6 Types Of Internship Supervisors You May Have

By Madison White on April 21, 2016

This article is brought to you by Dream Careers, the largest global internship program for college students offering all-inclusive programs in 11 cities worldwide. To learn more about Dream Careers, please visit us at SummerInternships.com.

You may have an idea of who your internship supervisor will be. You may also have that image shattered the instant you meet them.

Like people, supervisors come in all forms and personalities. Most can be handled pretty easily if you can identify what you’re dealing with. Of course, many more supervisors exist outside the boundaries of this list, but here are six types of supervisors you may have and how to deal with them.

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1. The no-nonsense

This supervisor is probably exactly what you think of when you hear the word ‘supervisor.’ They aren’t necessarily evil and cruel, but they aren’t the person you spill all your gossip to either. The no-nonsense supervisor is exactly what they seem like: they supervise you. They make you feel constantly observed and that isn’t completely a bad thing. When your supervisor expects the best from you, you will often deliver your best. You’ll learn to manage your own work and efforts extremely efficiently under their watch. Don’t fret if you make mistakes — even no nonsense supervisors are human. They know you won’t be perfect all the time.

2. The trying too hard to be cool

This supervisor may be the person you spill all your gossip to simply because they’ve spilled all their gossip to you. They are likely trying way too hard to be friends with all of their employees because they believe it’ll enhance their relationships. While being friendly isn’t a detriment, sometimes it can be easy to mistreat them as your superior. Many employees may get too comfortable and forget that this supervisor can decide the fate of your career. Be sure to maintain an amount of friendliness with them, but keep up a level of respect even though you may not feel you have to. Odds are, they will appreciate it.

3. The inviter

The inviter supervisor doesn’t want to simply know about your life, but might even try to get way too involved in it. This supervisor is constantly sending emails to the entire company about volunteering opportunities, extra projects to work on, even inspirational videos that may not be all that inspirational. You are constantly creating the appearance of a busy life to dodge all their attempts at making you work outside of work.

While at first you may be coerced into doing these to further yourself in the working ranks, you soon realize trying to keep up with everything is exhausting and not always rewarding. Start choosing what to go to. Don’t ditch on everything, but find a few things you might find at least some reward from and go to them. This way, everybody stays happy and active.

4. The awkward

This boss will attempt at being friendly, but the conversations usually devolve into silence before too long. Despite their good intentions, the awkward supervisor just doesn’t really connect with their employees. It may just be their age or their interests, maybe just their personality in general, but something keeps them from joining the popular group among the other workers.

Unfortunately, they’re probably well aware of this. If you see them attempting to make small talk, do be engaging. Give them a smile and polite answers just so they know that you do appreciate the effort.

5. The distracted

The distracted supervisor seems very attentive, but they just happen to be attentive to everything. Their desk is likely riddled with sticky notes and reminders and they can’t ever find the file they’ve been looking for. When you ask for help on something, they will be all ears. Yet a week later when you’ve gotten nowhere and heard nothing about what you asked, you realize they’ve forgotten completely. You may think that you are not important or your supervisor is just aloof, but the case is probably that they simply have a lot on their plate and may not be the best at organizing. Don’t feel bad about sending follow up emails or remarks reminding them about previous conversations. Nagging can sometimes be the most effective way to get things done.

6. The no show

You met this supervisor for about 30 seconds while you were being shown around on your first day. They might have even been on the phone then, too. You have no idea which category your supervisor fits into because they haven’t been around enough to know. The no show supervisor always seems to be in a meeting, away at lunch, or vacationing in the tropics. You mostly receive information from the more experienced coworkers and hope that you’re doing everything right. And sending them a quick email feels odd because you aren’t completely sure of their first name. Keep trying to find ways of connecting with them, but odds are, if no one has stopped you yet, just keep doing what you’re doing.

Regardless of what personality your supervisor has, maintaining a firm and positive relationship with them is of the utmost importance. Remember to be kind, calm and collected and you’ll be sure to reap the benefits of having a great supervisor relationship.

Looking for a top internship in an exciting city? Enroll in Dream Careers and guarantee yourself an internship and a fun summer in your choice of 11 cities globally. To visit our website, please click here.

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