University students hoping to gain real-world experience before entering the workforce will often seek out internships. You may find it troublesome to look after an intern in your business but they may be able to help you spread the word about your company to would-be employees.
Internship programs is a good way for companies to give university students an opportunity to gain valuable experience in their chosen field of study. It also gives companies a chance to give someone a test run and potentially offer them a permanent position.
Beyond that, an intern could also serve as a valuable advocate for your company that could potentially lead to finding other talented individuals to join your business. This is particularly important for small businesses that aren’t as well-known as large organisations.
Mike Kappel, serial entrepreneur and founder of Patriot Software Company told Entrepreneur:
“Hiring an intern creates a brand ambassador for your business. Your interns are learning valuable skills in the workforce. If they have an amazing experience, chances are they’ll talk to classmates about it. Interns have a huge pool of peers from [university]. If they see someone in their classes who is at the top of their game, they might refer them. Plus, it’s never bad to have interns telling their classmates that your business is a great place to work and full of great learning experiences.”
Does your company hire interns? How has that worked out for the business? Let us know in the comments.
Comments
One response to “Interns Could Be A Gateway For Your Small Business To Find New Talent”
I think you need to be very clear if you mean paid or unpaid internships. I’m all in favour of internships but it is very easy, and in the large majority put into practice, to exploit internships as unpaid labour.
In either case, businesses should be able to prove the quality of their training using an external interviewer, i.e. not based upon exit interviews, which the intern can feel pressured to give a favourable review.