Whether you need an extra set of hands for a period of time or for a specific project – or you are looking to identify a potential future new hire, hiring interns can help you meet your human resource needs. Additionally, you will be providing opportunities for students to gain experience, develop skills, and assess their interests and abilities.
Internships can be an integral part of your workforce development strategy. Make the most of it by putting the time into creating a successful program.
Creating A Successful Intern Experience
Here are some suggestions to make your internship program successful.
- Set specific goals and expectations
- Explain their role (including how it fits into the department/overall organization)
- Don’t skimp on orientation – outline office policies and procedures and any logistics that could help the interns succeed (remember, this could be your interns first professional experience)
- Provide your interns with the resources they will need to be successful
- Assign a buddy/mentor or intern champion. If you have a group of interns, consider having an intern coordinator.
- Consider allowing for some job shadowing experiences to help your interns acclimate.
- Train the interns in any technical or software skills they will need to perform in the position.
- Give them opportunities to learn and use their skills. Provide meaningful work.
- Provide regular and ongoing feedback throughout the internship.
- Treat them as part of the team. Include them in any social or team-building activities. If you have a group of interns, consider social activities for the intern group itself. Help them feel part of your community.
- Keep the lines of communication open – make sure they feel comfortable asking questions and coming to you with any concerns
- Organize ongoing intern projects (that may be outside the scope of their role) to help your interns use any downtime they experience productively – e.g. update your website, create social media campaigns, conduct market research, create a customer satisfaction survey, clean up your database, create an intern toolkit (for your future interns), etc. Be sure to explain the positive impact this project will have on your organization.
- Recognize your interns and show appreciation for their contributions.
- Demonstrate interest in their growth and development, be supportive, make yourself available and show them your passion for what you do.
- Conduct exit meetings to identify ways to improve your program
Provide Interns with Tips for Success
Of course, your interns can also impact how successful their experience is. You might suggest that your interns:
- Set their own goals/objectives for the internship
- Ask questions and make sure they fully understand your expectations/goals
- Follow through on all projects and assignments
- Be positive
- Remain open and receptive to feedback (and ask for it)
- Seek out and take advantage of every opportunity (even if it seems insignificant, they will understand how it fits into the big picture when they look back)
- Network – help them understand that they are in a prime position to begin developing their professional network by meeting with your staff and learning about their experiences and career paths
- Do not let any issues or concerns fester – communicate
Creating a positive and rewarding internship experience can help you get more done, strengthen your employer brand, and help you develop your talent pipeline for the future.
Creating a positive and rewarding internship experience can help you get more done, strengthen your employer brand, and help you develop your talent pipeline for the future.
And, it can affect your on campus recruiting efforts. Your interns will return to their college campuses talking about their experience with your company. In fact, you may decide to set up a campus ambassador program.
Employing interns can help you meet your business needs and provide experiential opportunities – a win-win situation when done right.
If Pfautz Consulting Group, LLC can help you create a successful internship program, please contact us.
Submitted by Deborah M. McCormick