Look to Millennials

How Interns Can Help Your Marketing

You are managing a mid-sized business and have a predicament. There is more work to be done than your current employees can handle, but there isn’t enough budget to hire on an additional full-time team member to take on some of the slack. This is a common issue among local businesses that don’t need large teams. There are two solutions for this work dilemma: hire freelancers on a project-by-project basis, or hire on interns. In my experience interns have several benefits that freelancers don’t. Interns are also a good solution if you want marketing expertise on the team without breaking the bank wide open to hire a salaried marketer.

First off, the job market is more competitive than ever before. A recent nasty recession coupled with record-high levels of college graduates, the market is prime to be oversaturated with talented and bright individuals looking to make a personal stamp on the workforce. Millennial graduates prefer hands-on experience and realize internships are a must if there is any chance of scoring a decent job come graduation time. Your business can take advantage of this and onboard additional talent in the form of part time interns. Here are four easy steps to bring an intern onto your team:

1) Create a Compelling Job Description.

Be realistic about what intern responsibilities will be, but also emphasize learning opportunities and potential for mentorship. Interns like to feel involved and respected.

2) Distribute Description

Local universities are the best recruiting outlet. Contact the program of interest directly and share the details of the internship. Most universities have job boards that students frequent when looking for experience.

3) Weed Out, Then Interview

Don’t kill yourself by interviewing every applicant. Sometimes as many as 65 resumes come in through the door, especially if the position is paid. Pick your top ten resumes and invite those individuals in to interview.

4) Hire Your Choice and Celebrate

Hiring on a talented and capable applicant is one of the best feelings as a manager. Extend an offer, then orient the hire with your team.

How can an intern benefit your business? Remember to adhere to all state and local laws when it comes to starting an internship program. Here are some other helpful tips to consider. Generally if you have the budget for it, pay the interns for their time. This practice is more ethical and allows for higher quality interns to be hired on. There are also tools available to automate and streamline your marketing processes, like Marketing Method, which eliminate the need to hire on additional help altogether.