July 2007 Virtual Staffing Newsletter - Issue #13

Invest in future employees - Hire an intern!

Dear Glenn,

“For every disciplined effort there is a multiple award.”
Jim Rohn – Entrepreneur, Author and Motivational Speaker

Small-to-medium sized business (SMB) owners know first-hand the importance of calculated, disciplined efforts. We exercise this knowledge every time we create a new product, offer a new service, begin a marketing campaign or hire a new employee. Engaging in the above efforts is often common place for SMB owners, but one effort commonly overlooked by SMBs is investing in an intern.

Interns are stereotyped to play the role of copier or personal assistant to the big CEO, but intern programs can also offer multiple rewards if a SMB puts forth a disciplined effort. Consider the following misconceptions, steps, and rewards associated with bringing an intern into your office.

One of the most common misconceptions associated with interns is that an intern is free, or at least cheap, semi-skilled labor. Interns can often be acquired at a lower price than a candidate with years of experience, but if an intern is treated as nothing but discounted labor, both your SMB and the intern will suffer.

Interns offer a great opportunity for an SMB to cultivate a relationship, account for the learning curve associated with so many new hires, and end the effort with a qualified, knowledgeable employee. Before beginning the search for an intern that is right for your SMB, consider the following to ensure that your intern is set-up for success from the very beginning:

Teach an intern to copy papers and fetch coffee, and that’s all he/she will be proficient at - Very few interns sign on with a company in order to gain experience at the copier. Interns look for programs where they will get meaningful, pertinent job experience and acquire skills they can utilize following their stint in school. Your time and effort is valuable, just like those of an intern. If your SMB is looking for an energetic employee with a fresh mind and perspective, hiring an intern could be right for you.

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime - This old Chinese proverb may not seem to coincide with internships, but the principle represented above is crucial for a pleasant, successful internship experience. Giving an intern a mind-numbing task may keep her/him busy for the day, but will have little long term benefit for either of you. Instead, assign your intern a challenging task or project, allowing him/her to take ownership to a degree you are both comfortable with. Teach an intern a skill and he/she will be able to serve both himself/herself and your SMB for the duration of your association. Interns can also be put to use working on those projects you’ve been meaning to get to, but have been too busy to tackle.

Plan the work, work the plan - Interns need a meaningful project and the reins to work with it, but it is important to keep in mind that most interns do require more supervision than a typical, full-time employee. Take the time to mentor your intern and work together to plan the work and work the plan. When dealing with an intern still enrolled in school, you must account for the learning curve and realize that the student may not have the experience of a seasoned employee.

Put forth the effort now and reap the reward later - Results vary between firms, but it is not uncommon for a company to report that over 50% of internships end in a job offer extended to the intern. Investing in an intern at your SMB gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with the intern, assess his/her skills and instill in her/him the culture of your business. If the intern is a fit at your SMB, you’re ready to bring them on upon graduation… trained and ready to run.

Find the right intern for your SMB - If you decide an intern could be right for your SMB, the next steps are fairly simple. One of the easiest ways to begin your search is to contact a nearby college or university and work with their Career Services Department. Before taking this step though, it is imperative that you do your homework and know what kind of intern you are looking for. Questions to consider are:

· Do I want to pay an intern or collaborate with a university’s academic department to find a student who will work for credit from the school? Realize, if a student is working for college credit, there are usually more requirements and rules for you, the SMB, to honor.

· Am I looking for an intern to serve during a short college break? An intern to work during the summer? During a semester at school?

· Determining what your expectations for the intern are, and what the intern can expect from you, is another important aspect of this process.

VSI is eager to help your SMB determine if an intern is right for you. We can also be of assistance as you go through the process of creating your internship program.

Referrals - Thank you for letting us serve your business. Our success has been based on your satisfaction with our company and your willingness to continue to provide referrals. For this reason we ask, "How likely are you to refer our company to a friend or colleague?" If you don't feel you could recommend us, please let us know how we could better meet your needs. We greatly appreciate you and are hopeful that you will continue to refer new business to us!

Small business tip of the month - Summer time presents a great opportunity to hire an intern. Hiring high school students is another practice often engaged in by SMBs as a great method for augmenting your workforce. The decision to hire a minor (someone under the age of 18) can benefit both your business and the child, but there are restrictions applying to the hiring of a minor that you should be aware of. The federal Department of Labor has set restrictions on the number of hours a minor can work in addition to forbidding minors to engage in certain jobs such as meat packing, manufacturing brick and tile, and performing roof operations, to name a few. For more details concerning wages, hour and job restrictions for minors, refer to the both the federal and state Departments of Labor as state laws do vary.