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Intern Insights

By William Lowell, Business Development Directives

What every hiring manager should know

What are the secrets to a successful internship? Business Development Directives in Milwaukee has come up with several simple guidelines:

1. Plan ahead. Before meeting with the intern advisor, clearly identify the role you will want your intern to play. Include other staff members. Not only will you help define the role more quickly; there'll be ground-floor support from the entire team for the relationship to be successful.

2. Choose the intern supervisor wisely. The individual in your business who works with the intern will need extra time to properly train this new support person. The best supervisors are those who have been interns sometime in the past. I would have only one person be the supervisor.

3. Give your intern a proper orientation. Like any new employee, the intern needs an introduction to your company, culture and way of doing business. Introductions to key staff members are equally important and go far in building a real sense of "belonging."

4. Make a list of expectations. Ask your intern to do the same. Sharing these expectations will help you both better manage the relationship. Consider working together with the intern to develop a set of educational objectives.

5. Consider a paid internship. Though there are those who believe that unpaid interns won't do a good job, this is not necessarily true. The intern is already "paid" by the university in credit earned. In my experience, half the employers will pay their interns. The other half do not. If they do pay, the average wage is $7 to $10 per hour. Some employers may provide only credits, but will offer a small stipend, pay a semester's tuition or reimburse the student for travel or parking expenses.

6. Recommend that your intern keep a daily or weekly journal. It is not only an excellent tool for you both to share during reviews, but it will also be valuable to the interns as they begin to develop their professional portfolio. Some of our early interns developed an intern manual to give the next wave of interns a running head start.

7. There are good and bad interns. Just like your employees, not all interns are alike. Take your time to do your homework, pick a good one. If you have a bad experience, it does not mean the next intern will be. Remember, however, internships do come to an end. Pick a clear start date and end date. Make sure this date is adhered to.

8. Plan an exit interview. Use your interns as resources for information about how well your business assimilates new employees. It will also allow you to keep the door open for other internship opportunities down the road. Wouldn't this be an ideal time for a job offer when you come across that exceptional intern?

9. Build relationships with a few intern directors at a nearby university. Like other relationships, once they are established the intern director will know the needs of your organization and recommend the better students, at least the ones that match your culture, work ethic and management style.

What every intern wants to know

At the end of each intern experience, I ask students to share their thoughts on what they wish they had asked about at the beginning of the internship. Following are some responses.

1. What will a typical day be like?

2. What are my specific jobs and duties, and what type of workload will I have?

3. Could you share the process of how work is done in this office?

4. What is the office culture? Is there a dress code?

5. Are there any required meetings I must attend, and what are they? Am I expected to attend important meetings if they conflict with my class schedule?

6. Are there opportunities for participating in company educational activities?

7. What computer programs do I need to know?

8. Who do I turn to if I make a mistake?

9. How much training will I receive before I am expected to work on my own?

10. Is there a possibility of staying on in the future?