How to Hire an Intern

It's that time of year where many companies are posting their open intern roles. Personally, I've never really paid much attention to these postings until my 19/20 year old started asking me questions about each job she is applying to. Lucky for her, her 'old man' has a few contacts he can reach out to for greater clarity, but imagine those students who don't have a parent with a contact who can answer their questions.

So this quick write up is for the #hr leaders, #talentacquisition and #hiringmanagers who are hiring Interns for 2024.

1. Students don't Know, what they don't Know: Clarity is key here as this will be, for most students, their first step into a corporate environment. The more you tell them in the JD and interview, the more prepared they will be on day one.
2. Role: Be specific about your need. Sales? Marketing? HR? Supply Chain?
3. Tasks / Function: Outline, in clear detail, what the intern will do on a day to day basis. Really...spell it out so that they can make sure it is the right opportunity for them.
4. In Office / Remote / Hybrid / On the Road: You need to let students know your expectations for this piece.
5. Start Date / End Date / Hours: State your work time line in the JD. Most students year-end is in April and start back up one week before Labour Day. They are looking for hours and if you are not intending on giving 40 hours per week, you need to state that upfront. While you might be offering engaging work experience, 90% of these students need this income for school and they need to know if they will need a second job for additional cash.
6. Comp: Come on...put it out there! On the Job posting, state your rate, don't hide it. So many students don't know how to ask or are afraid to ask about the salary because they don't want to be seen as being "greedy or ungrateful". I've been recruiting for close to 20 years and the third question I am asked by every candidate, EVERY candidate is, "what does the job pay?".
7. Other comp: In your posting state if you are providing a vehicle (if someone is interning for a sales role); State if the student can take a week of vacation; State if you are providing a laptop or cell phone. If you are not, how are you compensating students for using their own tech.
8. Make it easy to Apply: My daughter was told to apply to a job at a global CPG company and for the life of her, she could not find it as it was buried in their F/T listings. Then she needed to set-up an account (made no sense) and had input all of her data, that's on her resume, into separate forms. Again, make it easy.
9. Regretting: If you are interviewing students, actual in person interviews, and if they are not hired, let them know...don't ghost them.
10. On Board Them: Once hired, spend at least two days walking them through the job. Remember, they don't know, what they don't know.

This is the future we are training...lets do it right.