Tag Archives: internship

Professional Development , , Leave a comment

Interns Go Virtual

by

As a result of the COVID-19 shutdown, organizations around the world quickly made changes to how business was done and in many companies, a support system for the usual summer internship program was part of the updates. Perhaps company leaders realized that virtual internships present a unique opportunity for their program to operate across geographical boundaries and greatly expand the pool of desirable candidates?

Academic institutions likewise pivoted to remote during the 2020 shutdown and readied to enable internship programs in the new normal work and education environment. In May 2020, the University of Wisconsin at Madison released a white paper that discussed virtual format internships, their benefits for both the student intern and the hiring company and how to make the experience successful and rewarding for both parties. http://ccwt.wceruw.org/documents/CCWT_Report%20%2310_Online_Internships_Lit_Review_May2020.pdf

Freelancers and small business owners and leaders will occasionally bring in an intern or two, typically as a way to gain a reasonably capable assistant who can be trained to handle uncomplicated professional level tasks for just a few hours per week, at a modest pay scale. Introducing to your business a young person who will bring fresh perspectives and a familiarity with recent technologies that you and your team may not possess stands to improve productivity, profitability and the customer experience at your organization. The internship experience that you initiate may become a way to move your company more decisively into the 21st century.

While the virtual format does have drawbacks—like the increased difficulty (or impossibility) of providing your intern with sufficient networking and relationship-building opportunities with colleagues, interns can still attain a variety of benefits in the remote workplace.

Finding interns

College career centers and academic departments are your source for obtaining information and resources about either hiring an intern or establishing a formal internship program at your organization. Share your business needs and expectations with school officials to determine whether undergraduate seniors or graduate students will be most appropriate. Because schools have a vested interest in workforce preparation and employment outcomes for their students, they can be trusted to help you make the right choice.

Choose the right projects

Social media is often a natural fit for interns because they grew up with social media and probably understands the subtle differences between SnapChat and TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest. Discuss the customer demographics and presumed social media strategy with your intern, who will be tasked with helping you realize objectives.

Your intern might also be asked to create a stock image library for posts, shoot videos on a cell phone and create text content as well, in accordance with the company brand story and target customers. You can also ask a social media intern to conduct a competitive audit to let you know what your 3-4 closest competitors are posting, specifically the platforms used and how they communicate with customers.

Bookkeeping interns could be asked to prepare quarterly taxes for customers. Web design interns can be asked to write code and assist with website updates. Graphic design interns can work on logos and draft marketing collaterals. IT interns can take help desk calls and set up the controls for videoconferences. Although it will be done virtually, always review your intern’s work and give praise where it is due and corrections with diplomacy.

Intern support system

Consider how you can create online support for your intern that will include your company needs, the school’s reporting and course credit requirements, plus intern guidance and mentoring. Your goal is to promote a successful and rewarding experience for the intern and yourself/ the business. 

Schedule daily videoconference 1:1s to discuss the intern’s projects and your expectations for performance milestones and completion dates. If you haven’t been using online communication tools beyond email and Skype, for example, encourage your intern to suggest his/her preferred messaging and workflow systems, such as Slack or Asana and give your intern professional validation when s/he gets to teach you something. Institute systems also to allow the intern to interact with other team members, if there are any and encourage relationship-building and networking.

On balance

So what does the Freelancer win when working with an intern? Useful work and good karma. You get some low level, but nevertheless professional grade, work done for not a lot of money. Plus, mentoring in the form of professional development that introduces a young person to the adult work environment, its expectations and responsibilities, is so nurturing and generous (although not everyone has the patience for it).

The downside is that interns need more supervision than working adults and they can be unavailable during final exams or spring break. But then again, who among us does not need occasional time off? Anyway, you never know— in a few years, your intern might flip the script and hire you for an assignment when s/he has gone on to a good corporate job.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © DanceParent101

Administrative , , Leave a comment

How to Hire an Intern

by

Perhaps by some miracle business has picked up and you need some help,  maybe for just a few hours each week.  You foresee that your need for help could last for some time and you’re ready to commit to a trial of at least six months.  You don’t have much money to spare,  but see that you’re probably losing money as you spend time performing certain functions that could  be handed over to less expensive labor,  which would allow you to focus on the vital aspects of client projects,  search for more billable hours and engage in other business-building activities.  Bringing on an intern may be the solution to your dilemma.

If you live in a locale with at least one college or university,  then you may have a source of interns to help you with business needs.  Interns can be a valuable resource,  especially for those who cannot afford to hire full-time employees.  With some planning,  a busy Freelancer can devise a win-win situation for both business and intern.

Plan to  offer a paid  internship.   Unpaid internships narrow your candidate pool more than you may realize.  In today’s economy,  many students must generate an income.  College has become wildly expensive and students and/or their parents often go into significant debt to finance their education.  Daddy may not be able to send spending money every month.

Paid internships provide a student with the tangible benefits of relevant work experience,  a reference for future full-time employment or graduate school application and a much-needed paycheck.  Moreover,  unpaid internships may present a legal snafu.  Strict federal and sometime state guidelines limit the hiring of unpaid interns to discourage student exploitation.  If you can find an intern whose financial aid package includes work/study,  the grant will absorb some of the hourly rate cost and save you money.

Start your search by thinking carefully about which tasks can be farmed out to an employee.  Be mindful that internships are not designed to provide businesses with low-level labor performed at low pay,  but rather to provide apprentice-level  learning opportunities.  Be realistic about what you can offer an intern.  Be prepared also to provide adequate instruction and supervision,  because you will be dealing with a young person who will need some guidance.

Next,  contact the school’s career services department or academic department that aligns with your professional needs  (e.g., communications or computer science or business).  Colleges are very eager to help match interns with prospective employers because that makes them look good.  Be ready with a basic job description and qualifications  (like web design or writing skills),  as well as what level of students you will work with  ( seniors, most likely). 

Remember also that students live on the academic calendar.  That means they disappear from about December 15 – January 15 for Christmas break,  they may disappear for a week during the April spring break and they may go home on May 15,  unless they can afford to stay in town for the summer or it’s convenient to commute in.

Plan to interview at least three or four candidates before you make your selection.  When you make an offer,  institute a 30 – 60 day trial period,  at which point you can decide whether the arrangement is working out.  Create the conditions for success by thinking through and communicating expectations clearly.  Discuss with your intern what s/he will be able to learn and be transparent about how performance will be measured.  Expect to spend time supervising your intern and maybe also explaining things twice. 

Empower your intern to show some autonomy and creativity once things get rolling.  Invite your intern to make some suggestions and offer opinions.  You never know,  you might learn something useful and you’ll show the intern that s/he is valuable. 

Always treat your intern with respect.  Assign meaningful work and provide the required training,  tools and follow-up to ensure that tasks are performed satisfactorily.  Offering an internship is your chance to mentor a young person and the rewards can be personal as well as professional for both parties. 

In the ideal circumstance,  your intern will give you the time to expand billable hours to such a level that you can offer to hire him/her full-time,  the ultimate win-win situation.  Good luck!

Thanks for reading,

Kim