Table of Contents

industrial design internships

Think about the goals you want to achieve throughout your internship.

Set goals for yourself.
Determine what you want to achieve over the course of your internship, and then set specific goals that will help you meet those objectives. This could be anything from learning how to use a software program like Solidworks or AutoCAD to completing a project on time and under budget. Goals can be short-term (completing one task) or long-term (becoming an expert in a particular field).
Be flexible with your approach.

While it’s important to set goals, it’s also important not to get too stressed out about them if they don’t go as planned—after all, sometimes things happen that are beyond our control! If something happens during your internship that throws off your progress toward reaching a particular goal, take advantage of the situation by asking questions or learning more about how things work at the company where you’re interning from someone who works there regularly. In fact, using these setbacks as opportunities for further personal development is often one of the best ways for designers who want to learn new skills quickly grow professionally during their time away from school or university; plus it looks great on resumes too!

Learn everything you can about the company.

When you’re on a job interview, your interviewer will ask you to describe the company. They want to know more than just its name and location. They want to know what you think of it.

The best way to demonstrate your knowledge is by having a solid understanding of the company’s history, mission, culture, products and services; competitors; leadership; clients; financials (both current and projected); locations of headquarters or offices around the world as well as where they manufacture their goods/services; website address (with links) and social media accounts that represent each location/department at the company if there are any available for public viewing. Additionally, it’s helpful if you take some time to read press releases from companies like this one over time so that when asked about them during an interview it sounds like something insightful rather than just regurgitated information someone else told them about before coming here today for their big day out with mommy or daddy 🙂

ALSO READ: Applying For An Internship In The USA For International Student

Determine what you want to get out of your experience.

Before you embark on your internship experience, take some time to think about what you want to get out of it. Do you want to build a portfolio? Learn new skills? Meet people in your field?

The more specific and concrete your goals are, the easier it will be for you to evaluate whether or not the internship actually met them. For example, if one of your goals is “learning how to write well,” make sure that at least half of your assigned tasks include writing assignments so that there’s no doubt that you’ve met this goal.

In addition to knowing what kind of experience will be most helpful for advancing your career path and professional development, it can also help to know why internships are important in general—and why they should be important enough for employers who hire designers (or other professionals) without any formal education credentials whatsoever (e.g., graphic designers).

Set realistic expectations.

As an intern, your primary objective is to gain as much experience as you can in the time allotted. Setting unrealistic expectations for yourself will only lead to stress and frustration, so try not to bite off more than you can chew.

If you are able to complete all of your tasks in a timely manner, great! If not, that’s okay too; just make sure that the goals you set for yourself are reasonable and attainable.

It may also help to know that even if everything goes according to plan (which it probably won’t), no one expects a beginning designer-in-training to come up with brilliant solutions on their own—collaboration is key.

Embrace this opportunity in order to learn as much as possible.

Being an intern is a great way to learn new skills, develop your portfolio and get your foot in the door of an industry you’re interested in. But it’s also important to embrace this opportunity in order to learn as much as possible.

Be willing to learn new things. The best way to do this is by asking questions! Don’t be afraid of looking like a beginner. It’s okay if you don’t understand everything; everyone has been there at some point. Just ask!
Be open-minded about the types of projects that are assigned or given during work hours (and outside work hours). There may be opportunities for you to work on projects that fall outside your comfort zone, but which will help expand your knowledge and skill set in areas such as CAD design or product development.
If possible, get involved with other groups within IDEO so that you can experience different parts of the company from top-to-bottom—you never know what could happen next!

ALSO READ: summer internships 2022 birmingham

Don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek guidance and clarity.

Asking questions can be daunting, but it’s a good way to show your interest and engagement in the company.

By asking questions, you are learning more about what life at the company is like and how your role fits into that picture. You’re also getting an idea of what kinds of things other interns have done during their internships (and maybe even picking up some tips on how they got ahead). Finally, it gives you an opportunity to find out more about who your colleagues are and what they do beyond their titles and responsibilities.

In general, when interacting with coworkers just ask yourself: would I want this person as a friend? If not—keep trying! The best way to get better is by practicing empathy and kindness towards others.

Have an open mind.

As an intern, you will be working with a team of other people who have different backgrounds and skills. Be open to new ideas and concepts, willing to try things that are outside of your comfort zone, flexible and adaptable. Be a good listener; listen attentively, ask questions when needed (but not too many), think critically about what is being said or done in the office environment. Remember that everything you do reflects on yourself as well as on the company’s reputation.

Have respect for your colleagues: always remember that every person has something unique about them which makes them valuable even if they don’t fit into any particular category or box. Some people like connecting with others over coffee while others prefer using social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram to share their creativity through photos/videos/music etcetera…

Don’t be discouraged if you make mistakes along the way.

Mistakes will happen. But it’s not the mistake that’s important, it’s how you respond to it. If you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up about it and don’t let it keep you from moving forward in your career.

When I was at my internship, one of my coworkers made an error when she was designing a new product for the company. It took her more than a week to fix her mistake because she kept making new ones each time she tried to fix the first one! She ended up completely redoing all of her work without making any progress towards actually fixing the problem!

This is why having patience with yourself and your work is important: if you can stick with something even when things aren’t going well, eventually everything will fall into place and turn out great!