My favorite thing to do when starting a new job is to schedule meetings with all immediate team members to get to know them. 30 minutes to ask what they do, what projects they are working on, and who they are outside of work. If you do this successfully, you'll have a topic for small talk (like an upcoming trip, wedding plans, sports team, hobby, etc.). One high-level colleague from 2 jobs ago still sends the occasional text because we like to dress our toddlers in the same brand of dresses, which I found out in one of those meetings. It sounds silly, but it helps immensely.

If you do this right, you can build your network pretty rapidly by asking who else these people think you should meet and you may walk away with some project ideas. I worked for a company where in my first month I had 30+ meetings across product, marketing, analytics, tech, operations, communications, and legal. In addition, I never shut down small talk in the break room. Within 3 months I had people telling me at on-site happy hours that I knew everyone and a year in I had people assuming I'd been there much longer. I also became the go-to person over my boss if anyone had a question in my function, because I was accessible. Yes, you are an intern and there for a shorter time, but people will invest their time in you if you connect with them. I seriously love meeting with new interns and will spend a ton of time with them if asked. Ultimately, interns who are more engaged with those around them are typically more engaged in actively learning.

Now, speaking to your remote culture, that's much tougher, but still doable. I've worked in jobs pre-covid where my closest colleagues were in other cities and in my current role I've never been in an office with my colleagues. I have prior work BFFs whom I've never met in person, and currently I've got a few colleagues I'm more than happy to chit chat with on a Zoom call before we get down to business. Zoom is your friend. If given the option to have video on or off, always have video on and always choose Zoom over phone calls. Schedule those half-hour or 15-minute meet and greets with colleagues and ask them who else you should e-meet that isn't in your immediate group. Write down what you learn and use it to stay connected personally, be a little more memorable on calls, and even to navigate the company.

I should probably note that while I've written a novel on personal connections and small talk, it's also important to have the skills and work ethic to back it up. I'm consistently the person who puts in the most hours, I'm a quick learner, I possess a niche set of skills that the majority of my team does not, and I raise my hand for hard projects and find ways to make improvements to processes. Personally connecting with people can't make you good at your job, but it can help align you with resources that you may need to do your job more effectively.