National, member organizations can offer excellent assistance. The following organizations,
and their regional and/or statewide affiliates, should be consulted.
19 Mantua Rd.
Mt. Royal, NJ 08096
Phone: 856-423 - 3427
Fax: 856-423-3420
Web: www.nsee.org
62 Highland Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18017-9085
Phone: 800-544-5272
Fax: 610-868-0208
Web: www.naceweb.org
It can't be said too many times that interns want to work and learn. An internship
can help you get a job done that you couldn't otherwise, right? If you've brought
on an intern as a recruitment tool, then how will you be able to assess their abilities?
It just makes sense to utilize your interns well.
Be honest with your interns about what they can expect during their internship.
If the job will require stuffing some envelopes, then make that clear. But if you
tell the intern they will be researching a project, and they spend 90% of their
time doing "grunt work," then bad feelings will develop. Honesty doesn't cost you
anything, and it will make the interns feel that much more respected.
Remember that interns are students, and they may not have the business skills and
experiences that you take for granted. If your intern makes an oversight, just pull
him or her aside and explain how the situation should be handled in the future.
Is there a staff meeting that they can attend? Can they quietly tag along to that
next project meeting? Headed to lunch with a couple of people in the office? Please
include them in the daily life of your workplace. After all, if you provide a little
more perspective on the intern's work, the product will be much better.
When you assign work, make sure you give a detailed explanation. While the work
may seem trivial and obvious to you, it may not be obvious to someone who's never
done it before. Patience and a few extra minutes at the beginning will pay off later
when your intern can produce good work independently.
Make sure that interns have a mentor or supervisor to provide guidance. Make it
someone who truly likes to teach, and the experience will be even better.
The best mentor in the world is useless if he or she can't or won't spend the necessary
time mentoring. As newcomers, interns may not speak up if they're feeling ignored,
so the burden of making sure they're okay is on the mentor. If the busiest person
in the office wants to be the designated mentor, he or she should schedule regular
times to meet with the intern.
That wonderful day has arrived and the intern goes to start their internship only
to learn that no one knew they were coming, and there is no place for them to work.
Provide a "welcome" for your new intern(s).
It is amazing how many employers hire an intern and don't think about the fact that
they will need a desk, chair, phone and a computer in order to do the task assigned.
It is no fun, and not efficient to move an intern from desk to desk as people are
out one day to the next. If you want to get a job done, you need to supply the intern
with the tools to do the job.
While each internship is different, and each industry has its own personality, remember
that interns have expenses. Your organization may not be in a position to pay much,
but paying at least minimum wage can help. You can also help pay for parking, take
them to lunch every so often, or develop other creative ways to assist.
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