While some interns may view your company as a stop along the path to a full-time job, many are seriously considering your organization as their post-college career goal. View your interns as a long-term investment in your company, rather than part-time administrative help. Below are the six ways to ensure your interns accept full-time offers with your company.
Assign your interns a mentor
At the start of the internship, match your interns with a mentor to help them succeed. Work closely with the mentors to ensure they are meeting with their mentee regularly, and hold them accountable for these meetings. Mentors should be able to provide career advice, shortcuts to basic tasks interns may not learn in traditional schooling (such as Excel secrets or how to mail merge), and softer skills focused around professional communication and office etiquette that are often learned over time.
Give meaningful tasks
Assign meaningful tasks during their internship rather than grunt work. Interns are looking to learn more about your industry and company, so provide them with tasks that help them understand. Allow them sit in on some important meetings so they can observe the decision-making process at your organization. Assign small projects early on to assess their strengths and weaknesses, as well as a final project that will provide real value to your company.
Build relationships early
Build relationships with interns and potential interns early in their college career. Consider creating an internship program for sophomores and juniors, with the potential to invite them back the following summer. If interns come back for consecutive years, consider exposing them to different parts of the company, to give them wider exposure to your larger business. For the interns likely to receive a full-time offer, don’t wait; make an offer at the end of the summer to get ahead of the companies that typically start recruiting in September or October.
Build your brand on campus
Build your company’s brand visibility at career fairs and informational sessions to increase awareness with undergrads. Showcase potential career paths with your company and encourage students to join your talent community. Have former interns who accepted full-time offers with your company present at the career fair, showing students real-life examples of the opportunities within your company.
Check in often
Check in often with interns during the internship duration to keep a pulse on how they are progressing. If they voice their concerns, identify what can be adjusted to improve the experience. Make Fridays fun for them; bring in breakfast or take them out to lunch to make them feel valued. Ask top-performing interns their thoughts on possible job opportunities that may arise with your company.
Make a compelling offer
Once you’re ready to make offers to top-performing interns, consider offering non-traditional benefits. If your internship is in one area of the country, but the full-time offer is in another, consider offering relocation costs (especially if the job is in an expensive urban hub like New York or San Francisco) or remote working opportunities.
How can you ensure that your company can turn your interns into full-time employees? Learn how recruiting software can give you the advantage you need to retain your interns.
