5 Ways to Stay in Touch With Professional Contacts After an Internship
While interning or working, it's always important to network and keep in touch with the people you meet. You may need some advice or even a recommendation one day in the future. But when your internship is over, it may be hard to keep in touch with the connections you make when you don't see those people every day. Here are some tips for staying in touch with contacts once your job or internship is over.
Thank You Notes
Before your internship is over, give out hand-written thank you notes to everyone you made connections with. Mention in the note that you look forward to keeping in touch in the future. Not only is this a kind gesture, but they will be sure to remember you for it. For an additional tip, leave your business card inside the note. If you forget to do this before your internship ends, you can send an email saying the same thing.
Before your internship is over, add your co-workers on LinkedIn. This gives them an online professional view while at the same time, seeing you work hard every day. You can also add them after your internship ends, send them a nice thank you message, and say you will keep in touch. If you have co-workers whom you didn't make a professional connection with, you should still connect with them on LinkedIn. They may be a good contact for you later on.
Keep Them Updated
It's hard to think of something to say when you want to keep in touch with contacts. What you can do is email them updates on what you’ve been up to and see how they’re doing. Don't think you should do this once a week, and note that it doesn't have to be after you've accomplished something big. Ask if they would like to meet for coffee to catch up sometime. If you have any questions, you should definitely include those and if you did accomplish something big or small, add that in too!
Other Social Media Outlets
Depending on where you work and who you work with, your contacts maybe accessible on additional social media outlets like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you want to utilize these tools to keep in touch with your contacts, make sure your own profiles don't include anything unprofessional. These outlets are useful to keep in touch on a more personal and day-to-day basis. They could work for someone who is in the communication field who wants to keep in touch with news reporters or producers. But before you follow or send a friend request, really think about if you want to use these outlets and if it's the best way to keep in touch with your connections.
Offer Help
If you think there is work you can help with at home, ask if you can contribute. For example, if you work for a newsletter or magazine, ask if you can still write articles or blogs. This will allow you to strengthen your relationship with your connections and gain additional experience.
More Articles
