Internships

A solid Intern Program is designed to cultivate future talent for the organization through paid internships. The internships are intended to afford students with meaningful work experience and professional development opportunities while familiarizing them with the industry and an operational environment.

First and foremost, please know that internships are not meant to be free help, or even additional help. They're not there for the busy work or for filing and, most definitely, they are not meant to replace any employee in your organization.

Internships are an exceptional way for students to get real-world experience in a particular career and for employers to scope out potential new hires upon graduation but when these experiences are not well planned, it can be awful for the intern and the company.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 72% of interns are offered a job, and 85% accept. Nice! What's more, historically, the retention rate of hired interns is higher than other entry-level employees. Double Nice!!

Here are some of the basics of an exceptional internship program:

• Internships must promote learning with specific learning goals.

• Interns must be supervised.

• Interns are required to work a certain number of hours.

• Interns should be formally evaluated.

• Interns can earn academic credit, but that is not a requirement.

Compensation

Internships in the for-profit private sector are often viewed as employment by the Department of Labor (DOL), and interns who qualify as employees rather than trainees typically must be paid at least the minimum wage and overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Most students consider the compensation from an internship the least important factor when considering which to accept, according to NACE. Did you know that about one-third of internships are paid?

Please keep in mind that if they are participating in an internship for credit it means that they are paying for the credit, that is something to keep in mind when you are considering whether or not to pay them.

The Department of Labor (DOL) considers unpaid interns to be trainees and the program must meet the requirements of a six-factor test:

1. The internship is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment.

2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern.

3. The intern does not displace regular employees.

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern. On occasion its operations may actually be impeded.

5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship.

6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

Don't get me wrong here, you can get away with not paying an intern, but you must keep within the DOL regulations.

Factors to consider:

• Your budget?

• The students' needs?

• Are they living locally?

• Relocation?

• Housing?

Some employers have even offered to pay for college credit, or stipends and even worked to arrange flexible hours so that interns can have another part-time job if necessary in order to meet their own personal financial commitments.

Where to Find Interns

The most important thing to know is that posting for an internship position earlier rather than later will net you the best results.

The most-driven students are applying in October for their upcoming summer internships. Be the early bird and get that worm. If you post in May for a summer internship starting one month later in June, you are dealing with procrastinators who aren't quite as driven.

• Posting internship ads on college job sites and internship sites.

• If you have a college nearby, work with them .

• Have your HR team contact the schools' career services office and post internships with them, too.

• Ask former interns who have since been hired to advocate for your company with their career services office.

Tips for a Successful Internship Experience

• Make sure the interns work on real projects, not busy work.

• Don't treat your interns like second-class employees. Encourage them to be part of your organization.

• Supervise them. Make sure you help them develop soft and hard skills. Offer continuous feedback. Give them a regular orientation, and go over acceptable work hours, dress code and professional behavior.🌈