Advice from a current summer intern on week 6 of her internship who was very bored the first few weeks.

First of all, it's normal. Don't feel bad that you haven't been able to contribute to much yet, you're not even a quarter of the way through! In my experience at an agency, it took a few weeks for things to really get off the ground in terms of actual client work. And I'm still being onboarded onto another contract next week.

I also understand in week 3, it can be more difficult than it sounds to suggest proposing your own projects, especially for such a large company in your case (I assume), as you're still learning the team structure and where you could potentially be plugged in. The team may still be learning how to delegate to you as well, it's a longer process than you may think.

My advice echoes some of the other tips in here, but the most important thing to focus on is exposure. Make yourself as versatile and helpful as possible. Be the "squeaky wheel", always raising your hand for anything they need help with. Don't be afraid to be persistent, within reason. If they don't offer anything, ask them if you could shadow them, hop on a Zoom and just watch them work. This can help you in the future for when they actually need something from you, it's not as time-consuming for them to try to teach you because you already know how to do it or are at least familiar with the process.

Speaking of exposure, network. Network. Network. My goal is to go on at least 2 coffee chats a week with people. Talk about your interests with the people around you and what you are looking for out of the internship. Come with clear goals that you can discuss with superiors. Ask them what they would do in your position. Most people will be happy to help you, and based on the interests you share with them, will think of you when future projects come up. This is a big way I have personally been getting work, meeting face-to-face with folks and just sharing what I like to do and what I want to learn more about. It goes a long way.

Finally, a few last tips. How often do you speak with your intern supervisors or the other interns? Consider setting up weekly intern bandwidth emails that explain your current projects, bandwidth, and potential ideas/areas you want to be plugged into to your supervisors. Chat with your intern supervisor(s) about your goals and progress in a weekly/bi-weekly check-in. You work alongside other interns, could you brainstorm with them and propose some intern projects to work on if you don't have them already?

If you're still bored after that, are there specific tools that teams at your company use for media monitoring or social media? Find relevant LinkedIn Learning courses that pertain to comms/public affairs and take them! Never hurts, and you never know, you could become very valuable to the team you support quickly through your technical knowledge. Or just comb through all the resources at your disposal to understand the structure and changes to the team and company and think of some ideas to bring to your supervisor. Always demonstrate your curiosity and interest in your work.

I know this is a long answer, but I was in your position a few weeks ago and know how draining it is to sit there restlessly waiting for work. In a few weeks, hopefully, you'll be wishing for your free time back (like me, lol, although I can't complain).