Internship programs help small businesses and large corporations alike to create pipelines of top talent who will hopefully join their ranks later. Organizations often create summer internship programs, specifically, to help students and recent graduates gain valuable experience in their chosen fields. Done right, it’s a win-win, as interns get to learn about the company’s culture, operations and industry before they go on the job hunt, and the company can develop promising potential employees.
For an internship program to attract the best student candidates and then inspire them to come back or stay on full time, it must check a number of boxes. Here, the members of Forbes Communications Council share key steps in building a great summer internship program that will draw top talent eager to hone their skills, gain professional-level experience and maximize their career potential.
Forbes Communications Council members discuss keys to building a full-time talent pipeline.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Start With Strong Programming And Onboarding
Interns must be fully immersed in company culture if you want them to see a future there. Also, assign great leaders to mentor and coach and give them work that inspires. We partner with a real client, assign integrated teams or “competing” agencies to do research, develop strategy and create integrated plans that address the challenge. - Tracey Santilli, Tierney
2. Give Interns Cross-Functional Visibility And Feedback
Internship programs are a great way to “try before you buy” for the company and the talent alike. To make them stick, outline small but critical tasks as well as larger projects that give the intern cross-functional visibility, and challenge them to be resourceful in seeing their work through to completion. Most importantly, provide 360-degree feedback and get a sense of their maturity to handle the role. - Jackie Lamping, Ava Ventures
3. Create Interactive And Intriguing Learning Opportunities
Skills, coaching, mentoring, intellectual challenge and fun—these are the key ingredients of a great summer internship program. The interns need to be attracted by the skills they will acquire, and they need to be sure that how they will be learning is interactive and intriguing. Mentoring and coaching should also be part of the experience. - Svetlana Stavreva
4. Build Relationships With Schools And Programs
Build relationships with schools and programs throughout the year. Host students for tours and events at your company so that they understand your business and the opportunities that exist. And start early—if you know you need summer interns, then track applications and deadlines early in the year. We’ve hired many interns as full-time employees when they’ve finished their studies. - Sheryl Seitz, Plus One Robotics
Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
5. Connect With Academic Programs At Your Local University
Building a great summer internship program begins with connecting with academic programs at your local university. They can provide a talent pipeline for you. What are they teaching? Is it what your business needs? If not, inform them of your company needs. Once the professors know your internship coordinator and the valuable hands-on experience you can provide, the pipeline will grow. - Kimberly Osborne, UNC Greensboro
6. Create An Environment Where Interns Have ‘Skin In The Game’
An environment where interns have “skin in the game” is exactly what an intern needs to feel motivated and what a company needs to assess performance. The company should invite input and ideas, put those ideas to work in beta testing and encourage the intern to improve upon their ideas at work. For an intern, the feeling that a company listens to what they have to say is worth its weight in gold! - Boaz Santiago, Legally Remote, PLLC
7. Make Your Internship Mirror A Real Job
Don’t use interns to do your busy work. Create a program that considers real-life job skills they will gain over the summer. This is best accomplished when you give interns a real project with valuable deliverables. You’ll have to guide and coach them, but in the end, it’s a win-win, with lessons learned for them and important projects completed for you. - Esther Bonardi, Yardi Systems
8. Encourage Participation In Your Organization’s Cultural Life
Encourage interns to fully participate in the cultural life of your organization. No one should take the view that they’re “only” there for a short time and so it should be a truncated experience. Encourage interns to post on your blog and introduce themselves and show them the various user-generated groups you have. While any employee or intern is with you, they’re a member of your community. - Scott Hitchins, Interact Software
9. Develop Programs To Spotlight Interns
In addition to a solid program the interns can learn from, develop programs to spotlight them. Create short video or blog campaigns where they can share insights on the company, its culture, what they learned during their internship and more. Giving them visibility on your channels will both motivate them to stay on and make them brand ambassadors who will help attract additional talent. - Parna Sarkar-Basu, Brand and Buzz Marketing, LLC.
10. Involve Interns In Every Aspect Of The Organization’s Roles
I always tell interns that by the end of the summer, I hope they can say, “I love this job, and this is what I want to do” or, “I absolutely hate it, and it’s not for me.” I strongly believe in involving interns in every aspect of our organization’s roles so they can get the full experience. By taking this approach, most of our hires have come from our intern pipeline and have gone on to great success. - Chris Cline, State of Missouri Information Technology Services Division
11. Offer A Well-Rounded Experience In A Real Work Environment
A successful internship program needs to offer a well-rounded experience that gives the student exposure to a real work environment, opportunities to develop professional skills and a sense of company culture and leadership. In my experience, you can deliver this through a well-defined and impactful project, the ability to participate in meetings, a mentorship system and some fun company events! - Whitney Cornuke, TalentLaunch
12. Find Ways For Interns To Lend Their Voice And Expertise
Gone are the days of getting coffee or printing materials as daily internship tasks. Internships today can be 100% remote (why not?) and also completely fulfilling. As you learn about your intern’s unique skill set, find real and tangible ways they can lend their voice and expertise to enhance your brand. You’ll get value from their efforts, and they’ll strengthen their resolve to join your team. - Melissa Kandel, little word studio
13. Offer Solid Pay And Experiences
By offering solid pay and experiences, you can leave interns feeling not only accomplished but also rewarded for their hard work. Take the time to really show them the ropes and that you mean business. If they believe in what they do and the company they do it for, it will encourage them to work harder. - Christian Anderson, Lost Boy Entertainment Company
14. Use Internships To Teach Key Skills Candidates Seem To Lack
I encourage companies to use internships as opportunities to teach skills that they may feel otherwise ideal entry-level candidates are missing. Give the intern a three-month “assignment” that involves research, real-world testing of a hypothesis, iteration and then final presentation. This project gives the intern ownership, and your team benefits from the boost to operations and spending efficiency. Win-win! - Sarah O’Sell, Anim8
15. Determine The Experience And Skills You Want To Offer First
Many businesses start an internship program without a real vision of what the program will look like. When the interns arrive, they spend their time bored and unfocused, causing them to leave without learning any real skills. Determine what you want to offer interns in terms of experiences and skills first, then work with them closely to ensure they have a positive and beneficial experience. - Asad Kausar, Dabaran
16. Put Interns To Work On Real Projects
Our interns have expressed many times how surprised they were to be working on real, future products. More than a few of those products have ended up on store shelves. They need good communication and clear expectations, but many times, having a fresh set of eyes on a project is just what you need. - Scott Stevenson, Blackstone Products (North Atlantic Imports LLC)
