I already know what you’re thinking, and before you decide this is just another cookie-cutter blog post on the importance of internship placement, hear me out.
I’m an intern. More specifically, I’m a college intern working for Adecco Group North America’s marketing department, where my days range from filming and video editing to copywriting and content development.
So why am I writing this and why should you care? Simple, because I’m not a paid blog contributor, but an intern who thought giving employers a different perspective on the subject would be beneficial.
So let’s begin. Here are five benefits your company will reap by hiring the right interns:
1. With some grooming, interns can easily become great full-time employees.
Your talent pool is most likely being replaced with new hires as the Traditionalist and Baby Boomer generations exit the workforce and Millennials enter by the masses.
But just because your new hires may have the technical skills for the job doesn’t mean they possess the soft skills needed around the office.
By creating an internship system, you have the opportunity to groom potential new hires into efficient team members who aren’t afraid to work in teams, communicate, and voice their ideas amongst coworkers.
Allow your interns to attend meetings and require them to complete tasks that require interaction with coworkers from different generations. By doing this, you quickly build staff familiarity and soft skills, resulting in less miscommunication and more productivity within the team.
2. Interns learn—and contribute—quickly.
Businesses don’t have time for employees who can’t develop new skills on the fly. By placing a potential new hire in an internship program, you are putting pressure on them to prove their worth.
Luckily, Millennials have a knack for picking up new hard skills—especially technology based ones. Place a computer in front of them and watch how Google becomes their best friend. They’ll self-educate, learn about the industry and come up with new, beneficial ideas.
3. Interns help you manage your time.
You know the feeling, it’s two o’clock and you realize you have until the end of day to complete a million tasks. You end up prioritizing which ones you believe are most important, even if every project holds equal significance.
Don’t allow projects to fall to the wayside. An intern picking up the workload is not a new concept; in fact, it’s probably a leading factor in why you hired one. Give them the small, more straightforward projects you can’t fit in your schedule and keep your completion rate high.
4. Interns generate brand awareness with a new audience.
Your intern is most likely a 19-22 year old college student with a similar-aged friend group and a healthy social media presence.
With that said, their friend group is going to ask them questions about their new job, such as:
- “Where are you working now?”
- “What does your company do?”
- “Do you enjoy it?”
- “Could I get an internship there?”
Without realizing it, your company has created greater brand awareness—and a brand ambassador—as your intern tells family and friends about their new job through word-of-mouth and social media.
5. Interns can become more loyal than other Millennials.
Nothing sets a company back like the loss of staff members, and as recent studies show, most Millennials have no intention of staying with any job longer than three years. This is where an internship program can once again prove vital.
If you offer projects that excite your intern’s passion, you’re actually indirectly growing their appreciation for the job.
Interns also are more likely to stay with the company due to a feeling of loyalty to the people who “showed them the ropes” of the corporate world.
Lastly, your intern is building their connections while working for you, meaning they see an opportunity to eventually rise through your company with the help of the mentors they grew close to.
What are you waiting for?
Interns bring a unique set of skills to the table if used correctly, and a proper internship program can generate great potential new hires for your company.
Begin prioritizing intern placement today and watch your business’s productivity and success grow.