Interns Heading Back to Campus? Now What?

It’s the end of summer and your interns are returning to college to finish their studies.?You were able to invest in your company’s next generation of talent by providing meaningful assignments and experiences for your intern.?Now what??The end of an internship does not have to be the end of your relationship with your them.?In fact, it is the exact opposite.?If you are hosting a summer intern, you want to create a positive experience down to the bitter end. ?Why is this important? ?Creating a great internship experience increase the chances that they will accept your offer to return as an intern?or a full-time employee.?Even if they don’t accept an offer to join your organization, the positive experience you provide will open them up to keeping you in mind should they find themselves in the job market. Additionally, interns can be your marketing representative on campus.??A good experience will almost always guarantee that they will promote your organization as an employer of choice on campus.

Set your internship program up for future success by doing these things before interns return to school:??

Organize Intern Presentations

Before your summer interns head back to campus, allow them to highlight what they’ve learned through their internship experience. One way to effectively accomplish this is through intern presentations.?Interns are generally proud of their work and welcome the idea of sharing their learnings and achievements in front of a targeted audience. ?A typical internship presentation will cover topics such an overview of projects they’ve worked on, lessons learned, and skills used and gained as a result of this experience.?Make it a big event within your organization. ??Invite key leaders in your organization, career center staff, deans, professors and employees from departments that the intern may have worked with.?If you’ve hosted more than one intern, consider consolidating the presentations into one session.?Although a bit intimidating to present in front of a larger audience, this is great opportunity for your intern to get exposure to leaders in your organization and a way to develop presentation skills.?

?Conduct Performance Evaluations

Many organizations hire interns, offer them a great experience, but forget one of the most important elements of a successful internship program-- giving them feedback on established goals. Some may feel that because interns spend such a short time in their roles, it’s just not worth putting forth the effort to conduct performance evaluations.?Well, this is far from the truth.??Conducting performance evaluations can be beneficial for the short and long-term as they can help increase productivity from interns and assist you in making better hiring decisions.?The process does not have to be arduous and you don’t have to go reinventing the wheel. Use your existing performance management system and tweak where necessary.?If you prefer to conduct evaluations outside of your existing system, create a simple template using the NACE Competencies as the framework. ?Again, target simplicity and most importantly, get it done!!

Conduct Wrap-up/Exit Interviews

Just as exit interviews are great intel from your exiting regular, full-time employees, they are equally valuable in gathering feedback from your interns. This process gives interns a chance to provide valuable feedback about their experience and offer helpful suggestions to improve your overall internship program. You will also get a glimpse into their desire to return to your organization.?Wrap-up/exit interviews can be conducted virtually, face-to-face, or as a survey through mail.?Either way, you want to try and gather your feedback in advance of their last day. Here are sample questions to consider asking:

• How would you describe or rate your overall internship experience?
• Do you feel that your expectations were met?
• Would you recommend this internship to others??Why or Why not?
• Do you feel that management provided support and training you needed throughout your internship?
• If you can change anything about your internship, what would that be and why?
• Can you see yourself working for this company in the future?

Data collected through wrap-up/exit interviews can help evaluate adjustments needed to strengthen your internship program and pinpoint the type of projects that were most impactful for both your organization and the intern. Exit interview data will also prove to be the launching pad for improving your program’s ROI. If you see a trend of not offering interns a position within your organization, you can use the data to ask questions to understand the why and address inadequacies accordingly.

?Extend Offers

The primary value of an effective internship program is to create a talent pipeline for regular, full-time hires after graduating.??So, if you have interns who are entering their senior year of college, have them return to campus with employment offers in hand.?Most college seniors will be actively searching for employment in preparation for their graduation.?If they don’t have an offer from your organization, you can be sure they will be courting another employer for career opportunities.?You have put a lot of time and training into them, so you want to make sure you get a return on your investment.??Also, have a plan for those interns who are not geared up to graduate.?If your interns performed well, you will naturally want to host them next summer.??Therefore, it is imperative to express your desires and extend a return offer at the conclusion of their internship.??When interns return to campus with employment offers, they are less likely to entertain other employers’ interests in them, which is a plus for you. ??In either situation, give a reasonable decision deadline and stay connected with your intern along the way.??Demonstrate your interest in them not just by the offer, but also by your genuine actions.

A general rule is to allow students about four weeks after receiving the offer to make a decision.?Be prepared to extend some flexibility on this date as some students will participate in career fairs and will be approached by prospective employers.?

?Choose a Campus Ambassador

A campus ambassador assists in branding your company on campus while at the same time being your eyes and ears on what’s happening.?The ideal candidate for campus ambassador is someone who was passionate about their time with your company, active on campus and an individual who is genuinely interested in becoming an ambassador for your program and company. If possible, select an ambassador to represent your organization on each campus you recruit from.?After selecting your ambassador, sit down with them to go over their responsibilities and your expectations.??Prepare to periodically check in and provide support to them during the school year.?Sample tasks you can have a campus ambassador perform include:

• Speaking with their peers about their experience with your organization
• Identifying opportunities for speaking engagements and events you can sponsor and attend
• Assist in identifying top talent across campus
• Co-host and organize information sessions
• Initiate marketing and promotional activities, including social media promotions

Whether you decide to implement one or several of these suggestions, the most important thing is to stay engaged with your intern after they return to campus.