If you are thinking about hiring interns for the summer, April is a good time to begin preparing. If you haven’t thought about hiring interns, maybe you should. Summer interns can help you build a pipeline for future talent needs, bring new perspectives and energy to the workplace and can serve as “ambassadors” to promote knowledge about your company with their peers. Here are some tips for hiring and managing interns effectively.
Determine whether you will use paid or unpaid interns. If you hire paid interns, the same minimum wage and overtime laws apply to them as apply to your fulltime employees. And you have more flexibility in terms of the type of work you can have them do. If you hire unpaid interns, be sure you understand the California Department of Labor guidelines for determining whether the intern is entitled to wages.
Create a detailed job description. The intern may have little or no work experience. Be clear about expectations, supervision, etc. Ideally, tie the work to their school curriculum (this is especially important for unpaid interns). Consider what tools and resources – and training – they might need to fulfill expectations and include that in your planning.
Start early, i.e., now. Many college campuses have summer intern fairs. The best, most ambitious students will be accepting intern opportunities early to make sure they have something secured by summer.
Develop relationships with local college career centers. There are a number of campuses in the Bay Area. Reach out to them to learn their guidelines and get on their list as a source for internships. Some of their students may be your future workforce!
Make the internship a positive learning experience. In addition to providing them skills and knowledge related to their area of study, help them learn the workplace skills they’ll need when they transition from campus to office – time management, networking, effective communication, email etiquette and other skills and behaviors that will help them succeed.
Done well, summer internships can be a very rewarding experience for both you and your interns!
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