Subscribe to this blog via RSS
Subscribe to this blog via Email
In tough economic times, companies have to be smart about how they build and manage their workforce. For a small company like ideaLaunch, one way we attract young talent and conserve resources is by hiring interns. Lots of them.
Not only is the price of unpaid interns right, but these early-20-somethings inject a healthy dose of Gen-Y enthusiasm that motivates the entire staff. We get help, they get on-the-job work experience that builds their resume. Quid pro quo. And in the nation’s capital for higher learning, there’s no dearth for career-minded, ambitious young college students and grads in Boston looking for internships.
But there’s a secret for intern success: You have to have an overall intern strategy. You must challenge interns and hold them accountable for an agreed-upon schedule, daily tasks and long-term goals. You have to budget time to train and mentor each intern every day until, like a little bird learning to fly for the first time, you can (gently) push them off the ledge and trust them to soar on their own.
There are myriad internal initiatives we put our interns to work on—from viral marketing and social media campaigns to launching our company vlog series and public relations/media outreach. Our interns don’t just do coffee runs and lick envelopes. They are treated similar to regular employees, and they are given feedback and constructive criticism on their progress.
It’s not unheard-of for an unpaid intern to be offered a part-time or full-time position at our company, which means we essentially get to hire someone who comes completely trained for a fraction of the cost of training a new hire off the street.
For more on working with interns, check out Jennetta Hyatt’s ideas for intern success.
Tags: interns, managing content marketing staff, social media
