My History with Interns
Full disclosure: I have a soft spot for interns.
Perhaps it’s because I have had 4 internships that deeply impacted my career. Perhaps it’s because I’m a university professor and see students stressing about getting internships. Perhaps it’s because managing interns led to me eventually managing full time employees. Or perhaps I see it as a unique way for companies to give back to society.
Regardless of the reason, COMPANIES CAN & SHOULD HAVE INTERNS.
I’ll say it again another way – regardless of your company or current position, you could have an intern.
I have had interns throughout my career. I have probably had ~15 interns so far in my career, and hope I can get to over 100. I have had some truly great interns, which have turned into full-time positions. I have also had a couple of terrible interns, one of which I had to fire mid-internship (which was a good learning opportunity for me).
It has been incredibly rewarding to see prior interns go on to do great things in their careers, usually in which their internship was a springboard.
In case you’re curious, here’s Jason’s 4 internships, all very different but gave great work experience:
- Corporate Giving Intern, PEMCO Insurance in Seattle, WA
- Leadership Development Intern, Sears in Redmond, WA & Hoffman Estates, IL
- Media Planning Intern, Penna Powers in Salt Lake City, UT
- Global Consumer Insights Intern, General Mills in Minneapolis, MN
How to Create an Internship Position
Let’s suppose that you want an intern. Here’s the three main steps I would recommend:
- Create a project. Design a project that nobody at your company has time for but would be helpful and drive the business forward. It doesn’t matter if it’s complex (the harder the better!). Design a project, give it a fun name (like Project Apollo or Project Lazarus), and clearly outline the project, objectives, and deliverables.
- Bring the project to your manager. Get input and alignment that this would add value. And then for the ask – ask if you could bring on an intern to tackle this project. Sell it as both a benefit to the company and a benefit to your career.
- Create an internship position. Give the position a name (e.g., strategy intern), write out the job details and qualifications, and be as specific as you can. I usually will post that I’m hiring a Junior at an accredited university, a 1st year MBA student, etc. and will specify if it is remote or in-person. I would also be very open to international students as they can work with their student visas. The hiring process should be informative for you and I generally recommend not to be too picky… most applicants don’t have much experience, so just really look for culture fit.
Besides this, based on your company you may need to do some internal campaigning to create the position. I would say most companies can’t guarantee that internships will lead to full time jobs, so don’t worry about that! Obviously it’s ideal if it can, but in my experience it is far easier to create a position once an intern is walking the halls and has shown some value.
Do Interns Need to be Paid?
Yes! Sadly only 60% of internships are paid, but I firmly believe that interns should be paid for a number of reasons:
- Work isn’t free. Interns add value, bring a new perspective, and are likely as effective as any entry level employee.
- Pay increases incentives. Interns who are paid will just be more motivated, feel more part of the company/culture, and feel valued.
- We all need money. Interns arguably need to be paid more than anyone else!
One of my internships paid me a $500 stipend, paid out in two $250 checks (once in the middle of the internship and once at the end). The gas alone to get to the company ended up being twice that amount over three months. It was incredibly difficult to justify showing up each day.
I generally have paid undergraduate interns $20-25/hour in Utah (Utah’s minimum wage is $7.25/hour) and graduate interns $40-50/hour in Utah. I have felt like this is fair, and of course wish I could pay even more. The relative cost to have a 3-month intern far outweighs the impact that intern has with his or her project and the management experience for their manager.
I’m a Potential Intern – What Should I Do?
If you are seeking an internship, here’s three articles to get you started:
The Unwritten Guide to Job Searching: How to Find a New Job in 8 Hours
Why You Should Send a Pie After an Interview
Besides these articles I would recommend just emailing or calling companies you are interested in interning for. One of my internships was created for me after I took a company tour and asked if they had any internship openings. Not all internships are posted, and if this article has shown you anything is that it is relatively easy to create an internship position.
Another piece of advice is to look outside of job boards. Each of those internship postings will have hundreds of applicants. Your best bet is to let friends/family/professors know exactly what type of internship you are looking for and have a company either create an internship for you or give you preferred application status since you have a connection.
To be clear the road to getting an internship is arduous and oftentimes won’t yield much success. The sad truth is applying to full time jobs is similar. I wish it were easier. I truly do. Each of the 4 internships I got I probably had worked for 100+ hours each to get them. I also fully acknowledge that being a middle-class white male at a recognized university helped me. Because of this I personally have set up criteria in intern recruiting to reach out to minorities and underprivileged groups. While I’m just one person I would encourage anyone reading this to consider doing the same.
Conclusion
Internships at your company can yield so many benefits: extra help, culture building, management experience, and doing good in your community. It is relatively inexpensive (yes, you should pay!) and the process to hire an intern is straightforward if you follow the three steps outlined in this article.
If you’re seeking an internship, I hope this previously unwritten advice helps you find your dream internship.
