From Your Summer Intern's Perspective
With the increase in temperature comes an increase in fresh faces in the workplace. Summer Interns often don’t have as much responsibility as full-time employees, but that doesn’t mean they are any less a part of the corporate workplace. They will try to mirror your corporate culture and feel like one of the team. But if you don’t give them the opportunity to work to their fullest potential, they will resent their job. As a summer intern myself, I can say with experience what works for summer interns and what doesn’t.
Include Them
One of most striking aspects about my interview for my current job was that my soon-to-be boss, Deborah Sweeney, offered to include me in different department meetings. Although I only work for the social media department, offering to be a part of the sales meetings and processing meetings really enticed me towards the job. I am in a position where my value of education is much higher than other employees. As much as I want to add value to the company, having a boss who wanted me to grow in my corporate knowledge makes me want to work harder.
Critique to Teach
One of my largest tasks as a social media intern is to write articles for different business communities. Once I have a draft written, I submit the article for review by my peers. In a traditional corporate structure, the article would have been edited by my peers and passed on to get approved for submission. But, my colleagues did something different. Instead of making the changes themselves, they propose changes and make me edit my own writing. Not only does it free up their time, but it also helps me to grow in my position at MyCorporation.
Encourage Questions
I have friends who feel like they can never ask their boss a question. But my boss, Deborah Sweeney? Answers my questions every week. Though answering questions may not be your favorite activity, it’s important that your summer intern feels welcomed. This increase in morale will push them to work harder at their job when they may wish to be at the beach instead. Also, by allowing them to ask questions in meetings or by email, you gain new insights into old ideas. Because summer interns are usually around college age, you may receive a young perspective that no member of your team had previously thought about. Finally, since they have just started working for you, allowing questions communicates to them that you don’t expect them to know everything about your company.
Make them a part of the team
You know that corporate wide lunch coming up? Invite them. Sending an email to the employees about a change in the website? Include them. The purpose of this is to make your intern understand what it really is like to be a part of the company and to see how the intern fits into the corporate culture. This is a good way to test if they could be a future full-time employee.
They may not work as many hours. They may only be temporary. But how you treat your summer intern can say a lot about your company. Are you collaborative or individualistic? Dynamic or static? Your company culture will be absorbed by your summer interns. They are a sponge for new knowledge. Remember to use that to your advantage.
#interning