Hiring an Intern: Pitfalls and Benefits
Congratulations! 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 administrative functions that could be handed over to less expensive labor.
You know your time should be spent delivering direct client services and engaging in business-building activities.
If you operate in a locale with a college or university nearby, then hiring an intern may be the solution to your time management dilemma.
Interns can be a valuable resource, especially for those who are in need of part-time help.
Plan to offer a paid internship.
Unpaid internships will 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.
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 paycheck that may be sorely needed.
Unpaid internships may present a legal snafu.
Strict federal and increasingly also 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 aware 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 working with a young person who will need some guidance.
Contact the school's career services department or the 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, list of qualifications and pay range, as well as the level of student you will work with ( seniors or graduate students, most likely).
Remember that students live on the academic calendar.
They disappear from early December to mid- January for Christmas break and they disappear again in mid-March for the week-long spring break.
Classes end in early May and for two weeks before that time, they will be busy writing papers and studying for final exams.
Unless they can afford to stay in town for the summer or it's convenient to commute in, they will head home in mid-May.
Interview three or four candidates before making your selection.
When you make an employment offer, institute a 30 - 60 day trial period, at which point you can decide whether the arrangement is satisfactory.
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.
Occasionally, invite your intern to make 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 as desired.
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 may be positioned to hire him/her full-time, the ultimate win-win situation.
Good luck! Thanks for reading, Kim
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 administrative functions that could be handed over to less expensive labor.
You know your time should be spent delivering direct client services and engaging in business-building activities.
If you operate in a locale with a college or university nearby, then hiring an intern may be the solution to your time management dilemma.
Interns can be a valuable resource, especially for those who are in need of part-time help.
Plan to offer a paid internship.
Unpaid internships will 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.
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 paycheck that may be sorely needed.
Unpaid internships may present a legal snafu.
Strict federal and increasingly also 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 aware 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 working with a young person who will need some guidance.
Contact the school's career services department or the 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, list of qualifications and pay range, as well as the level of student you will work with ( seniors or graduate students, most likely).
Remember that students live on the academic calendar.
They disappear from early December to mid- January for Christmas break and they disappear again in mid-March for the week-long spring break.
Classes end in early May and for two weeks before that time, they will be busy writing papers and studying for final exams.
Unless they can afford to stay in town for the summer or it's convenient to commute in, they will head home in mid-May.
Interview three or four candidates before making your selection.
When you make an employment offer, institute a 30 - 60 day trial period, at which point you can decide whether the arrangement is satisfactory.
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.
Occasionally, invite your intern to make 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 as desired.
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 may be positioned to hire him/her full-time, the ultimate win-win situation.
Good luck! Thanks for reading, Kim
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