This is a guest blog by our current intern, Cassie Davis.
Dear Greenville business leaders:
I started working as soon as I started college; my current position at Complete PR is my fifth official internship. As a result, I’ve gotten a pretty good grip on what the pros and cons are of having an intern hanging around the office. On behalf of all interns looking for jobs or currently working for you, here’s why you should consider hiring emerging talent and some words of advice:
You have an opportunity to invest in the next generation of professionals. Students applying for internships are hungry for mentorship and want to learn as much as possible about their chosen field. Hiring an intern is your chance to invest in the next generation of talent in your industry with advice and professional experience. It’s also a great way to bring some good karma full circle — remember how much you appreciated that person who gave you professional advice at the beginning of your career? Make them proud!
Get a fresh perspective. Interns are bringing the latest education into your office as well as fresh, creative ideas. Give them meaningful work and see what direction they take it (with some guidance). You may be surprised at the extra room in your schedule and smoother functioning of your company as a result!
Try before you buy. It is much cheaper to “trial period” an intern for three months than it is to hire, train, and fire a poor full-time employee after three months of bad work. Instead of viewing an intern as a project or burden, think of them as potential hires that you get an extended interview with. At the end of their internship, you will have a well-trained potential employee that will probably consider working for you full time after graduation if you treat them well.
Speaking of money — pay your interns. Always. At least minimum wage. We are giving you our best professional work at this point in our careers and deserve to be given a stipend. Also, we need to buy gas to get to your office.
Be objective when hiring. Interns often don’t have amazing resumes and perhaps haven’t worked in a professional-level environment before. You are going to have to exercise patience and teach us some new skills. When going through the hiring process, think about potential. What we can offer you, and what is our capacity to grow and learn? Having an application project like Complete PR’s can help determine who really wants the job and give you an idea of what their work looks like.
Most importantly, thank you for hiring us. We know we need a little extra attention and guidance, but your willingness to share your career with us is inspiring and we certainly don’t take it for granted. Without the opportunities you provide, we could have ended up spending yet another summer scooping ice cream or waiting tables instead of building our careers. We are forever grateful.
Sincerely,
Your current and future student interns
