Making the Most Out of Your Internship Program

Having quality internships means you’re doing something right. Although a good number of companies might not pay much attention to theirs, conducting an internship program well can pose a lot of of advantages to the organization.

For one, you get to be able to nurture someone who could be your future talent and free your regular staff of a couple of trivial tasks. “Internships are not just a way of attracting full-time candidates; they’re a way of finding and hiring new full-time employees who are very familiar with your corporate culture,” says Brian Hamilton, Sageworks chairman and co-founder. So how do you get the most out of an internship program? Below are some tips to get started.

Find the Right Interns

In order to make the most out of your internship program, you have to hire the right candidates. Just like hiring for a regular job, you have to take into account whether they meet all relevant qualifications that the role requires. This means assessing their skills, as well as the behavioral and cultural fit between the candidate and the company.

Hold an Intern Orientation Meeting

Since your newly hired interns probably never had any previous job, it would be best to conduct an orientation meeting where they’ll be told what will be expected of them. This way, they won’t get to start blindly. Also include other aspects of their job such as hours, dress code, safety regulations, and any other related information that they have to know.

Design the Kind of Internship Program That Will Work for You

Every company is different as well as each department operating under it. To make sure that your internship program can properly fulfill its goal, you need to design it according to the needs of a specific department. In order to do this, you need to ask around the department what academic and background experience they need for the role they’re looking to fill as well as any qualifications they want you to consider upon hiring.

Have a Mentor/Supervisor

Last, but not the least, have someone to guide them. Since they’re newcomers to the corporate field, it’s best to have someone guide them along the way so each intern’s potential can be unlocked and fully utilized.

Wrapping Up

These steps can help you create an excellent program for interns that will simultaneously serve to help your business. Their efforts will not only provide your company an added advantage, but making the most out of your program means better outcome for your business in the long run.