Top Mistakes to Avoid as an Intern
12 November 2025
Internships are great for applying your university learning, gaining hands-on work experience and building your professional reputation. It’s a good idea to be well-prepared for your work experience placement as even capable students can make mistakes that negatively affect how others perceive you.
In an internship, you’re learning both technical and soft skills and how to behave and how to carry yourself in a professional environment. Avoiding a few common mistakes can make a huge difference to your confidence, relationships and the success of your internship experience.
This article outlines some of the most common mistakes interns make and offers practical strategies to avoid those mistakes.
Why Your Behaviour as Intern Matters
For many students, an internship is often their very first experience in a professional workplace. Supervisors aren’t expecting perfection, but they do look for curiosity, reliability and initiative. A certain level of maturity is also expected, especially if you are a final year student or a recent graduate very close to, or even ready, to enter the employment market.
Mistakes like poor communication, passivity or excessive phone use send a message that you’re not fully engaged. They can also make you look immature and unprepared for what is required in the professional world. Learning to act professionally and take responsibility for your role shows employers that you’re ready to transition from being a student to being a work-ready graduate (or soon to be graduate).
Mistake 1 – Not Asking Questions
Many interns stay silent because they fear sounding inexperienced. In reality, not asking questions can make you seem disengaged or disinterested. Think about it: surely no one is expecting you, an intern, to know it all - after all, you are doing a work experience placement, right, and you are there to learn. And what better way to learn than by asking questions!
How to Fix It
Ask early and ask often. Here are just a few examples:
- “Could you please clarify what you’d like the report to include?”
- “Can I confirm the deadline for this task?”
- “Could we run through this task just to ensure that I understood it correctly and can get on with it accurately?”
Keep in mind that thoughtful questions demonstrate that you are paying attention to detail and have a willingness to learn. But please be sure to listen to any answers you get and take good note of them so that you can apply them to whatever tasks you are doing.
Mistake 2 – Waiting for Instructions
Interns who only act when told miss out on valuable learning. Supervisors appreciate initiative. You may or may not already know this, but showing initiative is a precious skill and very much in demand in real workplaces.
How to Fix It
Once you complete your assigned task(s) and instead of waiting around, you could:
- Ask if there’s another task or project you can help with.
- Offer to organise files, summarise notes or draft templates, whatever is relevant to your internship placement and the host company.
- Suggest small improvements if appropriate.
These types of actions show initiative and also proactivity which further portray you as someone who is enthusiastic. And that builds trust quickly.
Mistake 3 – Wasting Time on Your Phone or Social Media
Constant phone checking can make it seem like you’re not taking your internship seriously. And it’s super unprofessional!! It’s really important that you don’t spend time on your phone during your internship hours.
How to Fix It
- Keep your phone on silent and out of sight during work hours.
- Use it only during breaks or for work-related communication.
- A focused intern stands out immediately in any workplace.
By keep your phone away during the internship hours, you’ll also show maturity, respect towards the professional workplace and professionalism in how you carry yourself as an intern doing a work experience placement.
Mistake 4 – Avoiding Networking Opportunities
Internships are as much about who you meet as what you do. If you isolate yourself, you limit learning opportunities and making potential beneficial future career connections. You can be shy, and you definitely don’t have to transform yourself into a social butterfly during your internship, but you do need to push yourself a bit to ensure you take on any opportunity to speak to industry professionals and attend relevant networking or other professional events.
How to Fix It
- Introduce yourself to colleagues early.
- Join group meetings, lunches or virtual catch-ups.
- Ask to go to any relevant events that your colleagues might be going to.
- Ask if you can attend any industry events that might take place during your internship.
- Connect with professionals on LinkedIn after your internship ends.
It’s good for you to keep in mind that networking builds the social capital that can lead to your next opportunity.
Mistake 5 – Staying Silent During Discussions
Interns sometimes feel they shouldn’t speak up, but sharing your perspective politely shows confidence and engagement. In Australia, workplace hierarchies are generally flat. That means you can, even as an intern, contribute to discussions and make suggestions.
Even if you feel shy, try to use any opportunity to be part of discussions. It will also help you build better communication skills.
How to Fix It
- When asked for input, give concise, thoughtful comments.
- Ask follow-up questions if something interests you.
- Offer to research or contribute ideas for future projects.
Remember, active participation signals motivation and curiosity. And these are qualities employers remember.
Mistake 6 – Not Using Initiative When There’s Downtime
This one builds on what we already discussed in Mistake 2 and Waiting for Instructions. But as this point is really important, let’s talk about this in more detail: using initiative. You see, some interns panic when there’s little to do and end up scrolling the internet. And that is a bad look! And it won’t help you with your learning experience.
How to Fix It
Practice using your initiative (see Mistake 2). Now, it could happen that you will be met with some quieter days during your internship. Should that happen, use those quiet periods to:
- Review company materials or recent reports.
- Ask your supervisor for additional reading or training.
- Document what you’ve learned so far in a journal or portfolio.
When you show initiative in slow periods and can think of things to do (and that is NOT scrolling through your social media!!), you show that you have a good, professional attitude and an ability to self-manage. And those are great attributes!
Mistake 7 – Avoiding Feedback
Feedback can feel uncomfortable, but it’s really a gift as it shows that your supervisor cares about your development. So don’t be afraid to receive or ask for feedback.
How to Fix It
- Ask for feedback regularly rather than waiting for it.
- Listen carefully without interrupting.
- Write down suggestions and act on them quickly.
- Follow up later to show you’ve implemented the advice.
This approach builds credibility and maturity. And we say it again: be sure to implement any advice or tips you’ve received from your supervisor to ensure you grow, improve and develop.
Mistake 8 – Being Defensive or Stubborn
This kind of relates to Mistake 7 and Avoiding Feedback…. Mistake 8 is about refusing to accept new ideas or insisting on doing things “your way” which can cause tension in teams.
How to Fix It
- Stay flexible. Try your supervisor’s methods first, then politely suggest alternatives later if relevant.
- If you are not clear why a task needs to be done in a certain way, or if you simply disagree with the method, ask for more information about it so that you’ll understand why certain things are done the way they are in that particular workplace.
Employers, and colleagues, value adaptable team members who can collaborate and adjust to feedback. And in Australia it’s a good skill not to take yourself too seriously but to show plenty of flexibility.
Want to learn more about adaptability? Have a look at: On Adaptability, One of the Top Employability Skills
Turning Mistakes into Lessons
It’s likely that every student makes at least a few mistakes during their internship. What matters is how you respond. Admitting errors quickly and adjusting your behaviour demonstrates professionalism.
If you follow these tips here, you are less likely to commit these common mistakes and be overall successful with your internship experience.
But if you do you accidentally miss a deadline or misunderstand instructions, apologise promptly, fix the issue and clarify expectations for next time. Most supervisors value honesty and accountability over perfection.
A Few Final Words on Avoiding Common Mistakes
As a student or a new graduate, an internship is one of the most practical forms of learning you’ll experience. Avoiding common mistakes like silence, passivity and disengagement allows you to make the most of every opportunity.
Be curious, proactive and appreciative. Every task, no matter how small, is a chance to show your good attitude and reliability. When you treat your internship as a genuine professional learning experience, not just a study requirement, you gain skills, connections and confidence that can last long after graduation.