Interns may be at the bottom of the professional food chain, but they can bring a lot to the office: youthful enthusiasm, fresh ideas, tech savviness, and maybe even your next hire. The trick is figuring out how to quickly integrate these inexperienced workers into the fold. To build a winning internship program, you need to put students in a position to add value to the team and learn a few things along the way.
It might be tempting to think of young people as free or low-cost labor, but like everything else at work, you'll only get out of an internship program what you put into it. "There's a lot of responsibility as an employer working with an inexperienced person," says Carla Vilar, director of HR at The Wonderfactory, a New York-based media marketing and design firm. But with these eight tips, you can create an environment where interns excel and enjoy their experience:
1. Know what you want
You wouldn't launch a new website without a strategy, so don't skip the job description for your interns. Last year, Vilar sat down with all the department heads at The Wonderfactory to figure out what skill set each intern slot required, and how they envisioned the students learning and growing over the summer. This approach informed the application process and set clear expectations for interns.
2. Look in the right places
Consider posting want ads for interns on Facebook and Craigslist, in addition to university career centers. As with any ad campaign, you want to promote your program in places your target audience frequently haunts.
3. Don't skip the big picture
Your new recruits probably don't grasp everything your company does, so it's a good idea to give them a short orientation. Make sure to include basic information, like where to find things, as well as an overview of your firm's mission and goals.
4. Give pep talks
"I give a first-day speech," says Justin Ahrens, creative director at Rule29, a strategic design firm in Geneva, Ill. "I say, 'My expectations will be higher than yours. I'll give you as much as you can handle. Here are the possibilities of all the things you can do.'" If interns know there's the chance of working on a juicy client project, they'll try harder to earn your trust.
5. Build confidence
It's your job to help ease the transition from the classroom to the cubicle. "The studio can be intimidating for students," says Pum Lefebure, co-founder and creative director at Design Army in Washington, D.C. "So I always start them out with a project that's in their comfort zone and plays to their strengths." This approach helps set the right tone for the entire internship.
6. Do a little handholding
Your interns might not know how to use a particular piece of software or understand all the industry jargon. They might also be afraid to admit these gaps in knowledge. Take the time to explain processes and procedure. Then, let them know they can ask for help anytime. Otherwise, your interns may waste days staring at spreadsheets or wire frames.
7. Offer constructive feedback
When you oversee interns, you're helping shape the next generation of workers, and one of the best things you can offer is feedback to help improve their performance. Give a formal review halfway through the internship and another one at the end. Then ask for their thoughts on how you can provide a better experience for the next group of interns.
8. Mix work and play
The first-day lunch is a standard ice-breaker, but relationship building should continue throughout the internship. Vilar made a point last summer to get interns and staff together every few weeks, whether it was for a meal or to attend a free movie screening. Doing so strengthened work interactions and gave interns a chance to learn the differences between the professor/student relationship and the employer/employee one.
Providing a successful internship experience takes time and thought, but remember that you are helping participating students and recent graduates, as well as your firm. Observing these junior professionals at work in your office environment enables you to gain access to potential full-time hires, cutting down on recruitment, hiring, and training costs. At the same time, your commitment to providing a valuable learning experience for participants and mentors on your staff will have lasting effects within your company and the creative community at large.
Megan Slabinski is executive director of The Creative Group.
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