Every spring, thousands of college students begin scouring the internet, combing through job postings, social media, and company websites, looking for internships. And internship season is no joke. You’re looking for an internship that not only satisfies school credit and looks good on your resume, but also one that will give you some insight into what you might want to do with your career. Not to mention you’re competing with hundreds, if not thousands, of other college students looking to do the same.

Then once you find that perfect internship (or two or three), you have to apply, which usually means crafting a cover letter and updating your resume — a challenge all on its own. Typically, there’s also an interview, and maybe that’s the first job interview you’ve ever had. They’ll ask about your five-year or ten-year plan, and let’s be honest, most of us don’t even know what we’re eating for dinner tonight. But we muddle through and hope our interviewer can see past our anxiety-ridden answers.

It’s a stressful time — we’ve all been there.

Then comes after. You get the call, you’ve gotten the internship, and you celebrate because it’s a huge accomplishment — and it is! Internships are competitive, not easy to come by, and you should be proud of yourself.

But then what? This is the point when so many of us go on autopilot. We think the hard work is done, and now we’ll just be sitting in meetings and doing busy work. But that’s not true, this is when the fun begins — when we have the opportunity to step into an office and make the most of our experience.

So how do you do that? How do you make the most of an internship experience? Well, to put it in the simplest terms: be honest with yourself and transparent with your supervisor. Now I’m not talking a no-holds-barred approach where you say everything that comes to mind. But rather when it comes to your career interests or the items on your project list, you’ll get the most from identifying what you’re passionate about and, frankly, what you’re not.

The things you find you are passionate about — lean into them. If you find that you love helping out with video shoots, note that. Tell your supervisor. Be the first to raise your hand for the next video shoot. If you find that you’re passionate about building spreadsheets in Excel, pursue that. Ask your supervisor how you can help the team, or where you can find resources to continue developing those skills.

These are the months in which you should be asking questions and getting involved in as many projects, teams, and departments as you can. You should be operating outside your comfort zone, because once you leave that internship, you likely won’t have those opportunities again.

Now, with that being said, there are still responsibilities and projects you will be assigned that you may not enjoy. And that’s okay — but take the time to do them to the best of your ability. At the end of the day, whether or not you want to admit it, the things you don’t like in a job will teach you more than the things you do like. Plus, you’ll be able to take note of those less appealing things and know what not to look for in a next internship or professional position.

Because the truth is, you only get a few months in that role, and in that internship. And while it may feel like the days drag on right now, the months and years will go by quickly, and there will be a time when you’ll miss those experiences.

To learn more about internship opportunities with Reynolds, or to apply for a professional position, visit Reynolds Careers.