Why Hire an Intern?

Even as a small business owner, I support interns when I have projects that provide a learning experience. I had 9 internships during my undergraduate and graduate degrees and have had several interns work for me in the past. This is a practice I intend to continue.

In this series I will review the following…

1. Why should you think about having interns?
2. What type of projects can interns handle?
3. What are the benefits of Interns for you and them?
4. How do you find interns?
5. Do you have to pay interns?
6. Should there be a formal agreement with the Intern?

Tip 1 – Why should you think about having Interns?

The number one reason to hire an intern is the benefit they can provide your organization. Interns can bring new ideas and new technology to your organization. They can work on projects that otherwise wouldn’t be addressed. Whether you are a one person organization or large corporation internships can be beneficial.

On a more personal note, if you were an intern when you were young or in college you know how grateful you were to get an opportunity to learn and show what you could do if given the chance. This is your chance to give back or pay it forward to the next generation. As you have heard, many college graduates can’t find a job because they only have their education but not the experience and they are competing against candidates with experience. Good internships will provide students with the experience they need.

I had a graduate program that required an internship each semester. I found it made the education process more fulfilling because I could see how my studies related or didn’t relate to the real world. I will review the other tips in the series to follow.

Questions? Contact me today!

Tip 2 – What type of projects can Interns handle?

In our last post we talked about why you should consider hiring an intern. In this post I would like to explore the types of projects that are ideal for an internship. Interns can handle any project that an employee can handle depending on the individual and the supervision provided

• Projects that include technology are often ideal since younger workers tend to be skilled in this area. This can include developing presentations in Publisher, Power Point or other software.
• Social Media updates are an excellent project as long as you provide some guidelines of what is acceptable on your various platforms.
• Content marketing is another option such as posting and writing blogs.
• Internet research is ideal for new projects, finding clients, researching the competition, or investigating product options related to your next purchase.
• Bookkeeping activities are great for accounting students
• Recording and analysis of data using Excel, Access or other data base systems
• Screening potential candidates for positions or other interns will allow the intern to learn about recruitment processes
• The list can go on depending upon your business needs

When I was an intern as an undergraduate I prepared an environmental assessment for a grant application and developed a comparison of Police Union contract benefits (before Excel) using the old green lined accounting paper. Twenty years later I completed both projects in my full time management position. Just be sure the tasks you need accomplish fit the interest and skill set of your intern.

Questions? Contact me today!

Tip 3 – What are the benefits of Interns for you and them?

We touched on this in the first blog post in this series but I’d like to expand on this topic a little further. There are many benefits to using an intern for both the company and the student.

For the company the benefits include:

• Getting projects completed that would have stayed on the back burner by bringing in skills to your office that may not have been available
• Mentoring someone for a potential job in the future with you or others in the company
• Improving upon your training skills as you work with the intern
• Being re-energized by the intern who is enthusiastic to learn and share their ideas
• Increasing your productivity
• Feeling good about giving back and paying it forward to someone else

The Benefits for the Intern are numerous:

• Opportunity to learn if this type of work is really what they want to do
• Chance to see how things are really implemented rather than just reading about it
• Ability to get extra credit for the internship
• Learning from a professional – You!
• Possibility of leading to a full time position
• Learn about the responsibilities of a real job including business etiquette and practices
• Produce work they can be proud of and that they can use their new experience on their resume or for class projects

I had an internship that included assisting with preparation of a grant, which was also a final project requirement for my Bachelor’s. I worked with my supervisor to prepare and submit the grant which was awarded to the Town. Subsequently, I received an A since the grant process was successful.

Questions? Contact me today!

Tip 4 – How do you find Interns?

You’ve decided that an intern would be ideal for your company, what now? There are several ways to find interns. One of the best places to start is your local College or University. Many higher education programs now require internships (if they don’t they should). Several Universities have someone assigned to serve as the liaison for internships. If not, you can contact the department or major that is most closely related to your business (i.e. Accounting, Master’s in Business Administration, Communication, Technology, etc.).

Many professional associations have internship programs and they make direct contact with the colleges for you. Another option is your local workforce board. Many of them have youth work study programs. These are local students that often can work year round in some capacity, which helps alleviate the need to constantly train someone new.

Many firms have set up internships that require students to submit applications with the idea that after they train the intern and provide them with specific rotations in their firm they will be placed into a full time job. Since more people are talking about internships for college students there are now companies that are specifically available to find you interns for a fee and assist you with the whole process.

As a Human Resource professional and business owner, I was contacted by a University Professor who serves as the advisor to HR students. I am now getting resumes directly from students who have been referred to me by the Professor. This helps to ensure my internship opportunities match the right intern.

Questions? Contact me today!

Tip 5 – Do you have to pay Interns?

Now that you have a project in mind, the next question is… Do I have to pay my intern? It’s pretty easy to make this determination by looking at the scope of the internship.

1. If the intern is doing work that you would have done yourself or had another employee handle then you need to treat them like a paid intern. You must pay them minimum wage or higher. The term intern indicates it is a temporary position and they are not considered an employee. But they could become an employee if they work full time and for more than 6 months then you may be crossing the line between intern and employee.

2. If the internship is part of a college/university course then you may not have to pay them. Since it is part of their class requirements it will be used as a learning experience. These types of internships usually require the student to keep a journal of their work and require you as the supervisor to prepare reports and evaluations about the students’ performance. If you can prove that the internship is fully a learning experience and not replacing an employee or not performing work that would be done by an employee if you did not have an intern then you may not have to pay them. However, in this case I would recommend that you consult with a labor attorney so you do not get fined by the Department of Labor.

Overall, be fair. If the intern is learning a great deal, getting credit and only putting in a couple hours a week, then an unpaid internship may be okay. However, if the work they are doing contributes to the success of the company and they are putting in a lot of hours, the intern really should be compensated.

Questions? Contact me today!