To Intern or Not to Intern ...that is the question.

Some businesses struggle with the idea of having interns in their office.  They might have several questions about how it works, how to compensate, who to have intern, etc.  Then there's the fear that you might not have enough projects for an intern or that it will be a lot of work scheduling their time, filling out school paperwork so that they can get credit and more.

These fears are simply not as scary as people make them out to be.  I have had two interns in my 2 years here at the Chamber.  It is amazing the amount of work that gets done and how little management there is on my part.  I am PRO intern.  I think every company should be making use of the great talent our local colleges have to offer. 

The following is a quick list of my tips that will help you have a successful internship experience:

• Do not try to fit an intern into an already created job description.  Met with students to learn about their strengths and interests.  Develop an internship based on that and your needs as a company.
• Have one point of contact within a company that the intern reports to.  However, make sure that the intern feels comfortable asking for projects and tasks from other staff members.
• Give constant feedback.  This is a Millenial Generation attribute.  They crave constant feedback and affirmation that they are on the right track and that they did a great job on their project or tast.

In these tough economic times interns can help businesses with tasks they now have fewer employees assigned to.  At the same time, interns are learning about the local business community and will have a better chance to become productive experienced professionals upon graduation.

If you have had a postitive intern experience or if you have questions and are looking for advice in this area, post your question or share your story on the Facebook wall.

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