Hiring Interns: How Should You Recruit and Select Interns?

To recruit and select interns effectively, start by identifying your business needs, connect with local colleges, craft a clear internship description, and implement a structured selection process. Often college students or recent graduates can bring fresh perspectives, while training interns offers a unique management opportunity for current employees. But bringing on an intern for your business, like any other process, requires careful consideration. Let's take a look at not only how to find interns and potentially add to your future talent pool, but also identify potential internship requirements and best practices to be mindful of before starting such a program.

How Do You Determine Timeline, Budget, and Team Needs?

Start by outlining the scope of the project or initiative the intern will support, then identify required skills, evaluate your budget, and ensure compliance with wage and hour laws. For example, a summer-long technical project may warrant bringing on interns who are computer-savvy and demonstrate strong attention to detail.

Another consideration is your budget, if any, for bringing on interns. Some internships should be paid while others may be unpaid, such as students receiving college credit in lieu of monetary compensation. There are many state and/or federal wage and hour rules to consider if you decide to bring interns into your organization. At the federal level, there are multiple factors that determine whether interns in the for-profit sector may be paid or unpaid by focusing on the primary beneficiary of the relationship. These factors include:

• Whether the internship provides training similar to what the intern would receive in an educational institution;
• Whether the internship accommodates the intern's academic commitment(s) and calendar; and
• The understanding of all parties concerning compensation, among other criteria.

When this analysis indicates that an intern would also be an employee, the intern is entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Additional state and local laws could provide additional clarification on internships.

In instances where interns are paid, these wages should be factored into your budget for an internship program. This will also require your interns to complete any necessary new-hire paperwork, such as Form I-9, Form W-4, and any other employment forms required before they begin work.

You may want to consult with an HR professional or legal counsel to ensure your internship programs and supporting agreements comply with federal, state, and local wage and hour laws.

How Can You Connect With Colleges To Find Interns?

Cultivate relationships with local colleges and universities by reaching out to the institutions' career development centers, advertising internship openings on their job boards, and attending job fairs. Colleges and educational institutions are great places to connect with students who are ready to get some hands-on work experience.

What’s the Best Way To Communicate Your Internship to Students?

Similar to recruiting an employee, reaching out to a potential intern requires communicating about opportunities via thorough descriptions. This is where you can outline responsibilities, the type of work they will take on, timeframes (e.g., May-September during a school's summer break), whether the internship is paid, and other pertinent information. Much like crafting a job description for an employee, make sure you can answer questions such as:

• What are the goals of the internship and what specific duties and functions will the intern take on to achieve them?
• Is there any previous skill set or current program of study the person needs to succeed in the role and add value?
• Where will the person work, and during what hours?
• Which team will the intern support?
• What tools, software, or technology resources will the intern be provided with to achieve the goals of the internship?
• Is there the opportunity to bring an intern on as an employee following the completion of their internship?

The more detailed your description, the better you can communicate your needs and find the right intern. Otherwise, unclear expectations can lead to interns bouncing back and forth between teams, sitting idly with nothing to do, and developing a less-than-favorable impression of your business.

The best way to share your internship opportunity is by creating a clear, detailed description and promoting it through college career centers, online job boards, your company website, and employee networks. Encourage current employees to also reach out to their alma maters to help spread the word.

How Do You Start the Intern Selection Process?

Begin the intern selection process with a thoughtful vetting approach, similar to hiring a full-time employee, while keeping in mind the candidate’s limited work experience. The intern selection process may involve initial phone screenings to weed out unqualified applicants, in-person interviews to assess their capabilities, and even a meet-and-greet with the team to get a sense of future dynamics. Anyone involved in the interviewing and selection process should be mindful of the fact that this person likely has limited (or zero) job experience, so questions should reflect this. They may include:

• What do you hope to learn as an intern?
• What made you interested in your current field of study?
• What are your future career aspirations?
• Can you talk about a recent school project you worked on?

Anyone involved in the interview process should also be mindful of questions to avoid, including anything related to an individual's race, ethnicity, religion, or gender; citizenship status or place of birth; any physical or mental disability; or whether the candidate is pregnant.

When and How Should You Make an Internship Offer?

You should make an internship offer once you've selected the right candidate, and always extend the offer in writing, whether the internship is paid or unpaid. Details to consider including in the offer letter:

• The name and location of the business
• The internship's start and end dates
• The amount of compensation you are offering if it's a paid internship (or alternatively clearly stating that the position is unpaid)
• The intern supervisor's name
• The deadline for accepting the internship

How Can You Maximize the Value of Your Internship Program?

You can maximize the value of your internship program by giving interns meaningful work, exposing them to different departments, and using the experience as a pipeline for future hires. And with today's competitive hiring landscape, interns can offer a helping hand to over-capacity departments and be a great strategy for building a solid candidate pool for future job openings.