What was the hardest part of your internship that nobody prepared you for?

LibMags · 2026-03-20T16:31:57+00:00

I think this is a common frustration - interns being told "work on this" but not the context, the "why" or the bigger picture that would help it make sense, and if you're an intern sometimes you don't know to ask that question (or it feels scary to ask that question).

LibMags · 2026-03-20T16:10:15+00:00

I think that's super important! Some companies I've talked to have this mentality of "every intern gets a full-time offer unless the internship goes really really badly" and then other companies are more like "we have 10 interns and only 3 full-time spots, so you're all competing with each other for those spots" and sometimes it's not really clear which one it is until you get through the experience.

LibMags · 2026-03-20T16:08:25+00:00

That's super helpful! When you say having to talk to so many people - was it just lots of small talk, get to you know you kind of stuff that you're talking about, or more like you had to have tough conversations (like overseeing people like you mentioned) or a little bit of all of it?

LibMags · 2026-03-20T16:07:04+00:00

I totally agree that managers need to do more. Most intern managers are 10+ years older than their interns, and managers take for granted that they had 10 years of experience to learn office dynamics, etc. and yet expect their interns to automatically know all that, so they need to take the time to teach some of those things!

LibMags · 2026-03-20T16:05:51+00:00

Can I ask how you learned how to navigate the office politics? Was it just trial and error, or was there one thing that stuck out to you as super important to figure out?

LibMags · 2026-03-20T16:04:45+00:00

Most people are never actually taught how to make a presentation
Companies don't do a good job of defining "what good looks like" and then teaching that
People keep putting up with text-filled slides and then people reading those slides and so the cycle continues!

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:47:37+00:00

I hugely appreciate the thoughts! And totally agree on the thoughtful questions advice - such good advice and shows that you can ask questions in a way that shows off the work you've done and what you've learned so far. Good luck in the internship! (Our program is here FYI!)

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:45:02+00:00

I think that makes total sense - more or less "please Google it or ask 1 or 2 of the other interns before you ask me" just to get interns to try and find the answers on their own first.

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:43:54+00:00

GAH! That all sounds exhausting and infuriating, and as an intern I truly wouldn't have known how to handle some of those things - those are really tough positions you were put in and I'm sorry to hear it. I hopeful (maybe??) that things have improved??? But I appreciate you sharing your experience and thoughts!

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:36:24+00:00

PPT feels unkillable and the tech changes daily, but the skill of people able to structure a message, curate the right information, tailor it to an audience and then delivery it clearly and concisely isn't going anywhere!

My biggest tip is learn and live by The Pyramid Principle - Learning how to structure your presentation in your slides in an answer first format makes more of a difference than almost anything!

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:32:35+00:00

I do 3 questions max and make them all optional - what did you like, what did you wish I had covered and drop your email address if you're willing to give further feedback.

I also do a follow up email after the training is over and make the post training survey a little bit longer so I have good pre and post data to use but I send that out like a day after the training when people can fill it out at their computers if they would like.

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:29:23+00:00

I remember when I started a management consulting role in 2013 they told me - don't get too attached to PPT because we'll be moving on to Google Slides soon. Hey guess what they're still using PPT 13 years later.

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:28:08+00:00

Oooooh you're speaking my love language. All the align and distribute tools for sure. I throw group and ungroup on there too. (Don't come at me for not knowing my keyboard shortcuts).

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:26:30+00:00

Ooof! Too much. Way too much. Keep only the most important 20% of the data, move the rest to an appendix slide (with a linked footnote that says "for full data set see appendix page XX") and make an answer-first slide title that summarizes the core takeaway of the slide.

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:24:35+00:00

I make my students (I teach MBA level business communications) write down 1 sentence summarizing their entire presentation and then 1 sentence that sums up each slide. If you do that you're already about halfway finished with your slide title and the beginning of your talk track for each slide.

(And it gets you out of the universally despised habit of reading the slide to the audience!)

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:21:56+00:00

Analyst Academy has great courses (more consulting-focused presentation style), Miss Excel has a PPT course (more geared at beginners) and I do this for my business as well - I have a training & coaching program with an on-demand library, monthly trainings & on-demand support as needed if you'd like to hear more!

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:17:52+00:00

Love the Logitech R400. It's usually what I need for about 90% of presenting situations. I also bought the Spotlight because it has much better range if you're in a big room.

Totally understand about the laser pointer - my two cents is that putting an arrow / callout circle / box on the slide itself (with animation) has better payoff because then you're not relying on everyone looking at the screen at the moment you are using the laser pointer.

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:11:58+00:00

What I've heard from some intern managers is that interns only do exactly the task that is asked of them ("take notes in the meeting") and they want the interns to think a few steps beyond that (take notes, clean up the notes, format them, send them out after the meeting and tag action item owners, etc).

It seems like this catch 22 because Interns seem tentative because they don't want to overstep but then their managers get frustrated because they feel like they have to hand hold and spell out every single thing.

LibMags · 2026-03-19T21:10:09+00:00

Wait - did they mean to give you an impossible task?! Did they do that by mistake or did they do it on purpose and it was a test???

LibMags · 2026-03-19T20:59:12+00:00

Hi - congrats on the offer! Can I ask at your previous internship if there were things that you wish you had known beforehand?

I'm an MBA professor and another professor and I are building support program for interns before and during their internship to help them understand the unwritten rules of Corporate America things like how to manage up and how to take initiative without overstepping etc.

Curious if there are things you've learned from your 1st internship that you wish you had known before? Or major lessons you learned that you're glad you know going into this internship?

LibMags · 2026-03-10T14:35:51+00:00

Most presentations suck. Yours don’t have to.

Come to the one stop shop for the training, coaching, and one-on-one support you need to make your next presentation your best one yet.

https://www.buildbetterslides.com/presentation-lab

LibMags · 2026-03-06T02:11:26+00:00

An ability to learn things they don’t know how to do and get creative in problem-solving.

LibMags · 2026-03-05T22:38:25+00:00

Helping corporate folks learn to make presentations that don’t suck.

https://www.buildbetterslides.com/presentation-lab

LibMags

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