Internship Behavior You Might Live to Regret!

Denning McTague, the 40-year old intern who stole more than 150 Civil War documents -- including the War Department's announcement of President Lincoln's death - from the National Archives of Philadelphia is a shining example of what NOT to do while on internship. Not only was he brazen enough to think he could walk away with a nation's treasures, he thought he could sell them on E-Bay without anyone knowing.

As the summer approaches and summer internship season for college students kick into high gear, it's a good time to recap some don'ts to which interns might want to pay closer attention.

Don't get too personal and think you are one of the guys. You're not. You are still in test mode and the relationship can still be terminated mid internship.

Interns need to understand that as much as the company wants them to feel comfortable being there, they are still not really a part of the team. Be very cautious about getting into conversations that are too personal. Avoid becoming a knot in the office grapevine and do not become a part of the rumor mill. Keep your interactions professional. Try the following to exit a conversation that you think is heading in the wrong direction:

"I need to get a packet over to xyz department by..."

"I want to put some more time in on the xyz project today, nice talking with you"

"I wanted to speak with xyz before lunch"

Don't answer your cell phone every single time it rings. We get it - You're important to people who need to call you about everything, everytime.