Questions to Ask Your Internship Supervisor
Questions to ask your internship supervisor, in roughly the order a placement runs: what they expect and how they like to work, the tasks themselves, feedback while there is still time to use it, their own career, and the reference, handover and job conversation before you leave. Every question comes with a short note: the week to raise it, what a useful answer sounds like, or what to do with it afterwards. They suit a summer internship, a co-op term or a placement taken for course credit.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Expectations
What do you expect from me in the first few weeks, and what can wait until later?
Why ask it
Most supervisors have a picture of a good start that they never say out loud. Asked for, it tends to be modest and mostly about conduct: turn up, take notes, ask before guessing. The "what can wait" part matters as much, because it names the things nobody expects you to touch yet.
What will I be working on, and which part of it matters most to you?
Why ask it
Internship descriptions are written months ahead, and the real work has often shifted by the time you arrive. It is the second half you will use most: when three tasks compete for one afternoon, you will know which one your supervisor is waiting on.
How do you want updates, and how often?
Why ask it
Some supervisors want a short written summary, some want a five-minute conversation, some want to be left alone until something is finished. Whatever they choose, ask what one update should contain, then send the first one before they have to ask for it.
How will you judge whether this internship went well?
Why ask it
Their measure may be the output, how little supervision you needed, or whether the team would have you back. If the answer is vague, ask what they would like to be able to say about you on the last day. Asked in the first week, it gives you something to aim at besides looking busy.
If I get stuck, do you want to hear straight away or after I have had a proper go at it?
Why ask it
How long to struggle varies with the task. An hour of trying teaches you something on a spreadsheet formula, and produces a confidently wrong result on anything that turns on how this office does things. Get a rule simple enough to follow without thinking, and when you do go to them, open with what you have already ruled out.
Can we agree on two or three goals for me to reach by the end?
Why ask it
Written down in the first week, they give you both something to check at the midpoint. Push for goals that can be ticked off: "learn about marketing" cannot be checked, "run the weekly report without help" can. Offer a draft of your own so your supervisor is editing a list, not writing one.
What hours do you expect me to be reachable, and how much can that bend around classes?
Why ask it
A fixed start time matters to some supervisors and only deadlines matter to others, and you cannot tell which by watching. If you have lectures or exams during the placement, give the dates now, since a clash announced the week before reads as poor planning.
Where do I log my hours, and who signs them off?
Why ask it
On a paid internship the timesheet decides when the money arrives, and on a credit placement the hour log may need your supervisor's signature. Systems and cut-off dates differ by employer and by school, so ask to be shown once and write the steps down. It is a dull thing to need explained twice.
My school needs a learning plan and an evaluation from you. Can we go through what it asks for?
Why ask it
This one only applies if the internship carries course credit, and then it matters a great deal. Requirements differ by program, so bring the actual forms and their deadlines. A supervisor who sees them in week one can shape your tasks to fit, while one who sees them in the final week fills them in from memory.
What do interns here most often get wrong?
Why ask it
The pattern is the useful part: interns who never asked, who disappeared into a task for a fortnight, who wrote nothing down. It is a list of avoidable errors that somebody has already made for you.
What did the best intern you have supervised do differently?
Why ask it
The answer is usually about behaviour and not talent: they followed up, they kept notes, they made a nuisance of themselves in a useful way. It is also the clearest statement you will get of what this particular supervisor values, so ask early enough to copy it. If you are their first intern, ask about the best new starter instead.
Working Together
What does a typical week look like for this team, and where do I fit into it?
Why ask it
The team's rhythm, whether that is a Monday planning meeting, a Thursday deadline or a quiet Friday, tells you when to ask for time and when to keep your head down. Find out which of the regular meetings you should be in. An intern who knows the week can plan around it without waiting to be told each morning.
Can we set a standing time to meet each week, even if it is short?
Why ask it
A slot in the calendar gives your questions somewhere to go, so you stop weighing up whether each one is worth an interruption. If they tell you to drop by whenever, ask which day tends to be quietest and treat that as the slot.
When you are busy, what is the best way to get five minutes?
Why ask it
Every supervisor has a real answer: a message, a specific hour, a walk to the coffee machine. Knowing it stops you waiting two days for a reply on something that would have taken one minute to unblock.
If you are out for the day, who should I take questions to?
Why ask it
Supervisors travel, get pulled into deadlines and take leave, often in the same week you reach your hardest task. Get a name, and ask them to mention you to that person, so your first message to a stranger is not also the first they have heard of you.
If someone else on the team asks me for help, should I say yes or check with you first?
Why ask it
It will happen sooner than you expect, because an intern looks like spare capacity to everyone nearby. Some supervisors are glad for you to be borrowed and others have planned your time to the hour. With their answer in hand you can reply to the request without stalling or overcommitting.
Who else should I introduce myself to?
Why ask it
A supervisor's list of names is worth more than any organisation chart, because it says who actually knows things. It also hands you an opening line: "my supervisor suggested I speak to you" is hard to turn down.
How far should I take a decision on my own before I bring it to you?
Why ask it
Ask with a real example in hand, such as choosing between two ways of laying out a report. Too many check-ins make you expensive to supervise, and too few produce a finished piece built on a wrong assumption. The line usually moves outward as they see more of your work, so ask again after a month.
When I make a mistake, how do you want me to tell you?
Why ask it
Nearly every supervisor says straight away, and hearing them say it makes the eventual confession much easier to start. Listen for the details: some want a proposed fix attached, and some want to know before a particular person finds out.
Could I shadow you in a meeting or on a client call this month?
Why ask it
Watching your supervisor handle a hard question or a pushy stakeholder teaches things no task will. Offer to take the notes so you are useful in the room, and ask afterwards why they handled one moment the way they did.
The Work
How finished should a first draft be before I show it to you?
Why ask it
One supervisor wants an outline after an hour so they can redirect you cheaply, and another finds a half-done piece harder to read than a blank page. Ask it again for each kind of task, since a slide deck and an email to a client seldom share an answer.
What needs your sign-off before it leaves my hands?
Why ask it
Emails to clients, anything published, changes to shared files and anything that costs money are the usual candidates, but each workplace draws the line somewhere different. Knowing where it sits lets you move quickly on everything else without wondering whether you are overstepping.
Where does this task fit into what the team is trying to get done?
Why ask it
Knowing what a spreadsheet or a summary will be used for changes how you build it: what to check twice, what can stay rough, what the reader already knows. Ask it about one specific task. Asked about the internship as a whole, it gets you the mission statement.
When do you need this, and is that a hard deadline or a preference?
Why ask it
"End of the week" can mean a client meeting on Friday morning or simply a tidy-sounding date. If it is firm, ask what it feeds into. If it is soft, you have room to do the job properly, and you know which task gives way when two collide.
Is there training, documentation or an earlier project I should go through before I start on this?
Why ask it
Most teams have a folder, a recorded walkthrough or last year's version that nobody thinks to mention. An hour with it spares your supervisor from explaining the basics, and your later questions will be about the parts the material leaves out.
When I finish something and you are tied up, what should I pick up next?
Why ask it
Every intern runs out of work at some point, often on a day the supervisor is in meetings until four. A standing answer, such as a backlog list, a long-running tidy-up job or a course to work through, means you never have to announce an empty afternoon. Ask for it before you need it.
What makes this team's work harder than it looks from outside?
Why ask it
Reveals the constraints you cannot see: an unreliable data source, a slow approval chain, one stakeholder who changes their mind. Knowing them stops you proposing solutions that were already tried.
What is on your plate that I could take a piece of?
Why ask it
"Do you have anything for me?" makes a busy person invent a task on the spot. Asking for a slice of something they already have to do is easier to say yes to, and it shows you what really fills their week, which is rarely what their title suggests.
Is there a project I could own from start to finish?
Why ask it
A string of small favours is hard to describe afterwards, while one thing you scoped, built and delivered gives you a story for interviews and gives them something to cite in a reference. Ask once you have handled a few tasks well. Before that, the honest answer is not yet.
Which of the tools you use here are worth my learning properly?
Why ask it
Your supervisor knows which software the whole field hires on and which is a quirk of this employer. Put your spare hours into the first kind, and settle for a working knowledge of the second.
Feedback
After I hand something in, how will I find out what you thought of it?
Why ask it
Silence after a submission usually means it was fine, but interns tend to read it as the opposite. Agreeing on a mechanism, even a one-line reply, stops the guessing. It also tells you whether to chase or wait when nothing comes back.
Is there anything I have been doing that you would rather I did differently?
Why ask it
Asking for correction before it is offered gets you small fixes while they are still small. A supervisor may hold back minor notes so as not to discourage a newcomer, and then they all arrive together in the final review.
Can we sit down at the midpoint and go through how the internship is going?
Why ask it
By the middle there is enough work to judge and enough time left to act on the verdict. Put it in the calendar during the first week, because nobody books a review in the busy stretch. If your school or HR has an evaluation form, bring it and use its headings.
What am I doing well that I might not realise matters?
Why ask it
Supervisors notice strengths they never mention: that you write things down, that your file names make sense, that you ask before a deadline and not after. Hearing it tells you what to protect when you get busy, and it gives you accurate words for your CV.
Could you walk me through the changes you made to my last piece?
Why ask it
Edits arrive without explanations, and copying the corrected version teaches you nothing about why. Five minutes on what each change was for shows you their standard directly. Pick a piece where the changes surprised you, not one with a few typos.
What would make me easier to supervise?
Why ask it
It invites the small logistical notes that never count as feedback: shorter messages, questions saved for the weekly slot, a subject line that says what you need. Those cost nothing to fix, and they shape how the placement is remembered.
If the internship ended today, what would you write in my evaluation?
Why ask it
It turns a vague sense of how things are going into the sentences that will end up on paper. Ask around two thirds of the way through, when a weak line can still be changed. If they hesitate over one area, ask what they would need to see there.
If I ever think a piece of feedback is off, how would you like me to raise it?
Why ask it
Better asked on a calm day than in the minute after a note that stung. Some supervisors want the objection there and then, and others would rather you tried it their way once and reported back. With the route agreed, you are not left choosing between giving in on something you got right and sounding defensive.
Career
How did you end up in this job?
Why ask it
Career paths are rarely as tidy as the job titles suggest. Listen for the turns: the job they nearly took, the person who vouched for them, the skill that got them moved across. Those are the parts you can use, and most people tell the story gladly.
What part of your job would surprise me?
Why ask it
Gets past the job description into where the hours go: the negotiating, the administration, the persuading. If the surprising part is one you would dislike, better to hear it during an internship than two years into the career.
What has kept you at this organisation?
Why ask it
People tend to answer this more candidly than a question about what they like in the job. The reasons, whether colleagues, flexibility, the mission or plain momentum, tell you what this employer offers once the novelty has gone. A long pause is information too.
What did you get wrong early in your career that I could skip?
Why ask it
Asking for a mistake gets a story, where asking for advice gets a slogan. Supervisors tend to name something specific: staying too long in a first job, never negotiating, avoiding the work they found intimidating. It is their story and not a rule, so keep the part that fits your situation.
If you were the intern here, what would you make sure to do before it ended?
Why ask it
Supervisors know which parts of the place are worth seeing that no task will take you to: a client visit, the monthly review, half an hour with whoever runs the budget. That list only appears when someone asks for it. Pick two and ask for help arranging them.
Which skills should I be practising on purpose, and which will come with time?
Why ask it
Some abilities build up through exposure and some need practice you have to go looking for. A supervisor who has watched people progress can tell you which of the two your gaps fall into, and what the practice looks like: a course, a side task, an hour a week beside a colleague.
What does the route into this field look like for someone starting now?
Why ask it
Ask about now rather than about their own start, since entry routes change. The answer tells you what the next step actually requires: a qualification, a portfolio, a certain kind of first job.
Is further study or a certification worth it in this field, or does experience count for more?
Why ask it
The answer varies by field, by country and sometimes by employer, so ask what they see when they read applications. Someone who hires can say whether a master's degree or a licence opens doors or only delays the first job. Get a second opinion before spending money on it.
What do you look for when you hire someone at entry level?
Why ask it
A supervisor who sits on hiring panels can tell you what separates the shortlist from the pile, and it is often not what students assume. Ask what they have seen on a CV or in an interview that made a candidate memorable, then hold your own up against it.
Before You Leave
Do interns here ever get hired on, and how is that decided?
Why ask it
Some organisations run a formal return-offer process with a date, and some hire only when a vacancy happens to open. Knowing which applies tells you whether to ask for a conversation now or to stay in touch. Raise it with a few weeks to go, since budgets are often settled before the last day.
Would you be willing to act as a reference, and what would you need from me to say yes?
Why ask it
Raise it while there are still a few weeks left, not on the last afternoon, so a hesitant answer leaves you time to act. "What would you need from me" usually gets something concrete: a finished project, a copy of your CV, a warning before anyone calls. If a course or a scholarship wants a written letter, say so now and give the deadline.
Who takes over my work when I go, and what do they need written down?
Why ask it
Interns tend to leave behind half-finished files that only they can read. A short handover note covering where things are, what is done and what you would do next keeps your work usable after you have gone. It is often the last thing a supervisor sees from you.
Could I show the team what I worked on before I finish?
Why ask it
A short slot at a team meeting puts your work in front of people other than your supervisor, which matters if any of them are later asked about you. Your supervisor also hears the whole placement summed up once, shortly before writing your evaluation.
Which parts of my work can I show in a portfolio or talk about in interviews?
Why ask it
Confidentiality rules differ by employer and sometimes by client, so do not assume. Get a clear answer on what you can show, what you can describe without figures, and what stays inside. If you signed an agreement at the start, ask how it applies here.
I am updating my CV. How would you describe the work I did here?
Why ask it
Their summary is a preview of what they would say on a reference call. If it matches how you would describe the work, borrow their wording. If it leaves out what you thought was your main contribution, mention it now while the details are fresh for both of you.
Now that it is nearly over, what should I do differently in my next job?
Why ask it
Feedback given at the end is often franker, because there is nothing left for either of you to manage. Ask for one thing, since a request for everything gets a polite nothing. Carry it into your next first week alongside whatever they said you did well.
May I keep in touch after I leave, and is email or LinkedIn better for you?
Why ask it
Asking permission means the later message is expected when it arrives. Take a personal address if they offer one, since work emails stop when people change jobs. Then send something within a few months: a short note on what you did next is enough.
What is the one thing you hope I take away from this internship?
Why ask it
Leave it for the last conversation, when the evaluation is written and nothing rides on the answer. Supervisors tend to skip the technical skills here and talk about how decisions get made, how people in the industry treat each other, or a habit they wish they had formed sooner. It makes a good line to quote back when you write to thank them.
Working With Your Internship Supervisor
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Setting up the relationship
Ask for a recurring slot rather than an open door
An open door means you interrupt at a bad moment or not at all. With fifteen minutes in the calendar each week, you always know when the next chance to ask is, and your supervisor is interrupted less in between.
Bring a list, not a stream
Batch the non-urgent questions and bring them to the slot. Two per day by message reads as needing constant attention; six in one sitting reads as organised.
Close the loop out loud
When you act on something they said, tell them briefly: "I moved the summary to the top, as you suggested." A supervisor who has given a note wants to know it landed, and will not always spot the change unprompted.
If the placement is for credit, bring the forms early
Learning plans, hour logs and final evaluations all need your supervisor's time, and schools set their own deadlines for them. Show the paperwork in the first week and agree who fills in what, so nothing has to be signed in a hurry on your last afternoon.
When to ask what
First week
- 1What a good start looks like, and how long to stay stuck before you ask.
- 2Two or three goals for the placement, written down.
- 3How they want updates, a standing time to meet, and how to reach them when they are busy.
- 4How finished a first draft should be, and what needs their sign-off before it goes out.
- 5Any school paperwork: the learning plan, the hour log and who signs them.
Halfway
- 1Anything they would rather you did differently, asked directly.
- 2A sit-down review, with the evaluation form in front of you if there is one.
- 3A project you could own from start to finish, if you have handled the small tasks well.
- 4Introductions you have not yet made, while there is time to make them.
Final weeks
- 1Whether interns are ever hired on, raised while the answer can still change something.
- 2The reference conversation, including what they would need from you.
- 3Handover: who inherits what you were doing, and what needs writing down.
- 4What you may show or describe from your work once you have left.
- 5One thing to do differently in your next job, and the career questions you have been saving.
Common mistakes
Hiding the fact that you are stuck
A day lost to protecting your own credibility costs far more than the question would have. Supervisors remember the intern who lost a week silently, not the one who asked twice.
Asking how you are doing in general
"How am I doing?" gets "fine" from almost everyone. Point at one piece of work, or one habit, and ask about that. Most of the questions under Feedback are built this way for that reason.
Asking for career advice before doing the work
Questions about the industry land better once you have delivered something. Early on, the questions that build standing are about the work in front of you.
Leaving the reference until the last day
By then the placement is over and there is nothing left to adjust. Raised with a few weeks to go, the answer becomes a set of instructions you can still follow.