You’ve allocated all the proper resources, checked boxes for legal compliance, and let your company’s vision for the future guide your development of a new internship program. You’ve earned buy-in from all internal stakeholders, from the CEO to junior and senior management.
Yet, differentiating your internship program against the leagues of others circulating this semester is not as easily completed. It’s a strategic process that improves semester to semester, dependent on a rich feedback loop between your staff and your new interns. In this piece, we’ll explore the key practices that can set up your organization to attract the next wave of ambitious talent. Read our suggestions on how to create a successful internship program below!
Agreeing on a shared set of objectives, between both full-time staff and interns provides a roadmap to a successful semester. This could require a slight mindset shift to seeing your interns as stakeholders as well, with just as much (if not more!) to gain from the success of your program.
Full-time team members stand to benefit from future talent’s new perspectives and aptitude for best use of technology. For example, an intern’s inherent acumen of up and coming trends could inform your customer experience department of evolving expectations among their most solid base. This can create new methodologies, strategies, and even roles your company did not know it needed.
Similarly, intern exposure to your full time staff’s projects and goals against the landscape of your industry is a unique way for them to build their knowledge, abilities, and skills outside of the classroom. When creating your program, consider how interns can explain and show how they are being groomed for their future. At any point during your program, a successful intern participant should be able to elaborate on the following prompts: