Let’s talk about interns.
Your company has grown to where it is today because you were willing to take some risks – wisely considered risks – instead of merely doing the expected. Now, you need that imaginative approach more than ever, especially when it comes to recruiting talented employees. We all know that we’re in a candidate-tight market, but have you considered recruiting interns?
Interns Are a Smart Investment
In the past, your business might have brought in a few interns. After all, it’s a great way to introduce those just beginning their careers to the inner workings of your industry as well as your company. And, let’s be honest, interns are budget-friendly compared to seasoned, full-time employees and often easier to recruit. In a sense, you’re performing a service, and at the same time you have someone who can accomplish entry-level, necessary work at less cost for the duration of their internship.
All true, but that’s just a small part of the big picture.
Vetting prospective future talent
Working alongside an intern (literally in person or even remotely) gives co-workers and the HR department a chance to learn about them. How good they are at their work, how well they collaborate with team members, how well they blend into (or help diversify) your company culture, maybe even new ideas and energy to a group. These are insights you often cannot glean from resumes and interviews.
Strategic advantage
With traditional recruiting so difficult right now, your company may be in danger of falling behind on regular workflow, let alone pursuing new initiatives. Interns can relieve the burden of basic work so existing team members can concentrate on higher-level projects, even as you’re looking for experienced top talent to join your team. This is not about getting temporary help to handle mundane tasks, this is about building your future.
For example, you could bring in technology interns to develop hands-on experience with the tools and technologies your company utilizes, building a foundation with younger, less-experienced developers who could then transition into a permanent position later on.
Internships provide an outstanding internal leadership development opportunity when employees are assigned as mentors.
Internships can also serve as an internal referral program. Current interns who feel positive about their experience with you may well know other talented students looking for a similar opportunity.
Tactical advantage
Internships are temporary, but you don’t have to say goodbye when the allotted time is up. Certainly, when the intern graduates you can segue them into a permanent position if you have determined they will be a good asset long-term. But there are other ways to keep the relationship going.
At Power-4, we’ve seen interns continue their experience during the school year, working with the company one day or a few hours a week around their class schedule. More often, we know companies who bring back interns the following summer, or summers, until they graduate. The earlier an intern starts with you, the more time you will have to work with them before they graduate.
No need to limit yourself to interns who have worked in your own company. If a candidate interned successfully at another firm, they still gained potentially valuable experience, making them a stronger choice to fill your position.
Connecting with Interns
All colleges and universities have a Career Services office. These are not the placement offices of old, where they simply tacked cards on a bulletin board announcing job opportunities. Now, they are staffed with professional Career Services teams dedicated to collaborating with search firms and corporate recruiting teams to help students find career opportunities.
Whether or not your company has a designated campus recruiter, you can work with Career Services staff to promote internships within your firm. You can focus on universities that are especially strong in your field – computer sciences, for example.
Power-4 Makes It Easy to Hire Interns
Internships can last a few weeks, a full semester or an entire summer. Although some offer credits only, most are paid. However, one of the challenges many companies face when considering interns or other non-FTE employees is payroll. Administration and onboarding are different for hourly and contingent workers, and if you’re not set up for that it may not be worth the effort to consider alternative workers.
At Power-4, we often handle this on behalf of our clients. You can hire and manage the interns directly and use Power-4 as the onboarding and payroll partner if needed.
Building Versus Hiring Talent
Top talent is in high demand at every level in every vertical. That’s not going to change any time soon. If your company is not using interns, you’re carving off a piece of your future.