How to be Successful in the Audio Industry – Part 6

Top 10 Tips on Being A Successful Intern

Our final “How To Be Successful In The Audio Industry” Top Ten List is from Greg and Rachel of our very own Internship Department, with their suggestions on how to make the best of your internship experience.  Resumes, relocation, interviews, interning, finding jobs and keeping in touch with grads are just a few things that our intern coordinators deal with on the daily. So if anyone is going to have great tips on how to be a successful intern, these are those people!

#1 Take Initiative

Being able to complete a task without being asked! Anticipate what is needed.

#2 Be quick to listen and slow to speak

And when you do speak up, make sure it’s worthwhile.

#3 Believe in yourself

Find a good balance in being humble but confident in the work you do. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else is going to.

#4 Documentation, Documentation, Documentation!

Document everything! And on paper! You never know what small detail you write down could save a session later.

#5 Don’t ask the same question twice

Questions are fine, making someone repeat themselves is not!

#6 Be genuinely interested

Show that you actually want to be there, and when you are, enjoy yourself! People can tell if you don’t want to be somewhere, and it can kill the vibe.

#7 Be Positive

Do not bring your problems to your internship. No one likes a negative, Debbie downer at work. No one will want you around or invite you to be help in their sessions.

#8 Eagerness

Be eager and willing to complete tasks and be a part of the bigger picture of the day to day activities at a facility – hard work is recognized.

#9 Don’t stop learning

Being around these engineers and managers is a great way to continue your learning experience.  They have lots of experience. With most of them, if you get them talking, they will be willing to share their wisdom with you.

#10 Earn trust!

Once you’ve proven you can be trusted, doors will open for you.

Thanks Greg and Rachel for such a great list!  If you are wondering why Dave Torres (our third internship coordinator) didn’t have any on this list, is due to the fact that he did his own list as Part 2.

I have a few I’d like to add to their list:

  1. Don’t judge your level of success based on others and where they are in their path.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the race, we forget the path we are taking.  Forge Forward!
  2. Even on the toughest days, take a look back at where you started this journey and reflect on where you are today, even if it’s in the studio’s bathroom cleaning it again! Keep Going!
  3. Be approachable, acknowledge people, even if it’s just a smile and a nod. Ignoring people because you are busy makes it seem that you are closed off and that can close doors.

We hope you have enjoyed this series on “How To Be Successful In The Audio Industry”.