Supporting and nurturing young talent has always been essential to our sector. Each year we receive many work experience requests and applications from graduates looking to get their feet on the first rung of the agency ladder. Last year, we decided to offer a formal internship that would enable us to grow our team, without exposing our business to too much risk during times of economic uncertainty.
Whilst the whole process of advertising, reviewing over 90 applications and interviewing the shortlist involved a considerable investment of time, we found a graduate with the potential we were looking for.
To ensure an internship provides a positive experience for both parties, it’s important that the process is managed responsibly, with clear learning objectives set in place. For businesses willing to invest the time and effort in finding a suitable candidate and providing on-the-job training, there are tangible rewards.
Graduates can provide an injection of fresh ideas, enthusiasm and energy, which can help to increase productivity and focus within the whole team. They also tend to be highly self-motivated and have a good understanding of new technologies.
By identifying specialist or new skills, a graduate may also enable a business to open up new business areas and tap into new revenue streams.
For graduates, internships provide invaluable work experience. Where they are given the opportunity to engage in real projects that add value to the business, they can often create their own employment opportunity.
Here are a few hints and tips when looking for an intern:
1. Many universities will post your internship advertising on their vacancies boards – there are also specialist internship websites where you can pay to advertise your position. Try to find out which industry websites your ideal graduates will be visiting and post there. Advertise the internship on your own website and make good use of social media to promote it.
2. Businesses need to be aware of the employment guidelines for taking on interns and must clearly explain the terms of the internship to the graduate in writing, prior to commencement. Some guidance is available on the Business Link website
3. Look out for graduates with additional skills or areas of personal interest that could benefit the business or compliment the existing team. As young graduates, one of their most employable assets is that they have grown up in the communication age, they don’t need to attend social media training – it’s second nature to them.
4. Don’t forget that personality and a willingness to learn are often far more important than technical expertise or knowledge. Will this person fit into the existing team? With an internship you do have the luxury of some time to work this one out, but if you have doubts early on, listen to your instincts.
I am pleased to say that after a successful internship, we now have another full-time employee! It’s been a learning curve for us all, but an extremely positive experience that we will probably repeat again.