When set up for success, an intern can provide tremendous value to your business, offering fresh perspective and support to your team. A well-structured internship program can be a win-win, benefiting both your business and the intern. Find a great fit, and you could even pave the way for a future full-time hire.
To create a successful internship experience, consider these 10 key steps before welcoming a new intern aboard.
1. Build a clear job description
The benefits of a clearly defined job description are two-fold. Besides being a valuable tool for attracting qualified applicants, it serves as a blueprint to help you manage interns once they’re hired. But before you can craft an effective job description, you need to take a step back and clarify some questions internally.
First, answer the big-picture question: Why do you need an intern?
Knowing the answer to this question will help you identify the intern’s day-to-day responsibilities. At the same time, it will help you set expectations with the intern once they start. Of course, as you’re developing the description, don’t forget to include the finer details, such as position duration, who they’ll report to, location expectations, education and experience requirements and application process. Lastly, remember that internships are a two-way street. Clearly identifying the value that an intern will derive from the opportunity is just as important as explaining the role itself.
Pro Tip: Create a job description template that can be leveraged across your organization, so every write-up reflects a consistent look and includes all required information — regardless of the position.
If you're leveraging a human capital management (HCM) solution, store your template (and any of the descriptions you create using it) in the system, and then utilize in-system workflows for easy collaboration, review and approval of any job descriptions you create.
2. Figure out compensation
For many employers, there’s an immediate question that comes to mind when hiring interns: To pay or not to pay? But before you run with the idea that interns equal free labor, make sure you’re clear on federal labor laws. In most circumstances, private-sector employers in the United States are required to pay their interns under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In rare cases, unpaid internships at for-profit companies are legal if you can show that the intern, not the employer, is the “primary beneficiary” of the relationship, meaning the intern benefits more than the employer.
To determine who the primary beneficiary is, courts use the “primary beneficiary test,” taking into consideration the extent to which:
- The intern understands they will not receive compensation and does not expect compensation.
- The internship is similar to training they would receive in an educational environment.
- The internship is part of the intern’s coursework, or the intern will receive academic credit for the internship.
- The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff while receiving educational benefits.
- The internship aligns with the intern's academic calendar, allowing them to meet their other academic commitments.
- The length of the internship aligns with the period of beneficial learning for the intern.
- Both parties understand there is no guarantee of a job at the conclusion of the internship.
The subjectivity to these questions may leave you with some uncertainty, and that's okay. If you are feeling uneasy, err on the side of caution and consult an employment law attorney. Additionally, be sure to check your state laws to determine if there are additional compensation regulations you must uphold.
Pro Tip: Leveraging a tool like the Mineral platform takes the guesswork out of HR compliance by providing you with the tools, information and human expertise you need to feel confident in your choices. Plus, it's way more affordable than an attorney!
3. Develop a recruitment strategy
These days, the race is on to find the best and the brightest interns. Since many companies look at internships as a pipeline for hiring full-time talent, they recruit interns early to get a leg up on the competition. The earlier you start the recruitment process, the better. Some companies recruit their interns as early as a year ahead of time. If that’s not feasible, you'll want to allow at least a few months for recruiting and onboarding.
Next, decide where you’ll advertise the internship opportunity. Sites like LinkedIn, Indeed and WayUp are a great place to start. That said, make sure you're meeting your audience where they spend their time. For example, if you’re planning to recruit students, reach out to local universities to find out if you can share your posting on their job boards or attend on-campus recruitment events. You may even be able to partner with a local university or community college to create a formal arrangement where you co-develop a program that allows students to receive academic credit for their time as an intern.
Lastly, think about how you can create a positive reputation for your internship program, as this will have the most lasting effect on the success of your recruitment efforts. Encouraging interns to provide a testimonial or leave reviews on job boards, school websites, social media sites, peer-to-peer review sites and other visible places can help you recruit top intern talent down the road.
Pro Tip: Ask your HR technology provider if they offer job boards integrations. This can make it quicker and easier for you to post open roles on sites like LinkedIn and then bring applicants and candidates into the system for evaluation and onboarding.
Need more recruitment ideas? Look into these 11 ways to find and recruit top talent.
4. Fine-tune your selection process
Okay, you know you need a clear job description and compensation plan, and you’re planning to advertise in all the right places. So what’s next? As with any position, thoroughly vetting candidates helps you find the right fit. Hiring can be a headache, and it’s a time-consuming process. But if you ask the right interview questions, you have a better chance of finding an intern that adds value to your company. And in turn, they’ll be happier, more engaged and more productive. Wondering where to start? Check out this list of must-ask interview questions, and tailor them as necessary so they’re intern-appropriate.
5. Prepare an internship agreement
Be ready to make things official with a formal internship agreement. If you don’t already have a template, you can find one online to use as a starting point. That said, whatever you find, run it past a legal advisor to make sure everything checks out.
Besides formalizing the relationship, a written internship agreement gives you an opportunity to reiterate the intern’s responsibilities and set your expectations. But even more importantly, it includes the agreed upon compensation, contract terms and other relationship details, ensuring you and your new intern are aligned before their start date.
6. Make an onboarding plan
No one works well without direction, especially interns, who often come with limited to no work experience. Just as you would with full-time employees, firm up an onboarding plan before they start. However, since they’ll be around for a shorter period of time than regular employees, condense your typical onboarding plan into a week or less of up-front training. To make sure they hit the ground running, plan for a “pre-boarding” phase, where you send them any necessary paperwork in advance of their start date. You can also plan to send an introductory email for the soon-to-be intern to make them feel welcome and excited to start.
Once they come aboard, hold an orientation session, which should cover everything from your organizational values to company-wide processes. From there, you can hone in on the scope of the intern’s responsibilities, communicate goals and expectations for the internship and conduct any necessary role-specific training. By having a solid onboarding plan in place, you're conveying that you’re invested in your intern and dedicated to helping them become a successful, contributing team member.
What onboarding features should your HCM technology offer? Capabilities like applicant-to-record conversion, new hire checklists, automated onboarding workflows, electronic I-9 submission and sign-off, W-4 election and submission, property allocation, an HR document and form creation tool and robust reporting are all a must!
7. Assign a mentor
In addition to a manager, interns rely heavily on mentors. And rightfully so. For many interns, this is their first time getting hands-on experience in the work world. With the right amount of guidance, they’ll be more impactful to your business. But, the onus shouldn’t be on them to find a mentor. From the get-go, assign your interns a mentor who you know will do a good job showing them the ropes. While their mentor can be their supervisor, it doesn’t have to be. Rather, it can be a staff member that’s willing to take the time to answer questions and share their expertise. Sure, in the near term, it requires extra time out of the mentor’s schedule. But with the right intern-to-mentor assignment, the whole experience should be rewarding and valuable for both parties involved.
8. Create a feedback strategy
Before hiring an intern, businesses should develop a comprehensive performance review plan to ensure a structured approach to assessing the intern's progress and contributions. This plan should consider whether the intern will be included in the company's standard performance review process or if a customized approach is better.
For example, evaluations could deviate from standard review structure by requiring the intern to create a presentation that showcases their work and learning outcomes. Whatever path you choose, make sure to outline specific criteria for evaluating the intern's performance, such as the quality of their work, teamwork, adaptability and learning progress. Additionally, businesses should establish clear expectations and feedback mechanisms to guide the intern throughout their experience, not just at review time. Consider regular check-ins to ensure the intern receives consistent and constructive feedback, feels supported and stays engaged throughout their entire internship.
While it may take a little extra effort, having a well-thought-out performance review strategy and feedback loop ensures the intern gets the most out of their experience and can take valuable learnings with them to the next phase of their professional or academic career.
9. Plan meaningful projects and tasks
Planning meaningful projects and tasks for your intern is key to turning a good internship into a great one. Rather than assigning dull, repetitive work, empower them with real, impactful projects that put their skills to the test and let them actively contribute to your organization's success. Providing interns with clear responsibilities and measurable goals keeps them motivated while ensuring their efforts align with your company’s broader objectives. Well-crafted projects spark enthusiasm, build confidence, and reveal their true potential — while showing you’re invested in their growth. Done right, it’s a win-win that benefits everyone.
10. Prepare to conduct an exit interview
Even if you plan to hire an individual after their internship, a formal exit interview is still beneficial. By getting your intern’s feedback at the end of their internship, you demonstrate that you value their opinion. But just as importantly, it provides a face-to-face opportunity to learn where you could improve your internship experience for the future. To make the most of it, you’ll want to schedule the exit interview well in advance of your intern’s departure date, so you give them time to collect their thoughts before they share them with you.
An online survey is also a worthwhile complement to an exit interview, as it gives interns an opportunity to share feedback that they may not be comfortable sharing face to face. Not only does this encourage interns to be transparent about their experience, it enables you to accurately evaluate your internship program and improve it for the next go-around. Yup, that's a win-win too!
How B2E Solutions can help
As our B2E Solutions name implies, solutions are at the heart of what we do. Our human capital management (HCM) solution, UKG Ready, offers a full-suite of Payroll, Time & Labor, Human Resources, and Talent Management products that help you manage the entire employee lifecycle with ease, automation, accuracy and trust. To learn more about how our HCM solution can help you and your internship program succeed, contact us today!
Editor's Note: This blog was originally published on May 2, 2024, and has since been updated to reflect the most recent information and tips.
