I had the pleasure of hosting a really cool training with Justin Lee of Intern Profits where we discussed how to create an internship program and the benefits, issues, and most effective ways to have an internship mentoring program.
Justin and Dreama Lee provide tools and resources to help small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs find an intern and the skills to effectively hire an intern. Most importantly, and unique to Intern Profits, is that they give businesses that are creating an internship program the ability to manage an intern or a team of interns while creating a win-win scenario for both the intern and the business owner.
Here a few of the “golden nuggets” that I took from the presentation:
- The importance of framing your internship program as a mentorship. Running a proper internship program at your business is a great way to give back to the community and provide real-life experience for many young adults. It also just so happens to have the potential to dramatically grow your business.
- Many college universities actually require their students to log a certain number of internship hours. If universities do not require an internship, most jobs actually do which is why many folks need an internship. This puts young adults between a rock and a hard place because in order to get experience – they need to be hired. Other folks simply realize the value in receiving real-life experience and want an internship. I personally know many folks who are dying for an internship at companies like Google and Facebook.
- Whether or not you have a paid intern or an unpaid intern is entirely up to you. If you pay your interns, you also have the option to pay via alternate methods such as paying for certification classes or additional training. If you hire unpaid interns, make sure you have proper documentation and signed contracts. Seeking legal advice on the matter is the wise decision, or an even better option would be to Order Intern Profits.
- Put a call to action on your website(s) to accept internship and employment applications. Even if you aren’t yet ready to hire anyone or start your intern program, you can always accept applications. In fact, if you are looking for experience with DailyDealBuilder.com, a fast moving software company, send us an email at support@hcdesk.com and tell us why you rock.
- Justin recommended to only work with an intern if they can put in at least 15 hours a week. He also recommended to hire two interns for the same position. “The cream rises to the top” was his reference and is quite true. Also, having 2 people compete for the intern position will motivate the interns to want to work hard and land the position.
Justin delivers a great presentation so grab a pen and paper and enjoy the video. Feel free to leave us any comments or questions and feel free to share this with a friend, colleague, or business partner who might enjoy. **Fast forward to 2 minutes and the audio sounds much better.**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6hnHCbQ4zI?t=2m12s
Marc D. Horne
Daily Deal Builder
