????很久以前，我們兩人中有一個人的暑期實習項目是陪老板打高爾夫。當時這個在校大學生的差點（差點數是高爾夫球中，選手完成一個回合的比賽實際需要的桿數減去球場的標準桿數所得數字——編者注）達到了個位數，老板非常欣賞。實際上，此君實習期間并沒做多少實質性的工作，但這似乎并不重要，尤其是對老板而言。而另外一個人（此君打高爾夫球的點數太差勁，連家庭紀錄都羞于提及）的暑期實習項目則是到處問別人：“需要把雞蛋分開包裝嗎？”確實無聊透頂，不過，如果你的工作就是找不自在的話，這個實習項目還是相當不錯的。

????就像歌中唱的那樣：“朋友們，過去的日子多么美好啊。我們都曾以為好日子永遠不會到頭……”

????其實，好花不常開。好日子真的一去不復返了。鑒于眾所周知的經濟狀況，為了能在心儀的領域得到一個初級職位，大部分大學畢業生不得不絞盡腦汁，一路奮戰到底。其中有多達25%的學生甚至連進門面試的機會都沒有。

????今年的畢業生別再指望能像他們的父輩，或者甚至像他們的哥哥姐姐那樣度過暑期實習期了。在那個年代，不論是在什么行業，暑期實習生去上班只不過是打發時間，等到周末則去度假，每天上班最大的好處就是：感謝上帝，終于不用上課，也不用參加考試了。

????相反，實習生們應該懷著這樣的心理：等畢業時要想找到一份實實在在的、有趣的工作，這個夏天或許是一個最好的機會。當然前提是他們能夠記住兩件“小”事情。

????好吧，其實不能說是“小”事。

????首先要搞清楚，在這個暑期，誰得放低身段？當然，興致很高的招聘人員們可能會信誓旦旦地表示，實習的目的是讓你接觸公司的優秀員工和文化，幫助實習生獲得寶貴的行業經驗，這些好聽的話不妨先聽著。不過你要遵循的底線是，不論是在投資銀行還是電臺，暑期實習更多的是要付出而不是獲取。最主要的是在實習期間要有上佳表現，能夠超額完成任務，并用自己極富洞察力、獨到的點子打動公司，用注重細節的表現在人們心目中留下這樣的印象：“嘖嘖，這孩子真的很想得到這份工作。”

????你需要做一些事情，凸顯出老板的“英雄”形象。比如，建議對流程進行小范圍的改進，提出一個超酷的包裝點子，就客戶群提出深刻見解等。你可以做任何事情，只要讓老板這樣想：“如果這小子為競爭對手工作，那簡直糟透了。”事實上，實習的每一天都得追求這種效果。

????Once upon a time – i.e., eons ago – one of us had a summer internship that mainly involved playing golf with the boss, who appreciated the company of a college kid with a single-digit handicap. Not much work got done, but it didn't seem to matter, particularly to the boss. The other one of us (the one whose handicap is so obscene it can't be printed in a family publication) once had a summer job that revolved around asking, "Would you like your eggs bagged separately?" It was boring, sure, but the hours were great if hitting the pool is your kind of thing.

????As the song goes, "Those were the days, my friends. We thought they'd never end…."

????Well, they did. They really, really did. Today, due to economic conditions that need no explanation, most college grads have to fight and claw for entry-level jobs in their chosen fields, and many, perhaps as many as 25%, aren't even able to get a well-shined shoe in the door.

????So say goodbye to your father's, or even your older brother's, summer internship, when the office was, for all intents and purposes, where you passed the time between weekends at Cape Cod, and the best thing about going to work each day was that it meant -- hallelujah! -- you weren't going to classes or taking exams.

????Say hello instead to a summer that offers what might be your best hope of landing a real, live job upon graduation. That is -- if you can just remember two little things.

????O.K., maybe they aren't little.

????The first is to be keenly aware of who is courting whom this summer. Sure, the cheerful hiring people might have assured you that your internship is designed to introduce you to the company's wonderful staff and culture and help you gain valuable industry experience, which is all well and good. Take that stuff in. But the bottom line is that, whether you're working at an investment bank or a radio station, your summer internship should be more about giving than getting. Indeed, it should primarily be about you giving a helluva performance, over-delivering, making an impression with your insightful, unexpected ideas and terrific, sweat-the-details kind of output that prompts people to say, "Holy Cow, this kid really wants it."

????You need to do stuff that makes your boss look like a hero. Suggest a small process improvement, come up with a cool packaging idea, offer deep-dive insights into a customer segment. Do something, anything, that might make your boss think, "It would really stink if this kid worked at one of our competitors." That's the kind of wow you're after…every single day.