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Interns - the Invaluable Underutilized Resource

Posted on 24 June 2008 by
Brian

“I don’t have time to train an intern.” “I’m too busy to start an internship program.” “We don’t have the resources to oversee interns in our office.” All three of these responses are quite popular excuses from employers destined to fall behind the pack in the knowledge economy and represent a fundamental misunderstanding of the importance of internships in today’s workforce. While most employers assume running a successful internship program requires a high time commitment with taxing oversight, others like Google, Exxon Mobil and Nike understand that effectively utilizing interns can actually yield huge benefits and save employers substantial time to focus on what is most pertinent. In fact, a five year study by the Internship Institute found that “a qualified manager can gain 225 full 8-hour workdays of productivity in a calendar year by effectively utilizing college interns.” Get your attention? I know a lot of people that would be very interested in 225 extra days to work on a task or two. Unfortunately, when presented with the idea of creating an internship program the most common response from an employer is one of those listed at the beginning of this post - not enough time for interns. Which is such a strange misconception to those who understand effective internship programs actually save immense amounts of time. Not only that, but internships are a proven, cost-effective way to recruit and evaluate potential employees. If for whatever reason you feel less than content with the performance of a college intern you have no obligation to do anything except let their internship expire at the end of their semester. While you may wish you could let a few employees expire after they’ve been on payroll for 4 months, it gets a little more complicated after you’ve taken them on full time. So perhaps you’re willing to consider an internship program but don’t know how to get started? (If you’re still not convinced on the value of hiring interns check out the Top 10 Reasons Your Organization Benefits from an Internship Program) The most comprehensive resource available to employers at no cost on starting and maintaining a successful internship program can be downloaded from StayInventCentralPA.com. The website provides a number of resources completely clear of any cost for companies located in Southcentral Pennsylvania, including a page where employers can submit an internship opportunity to over 70 college career centers at once - an incredible tool for employers in Southcentral PA seeking to get the word out about open internships. If you’re interested in additional turnkey tools for effectively facilitating your internship program, the Internship Institute hands down offers the most complete and affordable toolkit for managing the entire internship program from beginning to end. I have personally reviewed their products and can attest they are well worth the meager investment. As much money as it costs to find great employees by advertising online and in the paper, it’s a wonder to me that more companies both large and small are not taking advantage of internship programs to replace their costly recruiting efforts and fulfill future workforce needs. Especially in today’s marketplace of daily evolving technology, the average college student is much better suited to bring new perspectives to old problems than any workforce before it. The real question is not how to find time to manage an internship program, but rather how can you afford the time not to?

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Ten tips to make the most of a newspaper internship

Posted on 28 May 2008 by
Daniel Victor

Tags: internship, Newspaper

This is my favorite time of the year in the newsroom: The annual march of the interns. In my newsroom, we have four in the various departments, and it’s so much fun having them around. They bring a lively approach to their writing, they haven’t had all the hope squeezed out of them yet, and they make me desperately miss college. Good times. Having gone through three internships myself from 2003 to 2005 (Centre Daily Times, The (Harrisburg, Pa.) Patriot-News, The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle), here are some tips to make the most of your summers:

Don’t try to play journalistic dress-up with your writing. Sometimes I see young writers write in the boring style they think newspapers require, and they squelch the youthful approach that newsrooms desperately need. The most important story I wrote as an intern was one of my shortest, but it was the point when I realized I could have fun with my writing. That, more than anything, has carried me to this day.
Find a reporter or two who seem receptive to helping you out, and incessantly bug them the entire summer about anything and everything. You don’t need to impress other reporters; they’re not the ones who will write your recommendations. Ask them the dumb questions you’re afraid to ask your editors out of fear they’ll think less of you.
Speaking of dumb questions, never fail to ask them. Both editors and reporters know you’re inexperienced, and they’ll be understanding if you don’t know something seemingly basic. They’ll be glad you asked, rather than pretending you know and getting caught on it later.
Remember that editors are looking for good stories, but it’s your attitude and behavior that matter when it comes to making a lasting impression that will pay off for you in your recommendation.
Demand as many stories as they’re willing to give you. When I was an intern at The Patriot-News, the managing editor was once dumbfounded when I walked into her office and asked for something to do, because my assignment editor hadn’t yet come in for the day. Someone would come begging for more work to do? She just couldn’t believe it, and gave me an A1 story as payment.
Come up with two or three enterprise stories on your own. Editors love this kind of initiative, and they often produce the best clips.
Leave your comfort zone. I never liked cops reporting, but The Wichita Eagle made me do it for six weeks, and it was hugely important to my development.
Accept that you’re going to screw up. Everyone does, and it doesn’t mean you suck. It means you’re learning.
If you’re at a paper near where you live or go to school, don’t leave the summer without creating a reliable pipeline to your editors. Ask them what you can write when you go back to school.
Have fun. And I don’t just mean that in the carpe diem kind of way — people love having you around because you bring some much-needed enthusiasm to the newsroom. When you’re having fun, the people around you will have more fun, too. And creating connections to your future colleagues is an important part of the experience.