In this video, I’m breaking down what actually helped me stand out during my internships (including Amazon) and secure that return offer. I start with the core skills that make your day-to-day way less painful: getting comfortable reading unfamiliar code, handling bugs, writing tests, working with APIs, and understanding databases. But the most overlooked skill in my opinion is Git—knowing the workflow and etiquette (and even just refreshing commands like status/add) can literally save you so much headache. Bonus: get good at Googling. It sounds simple, but asking the right questions and interpreting answers is a real skill. Then I get into the strategies that made the biggest difference for me: documentation, consistent feedback, and asking questions the right way. I can’t stress documentation enough—write down what you did, your wins/losses each week, and feedback from your manager/mentor, because they’re not going to remember every detail and you’ll need it for self-evals, performance reviews, and your resume. I also talk about design docs (even if no one asks), taking ownership of your project with clear justification, and building connections by networking with engineers. And yes—if anyone asks if you want to come back, just say yes. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.