The Benefits of Hiring Local Talent, Part 2

Continuing my presentation from CampusROC 's CollegeFEST 2023 Employer Workshop Series, I'll be covering my best practices when it comes to developing your internship program to take advantage of and leverage local talent.

I'll preface by saying I'm a big believer in establishing a plan of action for everything - so here's your starting point.

1. Identify areas of opportunity

So, you're considering hiring current college students at your company. To create an effective and worthwhile experience for them, start by asking yourself the following questions:

• Where would an internship or co-op fit?
• What departments are you looking to grow?
• Who has a workload that could be offset with the help of an intern?
• Are there any entry-level positions at your company that you haven't found the right person for?

If you're able to answer all of these questions, then you could benefit from the help of an intern.

2. Establish recruiting goals

Determine what you want to achieve with an internship, the majors that would best fit the role, and the end goal for when the internship is complete.

This is where the position description comes into play. I'm finding that the more time and effort you put into developing a comprehensive position description, the clearer it makes the expectations for the applicant and the more reliable it is for you to refer back to. The position description is where you define your recruiting goals essentially, for that particular internship.

An important internal conversation to have is around the end goal of the internship. Is it a training ground or trial period for a role that transitions into full time? Is it simply for a short-handed part of your company that needs to catch up on work? Is it for a specific project that will only go for a few weeks? (In the last case, you'd be looking for a micro-internship).

At Wilmac Technologies , our sales internship was started with a goal to use it as a training ground for inside sales representatives so we can educate them on our industry and provide baseline training for sales technique. If they're a good fit, we're open to hiring them and, within a few years, they can be promoted to an outside sales representative with their own territory.

3. Determine who's leading the recruiting efforts

Who is willing to invest their time and energy into this intern?

This is extremely important to consider if you're a smaller company without a recruiting or human resources department.

Whoever leads the recruiting efforts and will manage the intern needs to be invested in the wellbeing of this person and the outcomes they achieve. They must want to network, attend events, and connect with students.

Their investment is crucial to the success of the internship program.

4. Get to know the Career Development team at every local college

You've established your plan of action, now it's time to execute and go find someone. The Career Development team at every local college you want to recruit from is my suggestion as the best place to start.

The people on the Career Development team can be found on the college's website, Handshake, or LinkedIn. This information is readily available to you if you look for it!

When you've found the right people, inquire about recruiting opportunities at the school. Get their input on what avenues to pursue - they know the students better than most. And, from my experience, they're more than willing to work with you. So reach out!

I also suggest starting small if this is new to you; start with a few career fairs in the area that make the most sense for the positions you're recruiting for. Branch out to other schools as you gain experience.

Besides career fairs, most local colleges and universities offer tabling options for specialized roles, or you can sponsor events that align with the majors and programs best suited for your internships.

To figure out your options, go to Career Development!

5. Make yourself accessible to students

The best way to attract students to your internships and entry-level positions is by facilitating relationships with them. You've met them at a career fair or tabling event, now it's time to follow up and make yourself available to them.

The easiest way to do this and show that you care is by being responsive. Respond to their emails or messages if they're asking questions. Be proactive and connect with them on LinkedIn. Encourage them to apply to well-fit positions.

Students are easily intimidated and overwhelmed by these recruiting and networking events, so find ways to make them feel at ease.

If you read Part 1 of this series on The Benefits of Hiring Local Talent, you know that when applying for my first full-time job, I applied to over 50 positions and only got a response from four. My personal experience with this damaged my confidence and made me reconsider if I had chosen the right career.

Responses give clarity and closure to students. Let them know that it might take you a few days to respond to them. Let them know if they're not the right fit for the position. This doesn't only give them clarity; it reflects well on your organization for any future possibility of them working at your company in another capacity.

6. Get to know your interns and make them feel valued

You've hired your interns now. How can you help them have a valuable learning experience?

One small thing I do whenever an intern starts is take them around to the other employees in our office and introduce them. I also encoruage them to ask questions to our employees so they get an idea of where these people fit into the operations of the organization. We also host an office-wide lunch when they start and they're always invited to our monthly happy hours to engage in more informal relationship building with their peers.

Another small thing that makes a difference is placing their workstation close to you. They have limited experience and are new to your company; they're bound to have questions. By making yourself physically close to them and letting them know you're available whenever they have questions, they'll feel more comfortable with the work they're doing.

Provide regular feedback to let them know how they're doing. Ask them what they expect from YOU... each intern is different and might want more regular one-on-one meetings or to be introduced to new projects in an email versus in a meeting. Ask them to get clarity on their working style. Offer mentoring and training opportunities so they can get visibility into what it'd be like to work with you full-time.

Help your interns establish goals. At Wilmac Tech, we establish 5-7 goals as a company every quarter. Each department head takes their assigned goal back to their team, where they collaborate to establish team goals that contribute to the company goals. Then, each individual creates goals that are impacting the team goals. By having an intern set SMART goals, they can directly see how they're contributing to the overall success and growth of the company.

By getting to know them and offering them these opportunities, you're showing that you care.

In closing...

Engaging with college students and employing interns has been one of the most rewarding parts of my job. My personal internship and applying experiences have had a direct imact on how I view recruiting and the effort I put into facilitating relationships with local students.