If you are like me, you have pages of notes detailing the many great projects and initiatives you would like to get off the ground at your organization but not nearly enough time to attack them all. You know these projects could make a positive impact at your company, but then, as we all know, we get side-tracked sometimes by our “day job” and those projects get pushed back again. You then start to think to yourself, “I’ll hire an intern to work on this — but do I really have time to manage this initiative as well?” Creating and formalizing a strong internship program at your company is easier than you think. With some preplanning and a strong team member to manage your program, you will finally be able to start checking off those many great ideas and putting them into action.Internship Program Manager
One of the most important aspects to any internship program is to assign an employee to manage the program from start to finish. Be sure to choose someone who has the time and capacity to effectively lead the program in order to make sure it is managed appropriately. Consider someone in your organization who you think could benefit from “managing” a program or team member (the intern) who may not already have this type of experience in his or her career but is looking for it — that way, he or she can reap the benefits of this experience as well.
Internship Program Timeline
Establishing an annual timeline with key deliverable dates along the way is essential to the success of any internship program. By creating a timeline, you can ensure that you are staying on track and that every aspect of your program before, during and after is being met. Some key things to establish when writing out your timeline consist of an “assessment of need”: what are the projects or needs of your organization that you want completed by an intern. Activities here can include project ideation, the writing of job descriptions, and establishing expectations and metrics of these projects. Another key factor is determining your recruitment process: the when and how you plan to identify candidates for this role. Are you going to attend local university career fairs, post your internship on local job boards or utilize word of mouth? You want to get the timing right on this to ensure you do not lose out on great talent that may not be available at the time you go to recruit. Lastly, it is very important to establish a hard start and end date for your internship program. This will help manage the expectations of both you as the employer and the intern as to length of the program, along with providing you an easy exit from a particular candidate who may not have performed up to your standards.
Match a Senior Leader With an Intern for Mentorship
As a former intern myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with the senior leadership team of the organizations I worked at. This experience provided me with a wealth of information and knowledge on their careers as well as what it takes to become a successful leader within an organization. I oftentimes looked up to these individuals as role models, something that all interns at that stage of their lives need. Ensure that your senior leader carves out the time to meet with the intern at least once every two weeks for a cup of coffee or over lunch. These types of interactions go a long way in the eyes of the intern themselves.
Creating Projects of Value
Too many times, I have heard stories of interns joining a company only to hear that their overall experience was performing mundane projects (making copies) that had no value to the intern or the company. This is clearly a missed opportunity for both the company and the interns themselves. It is very important to create projects that will indeed have some important aspect or impact on the company so that the interns can feel they truly contributed to the organization in some way, shape or form, and vice versa, that the company is provided with very tangible results. Ensure that you establish key project metrics and deliverables along the way so that your interns remain on track throughout the entire time spent with your organization.
Final Intern Presentation & Exit Interview
One great way to conclude your internship program at the end of its timeline is to provide an opportunity for your intern to present to senior leadership their project(s) findings, recommendations and overall impressions of their experience while as an intern. This will not only provide you with some potentially great ideas for your company to consider, but it also provides needed experience for your intern to present in front of a room of key executives. It is also important to conduct an exit interview with your intern in an effort to solicit important feedback (good, bad or indifferent) as to their overall experience. You continuously want to improve upon your internship program for future candidates, and the feedback that you will receive from those departing will assist in ensuring that you accomplish this.
Establishing an internship program at your company can be a very rewarding experience both for the interns themselves and your organization as a whole. There are some very intelligent young professionals out there who can truly have a positive impact during their time with you. Providing them an opportunity to gain needed career experience and the all-important “resume data point” is a good thing. With a little preplanning and proper management, you can establish a strong internship program at your company that gains notice and attracts the best of the best candidates.