Many leading corporations benefit from well-planned and publicized internship programs that help attract students in large numbers. Meanwhile, small businesses that cannot afford to miss out are increasingly looking to change ways of recruiting staff.
Internship opportunities at small companies have traditionally been overlooked but smaller business structures can often offer more rounded and real life work experience to graduates whilst potentially having the most to gain from fresh and talented individuals.
As well as tapping into fresh talent, internships allow small business owners to mitigate risk by trying out a candidate first, offering an alternative to direct recruitment - often a costly and time consuming exercise, with no guarantee of success.
By taking on an intern, smaller businesses are able to staff growth opportunities and plan beyond short-term projects as they free up time and resources for core management. Internships can also help small businesses to thrive whilst conserving cash that would usually be spent to advertise, recruit and take on full time staff.
internships can help small firms conserve
cash that would usually be spent to advertise, recruit and take on full
time staff
But a word of warning to any small business owner looking to take advantage of the current economic climate - the recently introduced Internships Charter set up by the CIPD has been designed to support graduates (and employers) to ensure genuine and worthwhile experiences for interns are beneficial for both parties.
This responsibility will ultimately fall to the recruiter to ensure that both parties are happy and key criteria fulfilled. Supporting and advising both clients and candidates is essential to ensure a successful match. We advise companies on everything from mentoring techniques right through to the type of work interns should be expected to do. Candidates are also offered support from finding the right position to advice and mentoring on how they can get the most out of any internship.
Some may be concerned that internships are unfair to certain candidates who cannot accept unpaid internships. Although not all internships are unpaid, a new government initiative may help to level the playing field by allowing candidates to accept such internships while enhancing their career opportunities. From January 2010, graduates already receiving Jobseekers Allowance will be able to do an internship for up to 13 weeks alongside claiming an allowance and looking for work. This means unpaid internships will be open to employees and graduates irrespective of whether they or their families can support them.
Younger workers have been hit hard by the recession as many smaller firms have stopped hiring whilst larger companies have cancelled their graduate training schemes. But for most interns, considerations such as a competitive salary and perks are mostly secondary to their implicit desire to learn. Over in the US, internships are an increasingly popular way of ‘landing that job,' with employers extending offers to over 70% of past interns.
The last few decades have seen Britain slowly turn into a service economy, eroding the traditional apprenticeship model - a model that needs to be refined to suit the needs of small businesses today. Furthermore employees and graduates need to fine tune their skills with relevant work experience to remain competitive against a global workforce.
5 steps to ensure you get the most from an internship program:
- Choose your intern wisely. Your choice should be based on the culture and value of your business and the specific department that the intern will work in.
- Treat the intern as a professional and a potential future recruit.
- Offer the intern rewarding work experience.
- Mentor the intern in their professional aspirations, their field of interest and share your experiences.
- Give regular and constructive feedback to the intern, on the quality of their work, and ask for feedback, too!
