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Walking into HP Inc.’s massive Palo Alto campus on the first day of my summer internship was more than just a little daunting.

As an 18-year-old woman at a Fortune 500 tech company, I was sure that the learning curve ahead of me was a steep one. I knew little about my environment, my new team, or what challenges I would face.

After learning from my peers, from my own mistakes, and through some sage, heart-to-heart advice from hardworking executives who know the ropes, I have more knowledge under my belt than I could have ever imagined when I first stepped into corporate life two months ago.

Here are five tips that every young person starting a career – whether an intern at HP or anywhere else-- should know. It’s what will stick with me long after I’m back at school.

1) Relationships matter. This is the first thing that Vanessa Yanez—the head of Corporate Communications at HP—told all the interns on our team. You can’t advance in your career if you don’t build excellent relationships with those around you, and you never know when these relationships will benefit you later in life, she said. She’s proof of this strategy. Vanessa built her relationship with HP’s Chief Marketing Officer Antonio Lucio prior to coming to HP by first connecting with him on Twitter, and now she’s leading the team that’s reinventing HP’s iconic brand. 

2) Distinguish yourself. You are not just your name, your department or your title. I had the opportunity to meet HP’s Chief Diversity Officer Lesley Slaton Brown at an intern event. Instead of saying, “Hello, I’m an intern,” I made sure she knew that I was also a Women and Gender Studies major, and was highly interested in the topic of corporate diversity in Silicon Valley. By sharing a bit more than was expected about myself, followed by some fun interactions on Twitter, I helped foster a connection. I’ve learned how important it is to show people who you are.

3) Never feel lesser. This advice was given to me by HP’s Chief Human Resources Officer Tracy Keogh, who addressed young women building careers in the tech industry. It isn’t always easy to feel included when you’re the newcomer or among team members with varying backgrounds and levels of experience. Being the youngest on my team, I have struggled with this. I’ve seen just how important it is to push yourself and to seek out commonalities, because the end game promises a more valuable experience and a higher chance of success.

4) Speak up. HP’s Keogh also shared this gem with me: Always be vocal about your ideas and your needs. If you stay quiet, you stay unheard, and you lose your ability to make change, she said. Whether it be sharing an idea with your peers or your boss, asking for help, or voicing your concerns—the person who speaks up is counted. If your boss doesn’t know your interests, ideas, or problems then they can’t manage as effectively and you can’t live up to your full potential. As Keogh said, “You have the ability to make change.”

5) Be confident. This is the most important thing I learned from Keogh, and the trait she wishes she had acquired earlier in her career. If you doubt your abilities, others will, too. Confidence is key, and will help you to succeed in any situation that you face. 

As the summer comes to a close and this year’s cohort of HP interns prepares to head back to school, I’m reflecting on my time here.

Every day at HP is a learning experience and every day is a chance to reinvent. With guidance from new friends, colleagues and mentors at HP, I’ve realized that as long as you are learning, you are succeeding.