School’s almost out for summer, which means many companies will be turning to interns for a much-needed assist. Smart move … if you sidestep these three common mistakes.
Interns may be a more attractive strategy than ever this year, as most companies are running as lean as possible with their regular staffing levels.
To ensure your business and the interns on board benefit, steer clear of these intern user-errors:
Mistake #1: Companies relegate them to “go-fer” status
Sure, those filing cabinets do need to be thinned out. But that’s not the only type of work you want to tap interns for. These folks have skills: accounting, technology, etc. Encourage managers to do a little digging in the screening process so they’ll know the strengths to make the most of.
Mistake #2: Companies don’t give them the tools they need
Many times interns barely get a spot to work, much less a PC, phone extension, etc. Sends the wrong message. The same goes for training – a little orientation can go a long way towards setting this person up for success.
Mistake #3: Companies view the arrangement as short-term
Granted the college kid you hire for two months may not retire with the gold watch after 50 years with you. But it could evolve into a longer stay down the road if the fit is right.
Compliance caution
Beware: The Department of Labor has announced it’s on the warpath for companies whose unpaid internships violate wage and hour laws. And the agency thinks most do. So tread carefully. For more on the DOL and its internship rules, go here.
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Tags: compliance, department of labor, interns
May 4th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Your tips are great as far as they go, but as CEO of InternMatch.com the fastest growing intern matching company, there are a couple of more tips which I have learned are important.
1. Dates. You will need to determine specifically when the start and complete dates of the internship. Sometimes it is important to hit certain time requirements for the intern’s major. Their requirements may be just a few weeks or as much as a year. Check with schools to see what their requirements might be for the kind of position you are offering.
2. General Description. Create a one sentence description of the internship position. This will help both you and the prospective intern know what they are there for.
3. Support. Remember that HR will have to process paperwork. While many internships required for college credit or graduation assess the student based on the hours they put in, often someone will need to be assigned to assess the intern’s progress and participate in recommending a grade for their work.
4. Employee Buy-in. Too often, employees find it easier to do certain jobs themselves than train an intern for that responsibility. Make sure that there is some department or companywide buy-in of the intern training process so that employees clearly understand the benefit of taking the extra time for inter training. It will also be important that superiors understand that initially, extra time will be needed for a deliverable to be completed that involves an intern.
5. They Ain’t Free: While the use of interns is usually quite cost effective, it rarely is cost free. An intern will be most likely using supplies, taking up space, and often require job specific training. Do plan your budget accordingly.
6. Specific Duties. The key here is the word “specific”. This is the section where you talk about the skill sets they you are looking for and what responsibilities the intern will be assuming. Hire for specific tasks. You can always expand their duties later on if you think they are capable of assuming greater responsibility. But be assured, the more comprehensive the list the better. You need to plan on their doing enough work to fill the hourly time allotted to them. This plan will help you clarify how the intern can be most effectively used by your business. Make this description as comprehensive as you would when advertising for a regular paid position. It will be important for the intern to have enough work to do.
7. Communicate. Let the intern know if the internship involves “grunt work”, unpleasant or boring tasks. Make sure you get the buy-in of the prospective intern before you commit to them. The intern needs to be both qualified and willing.
8. Testing. Determine what tests you want to put the intern though during the interviewing process. A young woman applied for an internship that required some writing and editing. She showed up for the interview with something she had written at school and was hired based, in large part, on that piece of work. After she started the internship, however, it became apparent that she had no talent for writing. While she most likely had written the piece she had come in with, it obviously had been highly edited by her professor.