The Internship Blueprint: Strategies for Companies

Talent Report+THRIVE

Whether you are just starting an internship program or you have one already, discover the key qualities that make interns thrive, learn how internship programs can shape future leaders, and explore innovative approaches to foster a culture of continuous learning and development. We'll share tips on creating challenging projects that elevate interns to showcase their leadership potential.

Resources:

MRA Membership

About MRA

Intern Program

MRA's 2024 Internship Leadership Program Calendar

Recruiting

Let's Connect:

Courtney’s email

Courtney’s LinkedIn profile

Transcript

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Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything

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and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association.

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Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR?

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MRA has got you covered.

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We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not.

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I'm your host, Sophie Boler and we are so glad you're here.

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Now it's time to thrive.

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Hello, everybody, and welcome to 30 Minute Thrive.

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Today we're going to be talking about the ins and outs of internships.

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So if you're looking to start an internship program at your organization,

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or maybe you have one started already, but you're looking to make it

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even more successful, it's a good thing you're here today with us

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because we're joined by Courtney Lamers, MRA, senior manager of member Engagement

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and MRA's Intern Leadership program organizer.

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So Courtney's really here to help organizations

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not only design and implement an internship program,

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but also help develop existing ones into successful programs.

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And having been an intern myself at Emory,

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I love this topic, and I'm really excited to talk about it.

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So, Courtney, let's start.

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Start from the top here.

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Those who have never implemented an internship program before.

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What are some of the key starting factors that a company would really need?

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Absolutely.

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Great question. And thank you for having me today.

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You know,

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it really

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is that time of the year where everyone is reaching out about internships.

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And it's been exciting to hear from a lot of companies that are just

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beginning their internship journey.

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So I think it's going to be a really fun summer and I'm super

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excited for all of you that have interns.

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I think those that have had interns have really found it

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valuable and continue to see that year over year.

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And so I'm really excited for all of those companies that are starting it.

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I think that's a great question to start with, just because we do

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see a lot of companies that are starting internship program.

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And I would say the key in starting an internship program

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and there's a lot of things that go into it, but one of the most important

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things is making sure that you have the correct manager

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and managers in place to support and intern support their experience

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as a whole,

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and be able to have some of those

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difficult conversation zones where I think we see with companies,

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a lot of times managers will come and say, I really want an intern,

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but if that manager may not have the culture in the department,

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that character may not

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necessarily be equipped with the tools to be a great manager for an intern.

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Someone companies are having those conversations, so I think manager buy in

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and understanding of what it really takes to have an intern is huge.

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I think like any new employee, I think interns

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take a little bit of extra time and really supporting that experience

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from mentorship and coaching and giving them opportunities.

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There is a little bit of additional work

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for an intern, so

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I think we see companies that have super successful intern programs

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and what you see behind those are managers and companies that have complete buy in.

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So I think honestly, before you even get to the manager piece,

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you need to think about and talk with your leadership team and understand

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that there is a buy in needed and an investment honestly,

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between both time and money and what goes into a great experience.

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So I think, you know, really the buy in is the first step

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and then there are a lot of steps along the way to get to that manager piece.

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But I think that is so key.

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Just kind of starting about with the whole experience.

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So obviously once you have the manager buy in, that's huge.

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Or leadership by an excuse me.

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And then I think really think about why you're having an intern.

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You know, I think in the past interns have historically been added

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to a team to help with some of those, you know, daily tasks

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and some of those things that can be taken off of other people's plates.

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But we see a lot of companies that are looking to hire

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interns for a long term perspective.

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So one from a brand awareness standpoint, these interns are going back to

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and talking to their friends on campus

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and even on social media about their experience as a whole.

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So those you know, word of mouth brand, ambassador pieces is a huge part of it.

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And we also see interns a lot as their town supply chain.

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So really trying to hang on to those interns.

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So just really understanding the why.

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What's the purpose of your program and then putting some of those structural

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pieces around to support the intern throughout the length of their internship.

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And then, of course,

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thinking about what are those elements that make this an experience as a whole?

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So of course there's the work component of it,

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but what mentorship opportunities, what networking, professional development,

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all of that staff to provide this great experience.

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So the interns really want to either

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say at your organization or go back and tell their friends all about it.

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So long winded way of saying like, there's a lot of pieces to get started.

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But the most important one, just having that manager

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really be there to support their interns.

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Sorry that as long you continue to hear.

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Question So there's a lot that goes into starting an internship program,

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and like you said before, even thinking about it, it's the whole planning process

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and evaluating why am I having interns

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who at the company can manage the interns

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and has the capacity to do that, and then it's also thinking about like

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some companies may

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have one intern, but some may have 30.

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So it's like,

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how do you split that up between managers and and roles and stuff like that?

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But once you have that plan

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in place, like you were talking about, even then, even if you already

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have a great internship program developed, how do you find the interns?

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I think that's a huge question, like recruiting best practices.

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Do you have any suggestions on where to find interns, when to find interns?

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I know now is a great time to start talking about it,

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but just looking for any best practices you might have there.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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Shameless plug for companies Recruiting services team.

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They really do

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all of their recruiting for interns, so they are a great resource to tap.

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But I would say we see

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a lot of interns get hired from networking and schools.

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We just had a hot topic survey not too long ago

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and I think like 87% of our respondents have that.

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They find their interns and they have a lot of great luck by

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going to job fairs at universities and colleges

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and just different locations where they're able to network with people.

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I would also say share it out to your LinkedIn page.

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You know,

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I think we see a lot of interns get hired because of connections they have.

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And I

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you know, I get we'll find out something about MRA's intern leadership program

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and I'll get people come back and say like, well, I don't have

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an intern at my company, but I do have a daughter

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that's looking for an internship or a niece or a nephew.

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And I'm always willing to help pair that.

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So you just never know who is going to see some of that.

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But like I said, I think for the most part,

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people have a lot of luck getting in front of the universities,

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the colleges and being on campus in front of the next generation

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of talent and just from a brand awareness standpoint, there's always a benefit

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there, too.

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As far as timing, you know, I think we've seen it

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be done successfully at various times throughout the year.

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You know,

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we are seeing a lot of companies now that are ramping up for summer internship.

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So they are starting to just find their interns.

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Now, we do recommend a little bit earlier than now at this point of the year.

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We'll see some of the schools and the organizations

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that have bigger internship programs are starting right after the summer.

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So they're starting in September hiring all the way for the next summer.

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And I mean, it's a lot of work to fill.

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35 internships or however many there are, but a lot of the career

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offers happen early in the fall and again in the spring.

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So just kind of thinking,

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being strategic about that, it doesn't mean you have to start in the fall.

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People have a lot of great luck in the spring,

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so definitely an option to.

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But as far as best practices, I would also say think about your job

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description and your job ad and you don't have to put

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every single detail, every single project that they're going to be working on.

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But some highlight some of those main responsibilities,

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of course, but then some of those fun things too.

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So like, for example,

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we have a company that's participating in the Intern Leadership Program program

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that I'm a grant offers, and they put that as part of their job description

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in every single one of their interns

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that they ended up hiring have said

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they had to ask the question, like, Why did you apply for this internship?

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And they also had the intern leadership program.

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So some of that professional development that's part of that intern

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program can be part of the the job at that job description.

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So some of those fun key elements in showcasing the mentorship

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and networking opportunities that they're going to have.

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And also I would just say

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if there's an opportunity for them to learn the business as a whole,

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put some of that stuff in your job ads as well.

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I think interns in general are just trying to gain as much experience

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and knowledge as they can.

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So if they see that in your job description, in your job ad,

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I think that's going to be a huge draw for them.

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Absolutely.

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I was going to say you're trying to attract these interns like a new employee.

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So like like you said, be creative and show off what flexible arrangements

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you may have something that's going to attract

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an intern to work for your organization.

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Well, those are the things that we hear about from the interns, is

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they like I mean, they like the flexibility, of course.

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But I think some of the struggle is

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they really want to learn from others and be mentored.

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And it's really hard to do that if they're coming into the office,

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which they a lot of them have shown that

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they want to come into the office for that mentorship opportunity.

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But if they're coming in

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and nobody else is in the office, that can be a really challenging thing too.

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So if you are able to express

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what those mentorship opportunities and those learning opportunities are, that

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I think is a great way for them to like, really understand how that could happen.

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And the other thing just kind of going back to,

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you know, the timing of hiring interns,

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we've seen a lot more in the last year

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to of companies that are hiring interns and then

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they're struggling to retain them, even to start their internship.

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So, you know, you have to find that balance of

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hiring them early enough, but then also keeping them engaged.

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So if you do hire them in January,

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that's still another five or six months until they start their internship.

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So just think about how you're going to keep them engaged

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and excited about your internship experience.

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You know, we typically we've seen some data

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and we recommend, you know, every three weeks that you're reaching out

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or three to every three weeks, you're reaching out to those interns,

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you know, with some type of communication, whether it's

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their managers are reaching out, whether it's different people on the team,

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HR Sharing company newsletters, all of that stuff to keep them engaged

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so they're not like i still have this internship.

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I haven't heard from them in a couple of months. Like, what's going on here?

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So just keeping them excited and engaged is important too.

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Yeah, absolutely. Those are all great points.

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Let's say you have

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your group of hired interns. Now.

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What steps are really taken then to integrate them into the company's work

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environment and to kind of

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what does the onboarding process look like for them?

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Yeah, I think, you know, that's a great question.

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And I would say I would just start

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by looking at what your current onboarding process is for any new hire.

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I mean, a lot of that will pertain to them as well.

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But then looking at what additional pieces are you going to add?

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Again, I think less the internship experience really is

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what I just had an experience.

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So what are you doing for them on day one

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to really provide that impact and get them excited for the summer?

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Obviously there are some major

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things that you just have

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to take care of on day one, but what swag are you giving them?

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Are you buying them lunch or are they getting to meet with a lot of people?

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You know, I think day one really should be about building some of that excitement.

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But then how are they learning and growing throughout their entire summer?

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And what is that learning plan and onboarding look like beyond day

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one and how to integrate them within the organization?

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And of course, every company is different.

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And what they need to know.

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But I would just really recommend that you look at your own current

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onboarding process, how to even enhance that even a little bit further,

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like knowing that this a lot of them this might be their first real

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job in the workplace

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and how do you help them feel comfortable and navigate some of those,

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you know, nuances or things that people you assume people just know

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by being in the workplace and even just like dress code.

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I know that's not the most exciting thing, but like,

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you know, we've had a lot of companies say

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our interns don't even know what our dress code is.

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And, you know, you forget that sometimes this is their first real job.

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So having to help them out.

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And honestly, the earlier, the better.

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That can be something you can communicate even before they start.

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So I think really just

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how do you assimilate them with your organization

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and your best practices within your company and how they can,

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you know, feel comfortable and be set up for success from the beginning?

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You know, I look at it.

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So if you when you were an intern, which was, you know, a while ago now, but,

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you know, you texted me and your manager at

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the time was like, hey, like we're about a week and a half out.

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Like what?

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You know, what is the dress code?

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And we're like, my gosh.

00:13:55:02 - 00:13:58:00
Like, how did we not even tell her about? Like, that's a great question.

00:13:58:00 - 00:14:00:21
You know, like, you're just trying to be set up for success.

00:14:00:21 - 00:14:05:08
So any of those things that might be on their minds just let those know upfront.

00:14:05:08 - 00:14:08:08
And I think also just a side note of that, it's like

00:14:08:09 - 00:14:10:11
make sure they have your phone number so they can text you

00:14:10:11 - 00:14:12:09
those questions and encourage them to do that.

00:14:12:09 - 00:14:14:12
Because like when you text us, we were like,

00:14:14:12 - 00:14:16:20
my gosh, like, of course, how do we not even think about that?

00:14:16:20 - 00:14:20:08
And obviously it was on your mind because you sent us a message.

00:14:20:10 - 00:14:24:19
Yeah, that's funny because I was going to bring that up as an example here.

00:14:24:21 - 00:14:28:06
Just showing the importance of onboarding in the interim

00:14:28:06 - 00:14:32:24
because like you said, a lot of the time an internship is

00:14:33:00 - 00:14:36:19
maybe somebody's first real life kind of job experience.

00:14:36:19 - 00:14:42:00
So the onboarding process is just as important, as important,

00:14:42:00 - 00:14:44:08
if not the most important stuff, in my opinion.

00:14:44:08 - 00:14:46:08
Just because you want to

00:14:46:08 - 00:14:50:05
make that group first impression and get them excited on day one.

00:14:50:07 - 00:14:54:15
And yeah, I think for my experience

00:14:54:17 - 00:14:59:04
I felt comfortable to text you guys and say, Hey, like

00:14:59:06 - 00:15:03:02
we're a couple days away from first day, what's the dress code?

00:15:03:04 - 00:15:04:14
But then I also remember

00:15:04:14 - 00:15:07:00
feeling very comfortable when I first walked in

00:15:07:00 - 00:15:09:09
because I got to meet everyone at the company.

00:15:09:09 - 00:15:12:19
There is a swag like gift

00:15:12:19 - 00:15:15:19
bag or laid all over my desk.

00:15:15:19 - 00:15:19:00
Just the process of day one one. Awesome.

00:15:19:00 - 00:15:23:06
And I remember also being in the car because

00:15:23:08 - 00:15:28:11
you and my manager took me out to lunch and I remember like taking a picture,

00:15:28:11 - 00:15:33:00
a selfie in the backseat, and I'm like, Mom would be taking me out to lunch.

00:15:33:00 - 00:15:34:23
And I had my name tag.

00:15:34:23 - 00:15:38:02
But it is the little things that make the day

00:15:38:02 - 00:15:41:04
one experience and it gets I don't know, it made me excited.

00:15:41:04 - 00:15:44:10
Hey, to come back day two and like, what's day two going to look like?

00:15:44:10 - 00:15:46:06
What stage three gonna look like?

00:15:46:06 - 00:15:49:20
So kind of like continuously sparking

00:15:49:20 - 00:15:53:15
that excitement to make make the experience great.

00:15:53:17 - 00:15:58:09
And it was also I mean, I think that's so true.

00:15:58:09 - 00:16:02:03
And you know, I think you start to take some of those things for granted

00:16:02:04 - 00:16:03:09
like a business card,

00:16:03:09 - 00:16:07:11
a name tag, like, you know, you've been in in the business world for a while.

00:16:07:11 - 00:16:08:06
And, you know,

00:16:08:06 - 00:16:10:03
I think business cards were such a big deal

00:16:10:03 - 00:16:12:18
when I got them for the first time was like, my gosh, she's an intern.

00:16:12:18 - 00:16:13:22
I have business cards.

00:16:13:22 - 00:16:16:06
And it was like giving them to my family members.

00:16:16:06 - 00:16:19:08
And it's like, you know, it's such a little thing, but it really does.

00:16:19:08 - 00:16:22:08
You're like, my gosh, like I'm an adult now, you know?

00:16:22:09 - 00:16:25:19
So I think, like you said, it's all about those little experiences.

00:16:26:00 - 00:16:26:11
Yeah.

00:16:26:11 - 00:16:31:17
And just to add on to that, to I know we talked about going out to lunch

00:16:31:17 - 00:16:36:01
or doing something special, but even if you have virtual interns

00:16:36:01 - 00:16:39:06
or remote interns, which I think is kind of

00:16:39:08 - 00:16:41:21
becoming the new normal, almost,

00:16:41:21 - 00:16:44:21
you can still do those special things.

00:16:44:21 - 00:16:46:13
Maybe you send them a gift card on day

00:16:46:13 - 00:16:51:05
one to go grab something for lunch or maybe do a virtual lunch with them.

00:16:51:05 - 00:16:54:10
So we were talking about our experience in person,

00:16:54:10 - 00:16:58:18
but this can definitely apply virtually to Absolutely for sure.

00:16:58:21 - 00:17:02:13
I mean, I think gift cards, just DoorDash and something to their door,

00:17:02:15 - 00:17:03:18
There's a lot of there's

00:17:03:18 - 00:17:07:14
a lot of creative things out there that companies are doing, for sure.

00:17:07:16 - 00:17:08:07
Yeah.

00:17:08:07 - 00:17:09:22
So next step here now

00:17:09:22 - 00:17:13:15
we talk about recruiting interns, kind of whole planning process.

00:17:13:17 - 00:17:17:11
So let's say your internship program is established.

00:17:17:13 - 00:17:21:21
How would you really ensure its sustainability and what strategies

00:17:21:24 - 00:17:25:01
would you employ for the continuous improvement

00:17:25:01 - 00:17:29:09
based on feedback and just industry trends?

00:17:29:11 - 00:17:31:04
Yeah, I mean, I always saw companies

00:17:31:04 - 00:17:33:15
like don't be afraid to just ask your interns

00:17:33:15 - 00:17:35:14
what they're thinking and ask for feedback.

00:17:35:14 - 00:17:36:23
You know,

00:17:36:23 - 00:17:41:16
I think some interns are more comfortable than others about giving their feedback,

00:17:41:16 - 00:17:45:17
but I think, you know, even just a full survey every week

00:17:45:17 - 00:17:49:14
or every other week, whether it comes from HR Or the hiring manager,

00:17:49:16 - 00:17:51:19
just giving them an opportunity to share

00:17:51:19 - 00:17:54:19
what's on their mind and what recommendations they have.

00:17:54:20 - 00:17:58:24
We see a lot of companies that typically do you know what is known

00:17:58:24 - 00:18:01:19
as an exit interview where they're just asking for feedback

00:18:01:19 - 00:18:05:13
and the amount of times companies say like, wow, that was such a simple thing.

00:18:05:13 - 00:18:07:22
We could have implemented that if we knew.

00:18:07:22 - 00:18:12:08
So we're even seeing companies that are doing poll surveys like I

00:18:12:08 - 00:18:17:04
mentioned, or a couple of weeks in, like how was your first month on the job?

00:18:17:04 - 00:18:21:08
Is there anything else we can do to support you in For the most part, and

00:18:21:08 - 00:18:25:03
HR Has reported, at least from the groups that i've talked with,

00:18:25:05 - 00:18:27:12
they're getting really good feedback from their interns,

00:18:27:12 - 00:18:29:19
and they're like some of the things are so small

00:18:29:19 - 00:18:32:15
that we can just implement right away, and some of them are bigger picture

00:18:32:15 - 00:18:35:15
that we can take, you know, in a white company. Why?

00:18:35:15 - 00:18:39:03
And so I got to just talk to them, see how they're doing, and give them

00:18:39:09 - 00:18:43:12
an opportunity in a safe space to have those conversations.

00:18:43:14 - 00:18:45:15
I would also just say,

00:18:45:15 - 00:18:48:15
talking to other companies and reading more on best practices

00:18:48:15 - 00:18:50:15
about what other companies are doing,

00:18:50:15 - 00:18:52:10
there's a lot of great information out there.

00:18:52:10 - 00:18:57:11
You know, of course, we have our roundtables and internships

00:18:57:11 - 00:19:00:21
typically come up in a lot of the different roundtables.

00:19:00:21 - 00:19:02:09
So just being able to hear

00:19:02:09 - 00:19:06:02
what cool things other companies are doing are a great way to benchmark,

00:19:06:04 - 00:19:09:03
you know, what your program looks like and what you're providing to your interns

00:19:09:03 - 00:19:10:00
and even just spark

00:19:10:00 - 00:19:14:16
some additional ideas and, you know, help bounce ideas off of each other as well.

00:19:14:18 - 00:19:16:00
Yeah, for sure.

00:19:16:00 - 00:19:19:15
So we've talked about the importance of continuous

00:19:19:15 - 00:19:22:22
learning and skill development with interns.

00:19:22:24 - 00:19:25:14
So how do you really foster a culture

00:19:25:14 - 00:19:30:19
of that continuous learning with your internship programs?

00:19:30:21 - 00:19:34:08
And I guess how do you kind of encourage interns

00:19:34:08 - 00:19:41:21
to stay updated on industry trends and kind of want to acquire new skills?

00:19:41:23 - 00:19:45:24
Yeah, You know, when you sent this to me in advance, I was looking through this

00:19:45:24 - 00:19:51:19
and I was thinking a lot of a lot of the term culture of continuous

00:19:51:22 - 00:19:56:09
learning and continuous professional development mindset.

00:19:56:11 - 00:19:59:19
And at first when I started reading the question, I was like,

00:19:59:21 - 00:20:04:07
I was thinking about it from a manager and culture standpoint beyond the intern.

00:20:04:07 - 00:20:08:07
And I think, well, we hear from companies and managers is they learn so much

00:20:08:07 - 00:20:11:12
and get a whole different perspective by bringing in the interns.

00:20:11:14 - 00:20:12:18
So part of that is like when you're

00:20:12:18 - 00:20:15:04
building the intern program from the beginning,

00:20:15:04 - 00:20:18:10
you're setting expectations of your company and your culture of we're

00:20:18:10 - 00:20:22:15
bringing these interns in to do real work, make a real impact,

00:20:22:17 - 00:20:25:09
and kind of setting that up from the beginning and be open minded.

00:20:25:09 - 00:20:26:13
So they're not just here to do

00:20:26:13 - 00:20:30:21
some of the dirty work, if you will, and they're really here to make an impact.

00:20:30:21 - 00:20:34:02
So I think, you know, the continuous learning goes from both sides.

00:20:34:02 - 00:20:37:15
From the intern perspective, I think

00:20:37:17 - 00:20:41:05
we see so many interns, almost all of them that we see

00:20:41:05 - 00:20:45:11
already come in with just a hunger to learn and absorb so much.

00:20:45:11 - 00:20:49:20
I think you're you're lucky with that demographic of people and interns

00:20:49:20 - 00:20:53:08
because they just naturally are here to learn as much as they can.

00:20:53:13 - 00:20:54:24
They're excited to learn and they're excited

00:20:54:24 - 00:20:57:14
to grow in their career and they want to do whatever they can.

00:20:57:14 - 00:20:59:23
You know, again, I think part of it

00:20:59:23 - 00:21:03:14
even can go back to their job description or job expectations of

00:21:03:18 - 00:21:06:14
what is your professional development, How are you going to learn this?

00:21:06:14 - 00:21:08:07
And even having maybe

00:21:08:07 - 00:21:13:24
an individual development plan for them and learn it, you know, part of it being a

00:21:14:01 - 00:21:17:08
an opportunity for them to learn industry standards, maybe some job shadow,

00:21:17:08 - 00:21:18:09
some of that type of stuff.

00:21:18:09 - 00:21:21:16
But then also some of those are skills that they can take no matter what role

00:21:21:16 - 00:21:23:21
they have in their career

00:21:23:23 - 00:21:24:22
communication.

00:21:24:22 - 00:21:28:06
You know, all those leadership skills change management, all of that is all

00:21:28:08 - 00:21:32:02
good and things that they can put on their resume.

00:21:32:04 - 00:21:36:14
I also recommend talking about it in your one on one conversations with managers.

00:21:36:14 - 00:21:39:14
And it doesn't have to be every single day.

00:21:39:14 - 00:21:42:16
But I think, you know, when I was an intern again, this is a while ago,

00:21:42:21 - 00:21:46:19
but I think you're doing projects that might feel mundane to you

00:21:46:21 - 00:21:50:16
and you don't necessarily even realize the impact that you're having.

00:21:50:18 - 00:21:55:12
And like I remember when I was talking to one of my managers in

00:21:55:14 - 00:22:00:10
a previous internship and they were like, my gosh, like you did a great job

00:22:00:12 - 00:22:04:08
with this project management, like project management to your skill set

00:22:04:08 - 00:22:07:02
and add that to your resume. And I was like, Project management.

00:22:07:02 - 00:22:10:14
Like, all I did was schedule some meetings and take some notes or whatever,

00:22:10:16 - 00:22:12:07
and they were like, No, you did way more than that.

00:22:12:07 - 00:22:16:10
But even just being able to explain the impact that the interns are having,

00:22:16:10 - 00:22:19:05
and I feel like I don't know if you can speak on experience,

00:22:19:05 - 00:22:22:23
but I feel like interns don't always realize, like they just feel like

00:22:22:23 - 00:22:24:24
they're doing a small project and then it's like,

00:22:24:24 - 00:22:28:10
No, this was actually huge and this is what I did and X, Y and Z,

00:22:28:10 - 00:22:30:13
and these are the skills that you learn from it.

00:22:30:13 - 00:22:33:00
So we can talk about feedback in a minute.

00:22:33:00 - 00:22:36:12
But as far as you know, having those conversations and helping

00:22:36:12 - 00:22:40:08
them understand what they've done and the skills they have is huge.

00:22:40:10 - 00:22:42:09
Yeah, I going off of that.

00:22:42:09 - 00:22:48:15
I was recently reading an article, a LinkedIn article on 2024

00:22:48:17 - 00:22:52:21
internship trends, and one of them was

00:22:52:23 - 00:22:58:03
something like Prioritize skill development over traditional work.

00:22:58:05 - 00:23:02:18
And I think we've emphasized that a lot here on the skill development.

00:23:02:18 - 00:23:05:24
And it doesn't mean interns can't do traditional work

00:23:05:24 - 00:23:11:00
like the hands on kind of mundane stuff like you were saying.

00:23:11:02 - 00:23:14:13
But it's really like talking about what skills they're developing

00:23:14:13 - 00:23:19:17
and what skills you as an employer want them to develop so that they succeed

00:23:19:17 - 00:23:23:07
in an internship and kind of growing into their career path.

00:23:23:07 - 00:23:26:20
So just kind of goes to show the importance.

00:23:26:20 - 00:23:29:01
It's on 2024 internship trends.

00:23:29:01 - 00:23:32:13
So yeah, if I were to ask skill development

00:23:32:13 - 00:23:35:23
in your interns, for sure.

00:23:36:00 - 00:23:38:10
So kind of going off,

00:23:38:10 - 00:23:43:05
I know you said that interns are usually they have that hunger

00:23:43:05 - 00:23:47:05
to develop new skills and to do great work.

00:23:47:07 - 00:23:49:22
What other qualities and skills

00:23:49:22 - 00:23:53:11
should leaders really help develop in their interns?

00:23:53:13 - 00:23:57:22
Yeah, you know, I think now that this is necessarily a skill,

00:23:57:22 - 00:24:03:07
but helping them understand, even just like workplace one on one and

00:24:03:09 - 00:24:05:20
terminology and just like

00:24:05:20 - 00:24:09:02
business lines, I just, I think sometimes we all are like,

00:24:09:06 - 00:24:10:11
yeah, we all know what this means,

00:24:10:11 - 00:24:14:05
like end of day and the business day, even just things like that.

00:24:14:07 - 00:24:19:08
But as far as skills, we've seen a lot of emphasis

00:24:19:08 - 00:24:23:13
on communication and I think that goes just beyond interns as well.

00:24:23:13 - 00:24:27:21
In a hybrid remote workplace where people are working in different time

00:24:27:21 - 00:24:30:21
zones and all of that, I think communicate and even just different generations.

00:24:30:21 - 00:24:35:04
We've seen a lot of conversation about what does good communication look like.

00:24:35:04 - 00:24:37:19
And so I think that's a big one.

00:24:37:19 - 00:24:42:03
I think bringing ideas to management is a big one.

00:24:42:05 - 00:24:45:08
I think interns have a lot of great ideas,

00:24:45:08 - 00:24:49:19
and I think what we've seen over the years as interns

00:24:49:21 - 00:24:52:22
are finding the balance of I'm trying to make an impact

00:24:52:22 - 00:24:56:06
and a name for myself and showing the great ideas I have.

00:24:56:08 - 00:24:59:18
But also I don't want to overstep and talk in meetings,

00:24:59:23 - 00:25:03:02
you know, that I was invited to to listen and learn

00:25:03:02 - 00:25:06:06
and like, where am I allowed to speak up and where am I not?

00:25:06:06 - 00:25:09:18
Or and whether they call it imposter syndrome, where you're like,

00:25:09:18 - 00:25:12:02
I don't know if my idea is good enough and am I really willing

00:25:12:02 - 00:25:13:24
to speak up in front of a whole group of people?

00:25:13:24 - 00:25:17:21
And so I think kind of helping balance and navigate some of that stuff

00:25:17:21 - 00:25:22:08
and helping build some of that confidence is huge for them.

00:25:22:14 - 00:25:27:01
We've seen an emphasis on problem solving project management.

00:25:27:01 - 00:25:29:20
Some of that

00:25:29:22 - 00:25:30:24
is really big too.

00:25:30:24 - 00:25:36:20
So I think all of the skills that you're developing in your employees and

00:25:36:22 - 00:25:40:22
your leaders, I think that really they're just trying to learn and grow.

00:25:40:24 - 00:25:45:21
So however you can help them in that way and really understand what they're good at

00:25:45:21 - 00:25:46:15
and what other skills

00:25:46:15 - 00:25:50:20
they need to continue to develop is just a conversation worth having.

00:25:50:20 - 00:25:53:04
And the ones that interns are really open to.

00:25:53:04 - 00:25:57:24
And they I mean, I think we see this in all shapes of business, of people.

00:25:57:24 - 00:26:01:01
People like to learn about themselves and talk about their experiences

00:26:01:01 - 00:26:05:19
and whatever you can do to help them learn and grow is a big piece of it.

00:26:05:21 - 00:26:07:05
Absolutely.

00:26:07:05 - 00:26:12:16
And for interns, I would always go back to that quote,

00:26:12:18 - 00:26:16:03
higher character train skill.

00:26:16:05 - 00:26:20:05
Just I don't know, I think it's a good reminder that

00:26:20:07 - 00:26:25:17
when you're hiring an intern, they might not have all of the skills that

00:26:25:19 - 00:26:28:12
you may want them to have at the end of the internship, or

00:26:28:12 - 00:26:34:18
they might not have all of the knowledge coming into it because it probably is

00:26:34:20 - 00:26:38:05
one of their first really

00:26:38:07 - 00:26:39:18
first jobs.

00:26:39:18 - 00:26:42:23
So I think that code, your character

00:26:43:00 - 00:26:47:04
train for Skill, is just always a good reminder too,

00:26:47:06 - 00:26:51:12
because you can train for skill and so like that.

00:26:51:14 - 00:26:54:14
So going on here, in what ways does

00:26:54:15 - 00:26:58:12
your organization support interns in building professional networks

00:26:58:12 - 00:27:03:15
and how does really networking contribute to development as emerging leaders?

00:27:03:17 - 00:27:05:12
Networking is huge.

00:27:05:12 - 00:27:05:24
Yeah.

00:27:05:24 - 00:27:07:11
I mean, I think there's a lot of ways

00:27:07:11 - 00:27:11:19
that organizations can support professional development for interns.

00:27:11:19 - 00:27:12:00
You know,

00:27:12:00 - 00:27:15:22
I think there is the traditional trainings in the classroom that can be done.

00:27:15:22 - 00:27:21:08
There's a lot of great modules online that companies can use, you know,

00:27:21:09 - 00:27:23:01
LinkedIn, Learning's, all of that great stuff.

00:27:23:01 - 00:27:24:16
Of course, memory has training as well.

00:27:24:16 - 00:27:28:14
But I also think, you know, when I look back

00:27:28:14 - 00:27:31:14
at my professional development and my growth over my career,

00:27:31:20 - 00:27:35:17
I think a lot of the most influential pieces that have helped me grow

00:27:35:19 - 00:27:40:06
are being part of organizational projects, working with cross-functional teams,

00:27:40:06 - 00:27:44:00
working with people that are different than myself and think differently.

00:27:44:00 - 00:27:47:20
And then eventually growing into leading some of those projects.

00:27:47:20 - 00:27:52:06
So what what projects can interns lead that maybe, maybe they

00:27:52:06 - 00:27:54:24
not on your to do list for a while and you just haven't gotten to it.

00:27:54:24 - 00:28:00:01
So any start with anything that they do is better than not doing it at all.

00:28:00:03 - 00:28:05:05
So I think some of that project work, job shadowing,

00:28:05:07 - 00:28:09:18
being able to just network and learn from other professionals is huge.

00:28:09:18 - 00:28:14:19
We offer an intern leadership program at Emory for our members

00:28:14:19 - 00:28:20:02
and we really focus on that professional development and networking because it

00:28:20:04 - 00:28:23:17
it really helps them learn from other people,

00:28:23:17 - 00:28:27:12
learn about different industries, learn about business as a whole, and learn

00:28:27:12 - 00:28:32:01
with other learn from other leaders around the entire country.

00:28:32:01 - 00:28:35:07
And just I think for the interns, some of their biggest takeaways

00:28:35:07 - 00:28:40:08
is just hearing the journey that leaders have gone on to get to where they are.

00:28:40:08 - 00:28:48:01
And I think by the end of the summer, they truly realized that most leadership,

00:28:48:03 - 00:28:50:17
I guess, journeys are not linear.

00:28:50:17 - 00:28:53:10
It's not it's not a ladder. You don't just go straight up.

00:28:53:10 - 00:28:56:10
But there's a lot of you know, I think it's so funny

00:28:56:10 - 00:28:59:10
when we do the CEO panels, it's like half of them

00:28:59:16 - 00:29:04:07
started in a completely different field or industry than where they got to today.

00:29:04:07 - 00:29:06:10
And I think that's really promising for interns.

00:29:06:10 - 00:29:09:10
And I think it just really helps them relate and see

00:29:09:15 - 00:29:11:24
almost inspire them as well.

00:29:11:24 - 00:29:14:24
Yeah, I think just going off the networking pieces,

00:29:15:03 - 00:29:17:02
when people network correctly,

00:29:17:02 - 00:29:20:22
they really get further in their career.

00:29:20:24 - 00:29:22:20
And again, it's that inspiration.

00:29:22:20 - 00:29:24:17
But then what are you doing to make that impression

00:29:24:17 - 00:29:29:24
after and connect with them and our burgeoning team earlier today?

00:29:29:24 - 00:29:34:00
And they always say they're like most people, after your first job,

00:29:34:00 - 00:29:35:24
you're going to get most of your jobs after that.

00:29:35:24 - 00:29:38:16
By who you know and who you've networked with.

00:29:38:16 - 00:29:39:24
And, you know,

00:29:39:24 - 00:29:43:05
we do stuff during our internship program to help them, you know,

00:29:43:05 - 00:29:46:17
just even build up their LinkedIn resume, their LinkedIn profile, I'm sorry.

00:29:46:20 - 00:29:50:13
And just so they can connect with people that they meet throughout the summer.

00:29:50:13 - 00:29:53:15
And, you know, and ten years from now, it might be like, my gosh.

00:29:53:15 - 00:29:58:11
So if you bowlers connect into this person, like, how can I reach out?

00:29:58:11 - 00:30:02:01
So it's just it's just crazy how how small of a world it is.

00:30:02:01 - 00:30:06:21
So I think the professional development and networking is huge for interns

00:30:06:21 - 00:30:10:14
and I think any audience that HR And the hiring managers

00:30:10:14 - 00:30:14:23
can do to help them with that is is super appreciated by the interns,

00:30:14:23 - 00:30:18:00
especially with the mentorship more

00:30:18:00 - 00:30:21:08
so than ever, especially in a hybrid world.

00:30:21:10 - 00:30:24:21
We hear from interns asking how do i find a mentor

00:30:24:23 - 00:30:29:13
that can help me grow and, you know, say my name in a room full of opportunities.

00:30:29:13 - 00:30:33:06
And I always love that quote about mentors, but that's not necessarily

00:30:33:06 - 00:30:34:09
always your manager.

00:30:34:09 - 00:30:38:05
And in such a short period of time, how do I get an actual mentor

00:30:38:05 - 00:30:40:16
that can see my skill set and help me grow in my career?

00:30:40:16 - 00:30:44:09
And I think just networking is a piece of it.

00:30:44:11 - 00:30:45:05
Absolutely.

00:30:45:05 - 00:30:49:04
And you talked about our MRA's intern leadership program

00:30:49:04 - 00:30:53:04
and being able to network with leaders and ceos.

00:30:53:04 - 00:30:57:09
HR Professionals and young professionals too.

00:30:57:11 - 00:31:00:16
But also coming from an intern perspective,

00:31:00:18 - 00:31:03:17
that program is so beneficial in the way

00:31:03:17 - 00:31:06:17
that you're also networking with

00:31:06:18 - 00:31:13:00
80 to over 100 other interns who are practically in the same boat as you.

00:31:13:00 - 00:31:18:06
So that just that's a whole other benefit that we could talk about

00:31:18:06 - 00:31:22:23
for an hour having 82

00:31:22:23 - 00:31:26:13
over 100 people that you can talk to every day,

00:31:26:13 - 00:31:31:16
kind of see what they're going through, ask them questions

00:31:31:18 - 00:31:32:18
and they can.

00:31:32:18 - 00:31:35:13
I know I'm so connected with interns

00:31:35:13 - 00:31:38:21
from a couple of years ago, and I don't know.

00:31:38:21 - 00:31:43:01
I've really appreciated that from the intern program.

00:31:43:03 - 00:31:43:21
Yeah, because

00:31:43:21 - 00:31:47:00
networking connections, even for my internships too.

00:31:47:00 - 00:31:52:04
It's yeah, I still talk to some of them, the friendships and future,

00:31:52:06 - 00:31:54:22
maybe even colleagues again, and networking connections.

00:31:54:22 - 00:32:00:03
Yeah, Well, and it's just interesting to see what they're up to because

00:32:00:05 - 00:32:03:13
you might have two completely different roles at different organizations.

00:32:03:13 - 00:32:05:19
But it's interesting to be like, Hey, what are you doing this week?

00:32:05:19 - 00:32:07:12
What are you working on this week?

00:32:07:12 - 00:32:09:00
that's cool. I'm working on that.

00:32:09:00 - 00:32:11:20
So you can kind of connect that way too, which is awesome.

00:32:11:20 - 00:32:14:02
Even just brand awareness from company to company.

00:32:14:02 - 00:32:16:21
Yeah, definitely.

00:32:16:21 - 00:32:19:13
And we talked a little bit about mentorships,

00:32:19:13 - 00:32:24:13
but is there any other mentor kind of pieces of advice that you want

00:32:24:13 - 00:32:31:00
to give in how that kind of ropes into the success of an internship program?

00:32:31:02 - 00:32:34:04
Yeah, I think just really highlighting

00:32:34:06 - 00:32:38:11
that mentorship, that question about how you can find a mentor

00:32:38:11 - 00:32:40:05
that's right for you and how to find a mentor

00:32:40:05 - 00:32:44:09
that's not your manager at your company during an internship came up so many times

00:32:44:09 - 00:32:45:05
last year.

00:32:45:05 - 00:32:50:24
So if you can go in to an internship program, say to the intern or interns,

00:32:51:01 - 00:32:53:23
we have a dedicated mentor to you.

00:32:53:23 - 00:32:55:23
I think that will be huge.

00:32:55:23 - 00:32:59:21
And I think even part of it again goes up with the manager,

00:32:59:23 - 00:33:03:03
you know, having the tools to be successful until you this intern,

00:33:03:09 - 00:33:04:18
I think same with the mentors.

00:33:04:18 - 00:33:06:12
If you can provide them with

00:33:06:12 - 00:33:10:10
maybe some training and some guidance and maybe even like a coaching certificate

00:33:10:10 - 00:33:14:20
or what their expectations are and how they can help interns.

00:33:14:20 - 00:33:16:06
I think

00:33:16:08 - 00:33:19:08
having that common

00:33:19:08 - 00:33:22:06
playing ground, I guess for mentors would be huge

00:33:22:06 - 00:33:24:23
and they can really help the interns be successful.

00:33:24:23 - 00:33:27:24
And I think that's just another really close networking connection

00:33:27:24 - 00:33:31:08
that the interns will walk away with throughout the summer.

00:33:31:08 - 00:33:36:15
So but I would also be strategic and you know who you choose as a mentor.

00:33:36:17 - 00:33:39:18
But we have seen some companies that have used some emerging leaders

00:33:39:18 - 00:33:43:12
and some young professionals that are looking to grow their leadership skills

00:33:43:14 - 00:33:46:10
who maybe aren't quite ready to be a supervisor or manager yet.

00:33:46:10 - 00:33:51:12
But this is a great way to kind of mentor and coach and grow your own skills.

00:33:51:12 - 00:33:55:24
So just think about that with your own emerging leaders within your organization

00:33:56:01 - 00:33:57:04
for sure.

00:33:57:04 - 00:34:00:12
Well, do you have any examples of talking

00:34:00:12 - 00:34:04:21
about more projects and more hands on work now?

00:34:04:23 - 00:34:07:13
any examples of projects or initiatives

00:34:07:13 - 00:34:11:10
that are designed to kind of challenge interns

00:34:11:10 - 00:34:15:05
or any of those like structured projects that you would recommend

00:34:15:07 - 00:34:20:01
giving to interns to let them showcase their leadership potential?

00:34:20:03 - 00:34:22:23
Yeah, I honestly, I'd have to look at a list

00:34:22:23 - 00:34:25:18
because I, I always every summer I'm like, Wow,

00:34:25:18 - 00:34:29:17
that is such a great search project for interns and

00:34:29:19 - 00:34:31:20
but I'll just share a couple off the top of my head.

00:34:31:20 - 00:34:36:23
I think directly from the HR Perspective, those that have had HR Interns

00:34:36:23 - 00:34:42:11
will do like exit interviews and they'll do

00:34:42:13 - 00:34:46:07
like they'll develop a whole structured program about an intern program.

00:34:46:07 - 00:34:49:17
They can even build out the mentorship program.

00:34:49:19 - 00:34:53:12
And just generally speaking, I think look at your own to do list

00:34:53:12 - 00:34:56:12
and see, like, what projects are like strategic initiatives.

00:34:56:15 - 00:34:59:12
Have you been thinking about a know your team needs to get to

00:34:59:12 - 00:35:02:13
that you really haven't had time for and let them run with it?

00:35:02:13 - 00:35:06:12
Like I said, it's if it's just sitting on your desk, it's not going anywhere.

00:35:06:12 - 00:35:09:22
So you at least have some momentum to keep it moving forward

00:35:09:22 - 00:35:14:14
and having someone bring fresh ideas and perspectives to it.

00:35:14:16 - 00:35:15:00
I saw

00:35:15:00 - 00:35:18:21
one company that knew they needed to implement

00:35:18:21 - 00:35:22:22
a strategy within their organization and there they were.

00:35:22:22 - 00:35:24:21
They had a smaller internship program.

00:35:24:21 - 00:35:26:15
I think they had four or five interns.

00:35:26:15 - 00:35:30:03
I don't recall off the top of my head, but they had that group of interns work

00:35:30:03 - 00:35:34:05
together to build a new strategy internally at their organization,

00:35:34:07 - 00:35:38:18
including which included obviously some research, but also understanding

00:35:38:18 - 00:35:42:03
like what an employee resource group looks like, how we get one started,

00:35:42:03 - 00:35:45:03
who is going to lead that, what is the communication look like?

00:35:45:05 - 00:35:48:23
And they built out a whole new program for their organization

00:35:49:00 - 00:35:52:01
and then they presented it to their executive team.

00:35:52:01 - 00:35:55:04
So all of their CEO and all their senior leadership

00:35:55:04 - 00:35:58:10
and they were able to go forward and start to implement this.

00:35:58:10 - 00:36:01:06
So just a huge

00:36:01:08 - 00:36:03:21
kudos to them for doing that and running with that.

00:36:03:21 - 00:36:05:06
That's not an easy task.

00:36:05:06 - 00:36:06:11
And obviously they had guidance

00:36:06:11 - 00:36:10:07
along the way, but I think that's a great project to show.

00:36:10:09 - 00:36:15:06
And then actually had there was one I'm picturing

00:36:15:06 - 00:36:19:06
that they documented all of their standard operating procedures

00:36:19:08 - 00:36:23:14
and then along the way they were asked to one, you have to document it,

00:36:23:14 - 00:36:27:09
but then to come back with recommendations for efficiencies in the process

00:36:27:09 - 00:36:32:10
and a lot of times even documenting it, that's really curious.

00:36:32:10 - 00:36:35:16
Wanting to learn interns is asking why, like why do we do it this way

00:36:35:16 - 00:36:39:11
and not in a negative way, but just like they were curious and then,

00:36:39:13 - 00:36:44:17
you know, if you as a manager or whoever is doing the teaching,

00:36:44:19 - 00:36:48:20
isn't able to answer that, why I think it's a good, you know, sign.

00:36:48:20 - 00:36:51:12
Maybe we need to look at our process and think of some other way.

00:36:51:12 - 00:36:54:02
And so I think even just being able to showcase

00:36:54:02 - 00:36:57:21
the efficiencies that have been put on because of someone just documenting

00:36:57:21 - 00:37:01:07
standard operating procedures is another really cool project.

00:37:01:07 - 00:37:03:02
So those are a few off the top of my head.

00:37:03:02 - 00:37:07:02
But again, I would take a look at your own task lesson and see

00:37:07:08 - 00:37:12:10
what what you're hoping to get done and let them run with it.

00:37:12:12 - 00:37:15:00
Yeah, and I think another

00:37:15:00 - 00:37:18:08
great big project or kind of stretch project

00:37:18:08 - 00:37:23:01
that any company can do at any internship too, would just be looking

00:37:23:01 - 00:37:26:06
at your own company from an audit perspective,

00:37:26:07 - 00:37:29:07
like auditing the website or doing an

00:37:29:07 - 00:37:32:13
in the analysis of the website or for example,

00:37:32:13 - 00:37:35:19
I know I did a competitive analysis when I was an intern,

00:37:35:19 - 00:37:40:02
which was a big project, but it was, I think, a great opportunity

00:37:40:02 - 00:37:44:12
and a good big project to work on throughout the summer too.

00:37:44:14 - 00:37:47:09
Also gave me a chance to work with some great leaders

00:37:47:09 - 00:37:51:13
and kind of show it off to our executive team to.

00:37:51:15 - 00:37:56:00
So yeah, I would, I would say that that's an easy project,

00:37:56:00 - 00:37:59:19
but it's something that all companies can do and something

00:37:59:19 - 00:38:05:07
that can improve your website, improve your organization as a whole.

00:38:05:09 - 00:38:07:02
So we talked

00:38:07:02 - 00:38:11:00
about kind of performance management a little bit, but

00:38:11:02 - 00:38:15:06
how do you what are some ways to assess the performance of interns

00:38:15:06 - 00:38:19:10
during and at the end of the program

00:38:19:12 - 00:38:23:01
and what mechanisms do you have in place for providing

00:38:23:01 - 00:38:27:09
that constructive feedback to help them grow?

00:38:27:11 - 00:38:29:20
Yeah, I think feedback is so important

00:38:29:20 - 00:38:33:13
and that's something that we really hear from interns of.

00:38:33:15 - 00:38:39:00
I think again, this goes to does your manager know how to manage interns?

00:38:39:00 - 00:38:43:14
But feedback is something we hear and managers typically are like, well,

00:38:43:19 - 00:38:45:21
if they're not hearing from me, they're doing a good job.

00:38:45:21 - 00:38:49:02
And we have weekly check ins and, you know, we just kind of talk

00:38:49:02 - 00:38:51:18
through their projects and any challenges they have.

00:38:51:18 - 00:38:57:06
But I think interns want to know honestly, daily and speak to this

00:38:57:06 - 00:39:00:04
from your own experience, what like are they on the right track?

00:39:00:04 - 00:39:03:20
Are they doing a good job, really doing a bad job and tell them right away?

00:39:03:20 - 00:39:05:05
I think,

00:39:05:07 - 00:39:07:19
you know, people don't want to hear this, but I would honestly

00:39:07:19 - 00:39:10:19
check in with your interns at least once a day, if not more than that.

00:39:10:24 - 00:39:14:13
I think, you know, a week, a lot of things happen in a week.

00:39:14:13 - 00:39:15:21
And especially,

00:39:15:21 - 00:39:19:11
you know, if you look at like a ten week internship program that's like ten times

00:39:19:11 - 00:39:20:11
you're meeting with your intern

00:39:20:11 - 00:39:22:13
and think about how much they're doing in a day,

00:39:22:13 - 00:39:24:13
how many people they're trying to interact with.

00:39:24:13 - 00:39:27:06
We hear interns are

00:39:27:06 - 00:39:29:22
not always, but sometimes they don't like to be bored.

00:39:29:22 - 00:39:35:03
So if you're only meeting with them once a week, how are they feeling?

00:39:35:03 - 00:39:36:23
40 hours of their work week?

00:39:36:23 - 00:39:41:24
Are they truly busy and gaining knowledge and skills?

00:39:41:24 - 00:39:47:05
Every all of the all of the week and having those great experiences. So

00:39:47:07 - 00:39:49:20
I know managers sometimes are like,

00:39:49:20 - 00:39:52:20
I don't want to tell them they're doing a good job for just doing their job,

00:39:53:01 - 00:39:55:14
but I think if they're not hearing anything,

00:39:55:14 - 00:39:57:22
they really just don't know where they stand.

00:39:57:22 - 00:40:00:18
So I recommend talking to them every day.

00:40:00:18 - 00:40:01:17
And I know.

00:40:01:17 - 00:40:05:21
So my favorite example from you was like, Well, give me something negative.

00:40:05:21 - 00:40:09:07
It's always so positive and it's like, Wow, you're doing a great job.

00:40:09:07 - 00:40:12:05
And it's like, there's got to be something I can improve on.

00:40:12:05 - 00:40:14:03
And you're not the only intern that has said that.

00:40:14:03 - 00:40:17:23
And I completely agree that even though you are doing

00:40:17:23 - 00:40:22:18
a great job, are there even skills that maybe like

00:40:22:20 - 00:40:25:18
that aren't being shown in this project, but maybe in other projects

00:40:25:18 - 00:40:26:15
that I could develop?

00:40:26:15 - 00:40:28:07
So I think being very specific

00:40:28:07 - 00:40:31:14
in that feedback and very intentional is very important.

00:40:31:16 - 00:40:32:10
Absolutely.

00:40:32:10 - 00:40:35:18
And to piggyback off that, I would say something

00:40:35:18 - 00:40:39:13
that I love that you did when I was an intern.

00:40:39:15 - 00:40:43:05
You mentioned interns don't like being bored and that's very true

00:40:43:05 - 00:40:45:15
because that can make or break an internship.

00:40:45:15 - 00:40:48:21
I think in what you did that really helped

00:40:48:21 - 00:40:53:07
was checking in each day, like how was your workload going?

00:40:53:07 - 00:40:55:02
Do you need some more projects?

00:40:55:02 - 00:40:57:03
Do you want to sit in on this meeting?

00:40:57:03 - 00:41:01:05
So it's like always giving me an opportunity to be doing something

00:41:01:05 - 00:41:02:19
new each and every day.

00:41:02:19 - 00:41:06:12
So I think, like you said, that communication with an intern

00:41:06:12 - 00:41:11:08
is vital for an internship program to really succeed

00:41:11:10 - 00:41:18:10
and to make sure that your intern is enjoying the work that they're doing

00:41:18:12 - 00:41:20:02
and that they have an opportunity to,

00:41:20:02 - 00:41:23:21
like, openly communicate, communicate that with their manager.

00:41:23:21 - 00:41:29:01
If they aren't filling their 40 hours a week or have finished a project

00:41:29:01 - 00:41:33:12
and don't know what to do after that, well, it also helps just reprioritize.

00:41:33:12 - 00:41:36:18
I think I chuckle and this is not the best way to do it,

00:41:36:24 - 00:41:38:21
but we gave you like five pages of projects

00:41:38:21 - 00:41:42:18
that we want you to work on throughout the summer and I don't.

00:41:42:20 - 00:41:45:21
And in the best way possible, I don't think I think you go through

00:41:45:21 - 00:41:48:21
one page or whatever, because so many other things came up

00:41:48:22 - 00:41:53:03
throughout the summer that it was kind of like if we came to you in the morning

00:41:53:03 - 00:41:56:20
and we were like, Hey, we have this cool project, and you were like,

00:41:56:22 - 00:41:58:09
but I'm working on X, Y and Z.

00:41:58:09 - 00:41:59:07
We could be like,

00:41:59:07 - 00:42:03:12
yeah, I finish, I X, don't worry about Y, and then Z can wait till next week.

00:42:03:14 - 00:42:04:22
But it was able to have us

00:42:04:22 - 00:42:09:03
give us a chance to really learn what you like if you new opportunities,

00:42:09:03 - 00:42:14:14
but also just to prioritize who you aren't just taking on things without

00:42:14:16 - 00:42:15:00
feeling

00:42:15:00 - 00:42:18:00
like you had the bandwidth to do it all and be successful.

00:42:18:00 - 00:42:20:02
Yeah, I'm definitely not.

00:42:20:02 - 00:42:22:20
That will just give you another project management skill.

00:42:22:20 - 00:42:24:12
All right, There you go.

00:42:24:12 - 00:42:29:19
But just as we wrap up your career, any any lasting thoughts

00:42:29:19 - 00:42:30:15
that you want to share?

00:42:30:15 - 00:42:33:10
Actually, I'm going to turn it back to you.

00:42:33:10 - 00:42:35:09
Just you know, you've been involved with the intern

00:42:35:09 - 00:42:39:03
leadership program for a couple of years and you obviously were an intern and.

00:42:39:03 - 00:42:42:21
You still talk with, you know, a couple of interns from previous years.

00:42:42:22 - 00:42:45:22
So just anything anytime to you is here to employers

00:42:45:22 - 00:42:53:02
or maybe even hiring managers about creating a great memorable experience?

00:42:53:04 - 00:42:58:15
I would just say the big takeaway, I think just from today to

00:42:58:16 - 00:43:01:16
is that an effective internship

00:43:01:20 - 00:43:05:09
benefits both the intern and the organization.

00:43:05:10 - 00:43:08:19
I think that's always something to just keep in the back of your head

00:43:08:19 - 00:43:12:11
that don't just have an intern to have an intern.

00:43:12:11 - 00:43:16:12
Like like bring us back to the first question there.

00:43:16:12 - 00:43:19:18
The planning process and the planning stage.

00:43:19:20 - 00:43:23:02
And of course, you can add on to this because you were part of that

00:43:23:02 - 00:43:23:24
planning stage.

00:43:23:24 - 00:43:27:07
But I think that is the most vital

00:43:27:09 - 00:43:32:22
step in an internship program is making sure

00:43:32:24 - 00:43:35:23
you kind of have your priorities and your goals

00:43:35:23 - 00:43:41:08
and just the value of having an intern that you have that confidently set.

00:43:41:10 - 00:43:44:24
Well, for an intern comes in and you're not trying to figure out

00:43:45:01 - 00:43:48:06
an intern role while they're there.

00:43:48:08 - 00:43:52:09
No, I think that's that is absolutely crucial.

00:43:52:09 - 00:43:55:09
And I think now that this is like the most important takeaway, but

00:43:55:09 - 00:43:58:15
something that hasn't been mentioned yet is really make sure

00:43:58:15 - 00:44:03:03
that the interns and all of the candidates that you're interviewing

00:44:03:05 - 00:44:08:01
feel like you matter and that you're part of the organization from the beginning.

00:44:08:01 - 00:44:11:24
And I think I just remember when we were interviewing candidates

00:44:11:24 - 00:44:13:13
from the beginning,

00:44:13:13 - 00:44:13:23
you know,

00:44:13:23 - 00:44:17:05
I think we always wanted to keep them in the loop of where they were

00:44:17:05 - 00:44:18:12
in the hiring process.

00:44:18:12 - 00:44:21:05
And I mean, I think we made a decision very quickly.

00:44:21:05 - 00:44:25:11
And as soon as we made a decision, we we let everybody know.

00:44:25:11 - 00:44:30:08
And, you know, I think even for those that we didn't end up hiring,

00:44:30:10 - 00:44:32:19
we still wanted to have a great relationship with them

00:44:32:19 - 00:44:35:07
because you never know with opportunities in the future.

00:44:35:07 - 00:44:37:20
And we didn't want them to feel like, it's just an intern.

00:44:37:20 - 00:44:39:09
We'll get back to them in a couple of weeks.

00:44:39:09 - 00:44:41:22
And I think the

00:44:41:24 - 00:44:44:04
for us, it was important that everyone knew

00:44:44:04 - 00:44:46:17
that this is a critical role in our organization

00:44:46:17 - 00:44:49:05
and they are going to make an impact and they're part of our team.

00:44:49:05 - 00:44:52:03
So not necessarily that they're just an intern.

00:44:52:03 - 00:44:56:01
And I think we tried to treat you like you were part of the team

00:44:56:05 - 00:44:59:04
throughout the entire summer and beyond, and obviously you're part of our team now.

00:44:59:04 - 00:45:01:23
So it all worked out definitely.

00:45:01:23 - 00:45:05:20
And that was actually another 2024 internship

00:45:05:22 - 00:45:08:22
trend that I read about was

00:45:09:00 - 00:45:12:21
the importance of meaningful work in an internship

00:45:12:21 - 00:45:16:12
and just ensuring that your interns

00:45:16:12 - 00:45:21:08
can connect to your organization and to the work that they're doing.

00:45:21:08 - 00:45:24:10
And it's not just you're doing work to do work.

00:45:24:10 - 00:45:29:19
It's like you, your interns need to care about your organization's

00:45:29:19 - 00:45:36:10
mission and values and their work's mission and values too. So

00:45:36:12 - 00:45:39:06
to get my drop moment there,

00:45:39:06 - 00:45:40:24
I love it all.

00:45:40:24 - 00:45:45:01
Courtney, thank you again for sharing your expertise with us today.

00:45:45:03 - 00:45:46:13
And to our listeners,

00:45:46:13 - 00:45:51:07
I would just encourage you to head to Emory net dot org to check out

00:45:51:09 - 00:45:55:17
our Emory can help you recruit retain as well

00:45:55:17 - 00:45:59:17
as enhance your internship programs if you have an existing one.

00:45:59:17 - 00:46:03:00
And then also feel free to reach out to Courtney

00:46:03:00 - 00:46:07:11
to choose our manager of our internship leadership program.

00:46:07:11 - 00:46:10:13
So we'll include her

00:46:10:13 - 00:46:13:22
email down below in her LinkedIn profile if you want to connect with her.

00:46:13:23 - 00:46:17:08
But otherwise, I appreciate the chat.

00:46:17:08 - 00:46:17:23
Courtney.

00:46:17:23 - 00:46:22:14
Thanks again to our listeners and we'll see you next week.

00:46:22:16 - 00:46:23:13
Thanks for having me.

00:46:23:13 - 00:46:26:04
And that wraps up our content for this episode.

00:46:26:04 - 00:46:27:22
Be sure to reference the show notes

00:46:27:22 - 00:46:30:23
where you can sign in to connect for more podcast updates,

00:46:30:24 - 00:46:34:17
check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform.

00:46:34:17 - 00:46:38:10
And as always, make sure to follow MRA's 30 minutes THRIVE

00:46:38:14 - 00:46:40:20
so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in

00:46:40:20 - 00:46:44:06
and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the conversation.