6 Tips to Avoid Hiring an Intern From Hell
As a four-time intern and former intern manager, I've seen it all -- from great programs that motivate great workers to soul-crushing menial work that inspires interns to show up to the office too hungover to function (Yes, this happens. Quite a lot, in fact.)
But with a solid hiring plan, you can avoid the underachievers and find motivated interns who really want to put in a solid summer (or semester) of work, who will show up on time in office-appropriate clothing, and not spend the day on Facebook (unless that's what you've hired them to do). Here are six tips:
1. Make sure you really want one
Hiring an intern isn't going to save you time or ease the burden of anyone's workload (at least not at first). You're going to have to help him understand the office culture, teach him something worthwhile, and show him how to make a contribution. All of this takes time -- and it will change your workday.
If you can't put forth the effort to make your intern feel like she's getting something out of the job (mentorship, good experience or college credit all work), you're going to end up with someone who's counting the seconds until happy hour. That's precisely what I did one term when I landed an internship at a solid news outlet. My task: Make cold calls to ask industry insiders to give up their contact information over the phone. All. Day. Long. It was excruciating, and not what I had signed up for.
If you're just looking for help with filing and other random work around the office, you're better off hiring a temp.
2. Go to the source
Hiring is can be a drain on time and resources. To do it most efficiently, go right to the source of the most qualified candidates: The career services office at universities near you, or national schools with good academics. Tell counselors what you're looking for, as well as what you're not, and ask if they already know students who might fit your needs. I got my first-ever internship because I happened to be in the career office explaining what I wanted to do for the summer right after the counselor received a call looking for a student with journalism experience. Put ads on targeted job sites, instead of generic freebies like Craigslist. And start early. There may be a lot of desperate students out there, but there is also more competition to get good interns than you might think.
3. Put your cards on the table
In the interview, make it clear what the day-to-day work will be like. Some students will come in with babysitting on their resumes, while others may have a lot of experience. Gauge how well they understand what it's like to work in a professional office, and explain how many hours they'll need to spend at work as well as exactly what kind of work they will be doing. Almost no one is opposed to fetching coffee and filing -- if they know about it in advance and if the job also includes substantive work.
A lot of my jobs involved menial tasks like making copies -- I once even faxed in a lease agreement for my boss's car -- but I'd been warned before I took the job, and never felt like I was being given busy work. On the other hand, a friend working for a powerful member of Congress went in to the job expecting to do things like filing and answering constituent calls but wound up making donut runs. Not exactly something to mention in the next job interview.
4. Make sure they're interested in you
Sure, she sent in an application. But does she have any work experience in your field? What does she know about your company? Why does she think PR/finance/HR/advertising is the career for her? It's fine to hire a student whose main work experience is walking dogs or selling popcorn on the boardwalk, so long as she can adequately explain why she wants the job. If she has a lot to gain from this first foray into real work, she has a lot to lose if she can't perform. And don't exclude related interests, even if they're not real jobs. Writing for the college paper is great for journalism and PR. Running the school convenience store can lend itself to finance. Everyone has to start somewhere.
5. Don't make hollow promises
Back in the old days (circa-2007 before the economy hit the skids), internships came with the hope of a real job dangling like a carrot at the end of summer. Internships weren't just about being able to slap some experience on your resume, and having some references for potential employers to contact. Now that things have changed, it's important to make it clear in the interview process what interns stand to gain from the experience, as well as what you can't offer them. If they come in with false expectations, they're going to be angry and hard to manage, if they don't quit altogether.
I once interned at a company that was put up for sale shortly after I started working there. My managers didn't know if they'd be able to keep their own jobs, much less hire me. But they explained that they valued the work I had done, and that no matter what happened, they'd be willing to serve as references and write recommendations. I respected them for it, and worked just as hard for the rest of the summer. And I still call on them for help.
6. Overqualified is not always a good thing
In this tough economy, internships are the best option for a lot of people -- even people with advanced degrees and real job experience. But the person with the best resume isn't necessarily the best person for the job. Instead, hire the most qualified person who still has something to gain.
When I was 23, I managed a 28-year-old intern who was enrolled in a master's program. He was switching careers and needed the experience on his resume. He was fantastic, motivated and always professional -- despite the fact that he was older -- because he knew what he was getting from the job. At the same time, I had a friend with a college degree who had a long-term internship for a national news outlet. For significant portions of her time there, her major responsibilities involved passing out paper and making sure there was always milk in the fridge. Not only was she bored and unmotivated, she warned others against the job.
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