Interns can be a tremendous resource to any organization. They are eager, ready to learn, and can be the path to the next generation of talent for your growing company. Depending on where you’re located-such as a booming college town, you may have countless interns to choose from, and they, conversely, have many options themselves. How do you get the interns you need? As a recruiter in Boston and a company that interviews people every day, we have some suggestions.
Find detail-oriented candidates: The Muse’s top suggestion is to look for interns with keen eyes for details. After all, you don’t want work riddled with spelling or format errors or other sloppy mistakes, and you definitely don’t want to repeat such basic instructions to them over and over again.
Offer real incentives: Paying interns is also a great way to attract strong talent, and to keep them motivated. Plus, as Sage Voice explains, you need to meet several standards to legally hire unpaid interns—as a small business, it might be easier to just pay them.
Think outside the box to attract top talent: Mashable also encourages employers to get creative with their hiring process. If you’re looking for creative interns, give them a creative prompt—one company included entries from the Draw Something app into their hiring process. Mashable also stresses the importance of hiring students connected to colleges—they’re more likely to produce results and be self-driven. Don’t shy away from using video interviews, either, they add.
Pick students who show they understand your company and brand: Finally, you should reward students who clearly do their homework. If they don’t know a single thing about your company—what you do, your history, your size and reach—then you can’t help but question their goals and drive. There’s a difference between maximizing your options and opportunities and just casting out resumes and seeing who bites.
The right intern can be a resource for your organization so choose wisely or you’ll have another project on your hands.
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