Boost your business with summer interns

Summer holidays are not far off and thousands of eager young people will be at home wondering what to do with their vacation time. As a business, have you considered bringing on an intern? Interns not only help your business, but also help SVG.{{more}}

My first intern experience was at City Hall in Boston. Although parts of the job were quite repetitive and even boring, I found a mentor who showed me how to be effective in the workplace and what it means to be successful. That experience was invaluable. At an early age, I was exposed to real work with real impact on that department. No textbook can teach that. The department was able to clear up a number of projects that were lagging and I felt a great sense of satisfaction. Both the business and the intern benefit.

Internships can do the following:

1. Instill work ethic. Teaching a student to show up daily, work hard, and be rewarded for their effort is a basic skill many young people lack. Many youths don’t know what “paying their dues” means, so this is a perfect way to demonstrate this value.

2. Build future workforce. In other countries, people are gearing up for their annual summer jobs campaign. Even though the economy has impacted these endeavours, the private and public sectors are working together to ensure that the future workforce is strong. Starting early ensures companies build their brand with future workers, and the interns see the many options available.

3. Build confidence. Students who have constructive activities to engage in are less likely to get involved with negative people and make bad choices. There is a sense of satisfaction that comes when young persons realize that they matter, and an internship can do that.

If you decide to bring on an intern, here are three projects you can have them do:

Sample Projects for Interns

Database Upkeep. How many times have you attended an event and can’t find the business cards you collected? Or are they in a pile and you have done nothing with them? Get an intern to organize this for you and even launch a newsletter to help you stay in touch with your new connections.

Social Media Campaigns. Many small business owners do not have the time, money or expertise to maximize the use of the social media world. However, a tech-savvy intern can bridge the gap, and with a little guidance, they can significantly increase your presence and build your brand, using social media.

Conduct Research. Finding clients so you can offer your valuable service or product is the name of the game, but many times that may involve some research. Instead of spending hours stumbling trying to find the information, why not delegate the search to an intern who enjoys research and gets a thrill from hunting down the information?

Karen Hinds is “The Workplace Success Expert.” For a FREE SPECIAL REPORT on Avoiding Career Killers in the Workplace, send an email to info@workplacesuccess.com
Visit online at www.workplacesuccess.com