Tips to Keep College Interns Engaged with your Company
If you have a college student in your life, odds are you’ve heard them talk about internships. Maybe they’re stressing out about landing one to add to their resume. Maybe they’re filling you in on the awesome internship they got and how great their boss is. Or maybe their internship isn’t all they dreamed and they’re frustrated by how their experience is panning out. Wherever they’re at, internships are probably on their minds.
This is for good reason: internships are becoming more important all the time. Having internship experience can make it much easier to find a job after graduation—most hiring teams are looking for candidates to have experience. College students who intern are 15% less likely to find themselves unemployed after they graduate.
Almost 38% of students said they lost their internships because of COVID. However, now that the pandemic is mostly behind us, internships are revving back up again. Many industries will increase the number of interns they hire over the next months and years. If your company is restarting your internship program after the pandemic or starting one for the first time, we want to help you make sure your interns have a great experience. Below are tips on how to connect with and keep interns!
Connecting with College Interns
You want your interns to have a good experience. It's important to you that your interns feel comfortable and appreciated and that they learn as much as they can. Here are some tips to help you support your interns!
Fair & Competitive Compensation. A general truth: students want to get paid for their work. Many internship-seekers won’t even click into an internship posting if they can tell it’s unpaid. However, only 60% of internships offer compensation for their interns’ time. Students have expenses to cover, but it can be hard to find time to balance both a job and an internship on top of their course load. Offering pay for internships is one of the best ways you can retain interns and show them that their work matters to your company because it probably does!
Treat interns your interns like professionals. By treating interns as professionals, you’re teaching them how to act professionally. Everything from how you chat with your interns to deadline expectations will teach them office etiquette. If your company treats its interns like they’re not skilled enough, not only will the intern feel less positive about their position, but they won’t learn as much as they could.
Give helpful, constructive feedback. The right intern will be at your company to learn. Feedback on their work is one of the best ways to keep them engaged. If interns are experiencing improvement in their work, they’ll feel more fulfilled. It can be hard to correct someone who’s learning something new and risk making them feel bad, but when done the right way, constructive criticism is much more appreciated than unhelpful compliments.
Look over their resumes. While there are lots of great resources for college students to get resume feedback, having feedback from a professional working in their field is very valuable. As someone with active knowledge of the ins and outs of their chosen career path, you know what hirers are looking for. By helping interns reword or add relevant information to their resumes, you’re giving them a leg up in their careers.
Intern engagement activities. Show your interns that an important part of a healthy work environment is the social component! By putting together fun activities like get-to-know-you lunches or going on group coffee runs, not only do you get to know your interns, but you’re helping put them at ease. This helps them to feel more comfortable communicating and asking questions, too!
Include them in company events. If you’re having a company picnic or office party, make sure your interns are invited! It can be good to make sure you’ve taken the time to introduce them to other people and to get to know them so that they don’t feel like they’re standing around with a bunch of complete strangers. This is also a great opportunity for your interns to network!
Teach good general office skills like organization and time management. This goes hand-in-hand with giving good feedback. Make sure your interns are addressing their emails correctly, that they know when to use someone’s first name, that they’re on time for meetings, and that they communicate well. Teach them to stick to deadlines and manage multiple projects at once, because that’s real life!
Ask them to offer solutions/prepare ideas for meetings. Problem-solving is necessary for every professional field, and it’s good for interns to practice problem-solving with a deadline. While it’s good to put some pressure on your interns, giving them the opportunity to brainstorm freely and offer any ideas they think of without fear of judgment will help them to think. Plus, interns have fresh eyes within your company, and they might have great solutions to real issues you might have! And when it comes to presenting in front of professionals, the more practice they get, the better!
Offer to be a reference. When it comes to job hunting, college kids will take all the help they can get, especially with how competitive the job market is right now. A recommendation from you could mean the difference between a company hiring your intern or moving on to the next candidate. This is especially helpful if you have connections to companies they’re applying for. If your intern did good work and proved to be a willing learner, reward their hard work by talking them up!
Give appreciation gifts. Intern appreciation gifts let your interns know that you care. A thoughtful gift can help make sure your interns have a positive experience at your company. And, if your interns feel welcomed and appreciated, they’re much more likely to recommend your internship positions to their classmates and peers. If your interns are in college, showing them appreciation and gratitude will help your company build a good relationship with their school as well. This could mean more awesome interns in the future!
Company Gifts for Interns
Not sure what your college interns might like as a gift? Check out our guide on Top Gifts for Interns! At Merchology, we can add your company’s logo to the name-brand, high-quality gifts your interns really want so that they remember your company as they move into their future careers!
Need more ideas on gifts for interns? Our Merchologists are here to give you more custom gift ideas and to answer any questions you might have about ordering, shipping, logo decoration, and more!
