Internships are a BOON to the organization and to the Interns themselves – YET why are they are a complete “loss” ?
- People Hire Interns for the wrong reasons
- People do not spend defining “what the Intern should do” and “how to do it”
- People do not define GOALS and ROLES for the Interns
- People are ambiguous about the roles which interns should do
- Interns come into companies for just a certificate
- Interns look at companies just as a ‘value add to their profile’s – and don’t think that they can be absorbed by the same company. Hence their seriousness is low.
Hiring Right Interns – “Rightly”!
- Define a set of roles in your company for which an Intern can work
- Define the kind of interns who would suit the role
- Define clearly what you would offer the intern – stipend or not? If only certificate – then be very specific
- Define timelines during which the intern shall work
- Define rules and regulations for the working of Interns – including items like leave, absenteeism etc
- Define a proper Performance Appraisal System for Interns
- Define PPOs (pre placement offers) for interns
- Define the hiring process
You ALSO need to keep away from biases while finding Interns:
- Gender bias – one gender is better at a job than the other
- Age bias – we never think of old people as being interns
- Educational background as a bias – we don’t look at performance and the right fit – we look at the right college
Steer clear!
And now you are ready to go!