need to arrive before a market appointment and whether “ASAP” means sometime today or please-have-this-done-before-I-finish-this-sentence.

You have, finally, found your rhythm.

And then it’s time to leave.

Most interns know they should do a few things before that happens. Finish their assignments. Thank their manager. Connect with people on LinkedIn. Update their resume. Maybe ask about future opportunities if they’re hoping to come back.

All good things to do - but they are only the beginning.

The final days of an internship are one of the most overlooked parts of the entire experience because you’re sitting on something you will never have quite the same access to again: fresh information.

Right now, you remember exactly what you worked on. You know which projects were bigger than others. You remember the problem that took you three days to solve, the meeting where someone unexpectedly asked for your opinion and the assignment you eventually became trusted to handle on your own. You have access to your manager, your coworkers and, depending on company policy, information about your work that may help you quantify what you accomplished.

A few months from now, much of that detail will blur.

“Supported the merchandising team during market” will replace everything you actually did during market.

“Assisted with social media” will become the easiest way to summarize weeks of work.

And the person who could have given you incredibly useful feedback will become someone you haven’t spoken to since your last day.

That’s why ending an internship well deserves just as much thought as starting one.

The way you leave is part of the experience.

It is also part of your reputation.

People remember whether you followed through on your final assignments. They remember whether your files were organized enough for someone else to find them. They remember whether you thanked the people who helped you, including the coordinator or assistant who answered approximately 400 of your questions. They remember whether you disappeared after the internship ended or stayed connected in a way that felt genuine.

More importantly, you need to leave understanding what you are taking with you.

An internship should give you more than another company name to add to LinkedIn. You should leave with a clearer understanding of what you’re good at, evidence of what you accomplished, language for talking about the experience, relationships worth maintaining and information that helps you choose what comes next.

Some of that will happen naturally. Most of it won’t.

So before you turn in your laptop, lose access to your files and write the obligatory “I’m thrilled to share that I’ve completed my summer internship...” LinkedIn post, there are a few things I want you to do.

Here is how to close out an internship strategically and make sure the experience keeps working for you long after your last day.

The rest of this guide walks you through exactly what to do before and after your internship ends: how to document the details you’ll need for future resumes and interviews, ask for feedback that is actually useful, figure out what work is worth saving, leave behind a strong final impression, have the conversation about returning, and turn the people you worked with into relationships that continue long after your last day.

I’m also giving you the scripts, questions, templates and 30/60/90-day follow-up plan to make it much easier to actually do all of the above.

Because you already did the internship. You should leave with everything you earned from it.