Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Your Last Day on the Job- What to Take and What to Leave

Today is my last day at my internship. It's been a great experience- nine months of quality work in an agency atmosphere. But as I leave today, I want to be sure I take the right things with me and leave the right things behind. Here are my tips for your last day on the job.


First, be sure to take all of your documents. It's so easy to forget to do this! Just grab a flash drive and move all of your folders and documents from your desktop to your drive. This will be more valuable than you know- you'll have access to countless writing samples for your portfolio and templates for your work in the future.

Second, leave behind your gratitude for the people you worked closely with. This should include your boss and any superiors, but also anyone you worked closely with during your time at a job. Leaving on a good note is important because it opens the door for future networking opportunities when you or your colleague has a professional need.

Third, make sure you have a letter of recommendation from your supervisor. You never know when a letter of recommendation will come in handy. Keep this somewhere safe for future interviews.

Fourth, take all of your personal belongings with you. No one wants to receive a phone call explaining that you left personal items or confidential documents behind. Make sure you leave your desk area tidy for the person who will be sitting there in the future.

Finally, take the good and the bad experiences with you and learn from them. Each job is unique and teaches us different lessons. Look critically at your experience with your employer and use it to progress and succeed in the future.

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