As May turns to June it means the end of school, company picnics, family vacations, and summer interns! If you’re like me and you’re hiring your first intern this summer, there’s a lot to think about. Interns are extremely important because they can become your best source of talent, when they join full time they hit the ground running, and word of mouth travels fast on campus. If you’re a startup or small business, you can create a memorable summer internship with a little extra preparation. Here’s how.
Assign a Buddy or Mentor
Being new is daunting. How about being a new intern when you’ve never had a professional job before? Just like new hires, interns will have lots of newbie questions. Since they’re still being evaluated, they really don’t want to ask the boss everything. A buddy or mentor is a safe place to ask questions like “Is there a dress code?” “How long should I take for lunch?” and “Where’s the free beer?”
Set Clear Goals
You’re used to hiring type A self-starters who figure things out and just get it done. But remember your interns may not have much experience beyond school projects, and they’re only with you for a limited time. Make sure anyone who’s been assigned an intern thinks through what’s expected and what success looks like at the end of three months.
Plan Challenging Projects
The definition of an internship is that the intern is learning and being trained. The legal definition even states that they need supervision and having an intern may sometimes “impede” the organization. Your intern should benefit from this experience even more than you do. Give them real business problems they can sink their teeth into, and the support they need to succeed.
Create Community
Interns love other interns! If you have more than one intern at your company, make sure they’re introduced right away and get to spend time together. If you have only one, see if there are other companies in your network who are in the same situation and get them together. If you’re short on interns, recent college hires are the next best thing.
Involve Your Leaders
Announce new interns over email, at your stand-ups and company meeting, so everyone knows who they are. Each leader should host an intern breakfast or lunch, and managers/mentors should check in with them weekly. When interns go back to school, they’ll remember that you and the leadership team were genuinely interested in what they had to offer.
Include Professional Development
If you structure the work right your Interns will learn a lot just by working on their projects, but don’t stop there. Ask each department head to host a brown-bag talk, and give an overview of what their team does. Interns like learning about the entire business and not being silo’d. Run workshops on communication skills, team dynamics, or the importance of company culture. Even if you’re planning these events for the interns, encourage other employees to join in.
Make it Fun!
What’s an internship without a Mariners or Sounders game, an outdoor concert, or drinks on the patio? If you’re on a budget look into outdoor movies, free summer concerts, or a cruise on the ice cream boat. Invite the team to a BBQ at your place! Getting out of the office gives people a chance to socialize and unwind. That’s something they’ll remember long after they forget which project they worked on.
Showcase the Work
A great way to end the summer is by asking interns to present their projects to the leaders, or to the whole company if you’re small. Since you’ve assigned real business problems this is a chance for interns to demo what they’ve done, and talk about next steps. I’ve even seen interns continue part-time to complete their projects after going back to school.
Give & Get Feedback
Like everyone, interns need performance feedback and coaching. I recommend frequent, just in time feedback plus a brief summary at the end of the internship. This is also your opportunity to ask them what they enjoyed most, what you should do differently, and whether they’d recommend you to their classmates. Listen carefully and use the feedback to improve the program for next year.
Talk About the Future
While many interns are simply looking for experience and trying out different roles, the ultimate purpose is landing a good job after school. Be honest with your interns about whether you want them to come back, or if they’re graduating, whether you’d like to make them a full time offer. Plan the internal discussions so that you have answers before they head back to school so you don’t lose them to the competition.
