Ways to turn your summer interns into full-time hires

3 ways to turn your summer interns into full-time hires

June 1, 2022 12:15 PM

When school lets out for the summer, college students aren’t heading to the beach, but to the boardroom.

Sixty-one percent of students will have a summer internship during their college career, according to the National Association of College and Employers. An internship can be a great opportunity for students to learn valuable professional skills, and for employers to build relationships that can benefit their business in the future.

“Internship programs have always been a long game strategy for companies to build a talent pipeline,” says Annie Rosencrans, director of people and culture at workforce management platform HiBob. “The goal, regardless of whether they're doing in-person internships or remote or hybrid, should always be to build a fulfilling experience for young talent, and generate enough excitement about the future of the company that they'll want to come back after they graduate.”

Top employers like Facebook, IBM, PwC and Google typically hire between 70-90% of their summer interns, the National Association of College and Employers found. These talent pipelines pay off: employees who were previously interns have higher retention rates and higher starting salaries than those who did not intern.

As employers continue to navigate the Great Resignation, interns can be a vital resource for filling talent gaps, Rosencrans says. But ensuring your internship program is effective takes thoughtful consideration. Rosencrans shares her top tips for executing an effective internship program that could lead to long-term hires down the line:

Invest in technology

Previously, an intern may have worked one-on-one with a manager or team member to learn the ropes, but as employees have gone remote, that facetime is more difficult to achieve, Rosencrans says. That’s where technology can come in to fill the gaps.

“Providing hands-on training in a remote or hybrid environment is a lot harder, but that can be a good thing,” she says. “It means that the intern needs to be more self-sufficient, but you need technology that is reliable and easy to use, and allows you to oversee an intern’s work without having to be there hand holding them all day long.”

Tools like Slack, or workforce management programs like Asana, could be valuable investments, along with the training for interns to interact with them effectively, Rosencrans says.

Set up a solid structure

Interns may need help adjusting to work expectations, and daily meetings to set expectations and objectives can get them on the right track early on, Rosencrans says.

“There should be a structure to the day and an expectation set up front for the objectives you have for the day. What are some of the things you want that person to accomplish?” she says. “We sometimes forget that many interns have never been in a workplace. But if you want someone to learn how to do something so that they can ultimately take work off your plate, you're going to have to invest a little bit of time upfront.”

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Whether an intern is remote or in-person, Rosencrans suggests having them shadow an employee, or attend meetings and take notes. Offering consistent feedback, especially in the early stages, can help set them up for success throughout the rest of their time with the company.

Incorporate them into your workplace culture

An internship is not just a try-out for the employer to decide whether the student is a good fit; the intern is making decisions about the company, too, Rosencrans says. Making sure they get the full picture of the company’s work, their values, and their culture is a key piece for both sides.

“The biggest thing you can do is treat them as much like a regular employee as you can,” Rosencrans says. “Include them in your social events, or if you have all hands meetings, make sure that they feel as included in the culture as possible, so that they can really get a good taste of what it would be like to work there full time.”

After months of training and investment, both the employer and intern should have a good idea if it’s the right fit. At that point, the time and money employers have put in will pay off with a highly trained hire.