Internship Season is Upon Us
/It’s that time of year again when college students will be pouring into the marketplace looking for companies that do what they want to do as a career. This can be a tremendous opportunity for both the organization and the student. The student is able to see how the real world implements the things taught in schools, while the organization gains a long interview process with the potential to gain a new employee.
These students will quickly notice two things. First, what is taught in school does not directly apply to the real world. And second, they really don’t know anything about the field that they have chosen!
For you as an employer, don’t waste this precious opportunity. An intern should not be used for coffee and gopher duties. You can really give back to the community by fully embracing this individual and providing the foundation for their career. By showing them the ropes properly, they will get a jump start on their knowledge and be able to apply it quicker. Furthermore, you will have access to an additional team member that could go a long way towards building stronger bonds with your clients. How? Here are 10 ways to get the most out of an internship. Not all of these will apply to you, this is just to get your brain working on how they could be best utilized.
Service Desk - Have them work on the service desk taking client issues, triaging issues, and getting some background information.
Customer Service - Have them reach out to customers after issues have been completed to ensure clients are happy.
Complaint Department - You could have them write up client complaints. This can be especially beneficial because they will be unbiased as they have no background data to compare it against.
Sales Assistant - Getting your CRM cleaned up is already an important function. Utilizing an intern to assist will not only accomplish that task, they will learn all of the facets of what an account looks like and what it takes to communicate with them.
Research Assistant - Students are great at research as they still possess the skills that many of us lose. Having them assist in research articles, BLOG posts, and customer background can really benefit you and them.
Competitive Intelligence - Knowing the marketplace and what others are doing is key to competing in business. Maybe it is time you did research into all of your competition.
Project Assistant - Most of us can use some assistance on projects. Taking notes, updating timelines, arranging meetings, attending meetings, change requests, and even documentation. This is a great opportunity for you and them to increase your project IQ.
Marketing Assistant - Have some marketing opportunities you can’t get to? Here is your opportunity. Maybe you have unspent co-op dollars in your funds or MDF to spend. Get out in the marketplace with this opportunity.
Website Assistant - Let’s be honest, most websites could use a good once-over! Here you go. Have them assist with SEO reporting, technical writing, market research, or A/B testing. Real world application of marketing is the best thing for a marketing major.
Technical Assistant - If someone is pursuing a degree in computers they really need to put in the hours to increase their system administration savvy. Things don’t work quite the same in businesses as they do in a computer lab. Your end users will love you for providing the additional technical support and the student will get hands on knowledge.
If you are considering bringing on an intern, reach out to the local schools and talk with their placement teams. Good luck!