Your next Great Hire…
At the SBDC, businesses know us for recommendations and trouble-shooting. Banks know us for assisting with business plans and financials. New entrepreneurs know us for walking them through licenses and registrations. But, did you know The University of Scranton SBDC can help you potentially meet your NEXT GREAT HIRE? We can! …Through the Small Business Internship Initiative.
The Small Business Internship Initiative was once the Scranton SBDC’s homegrown, born-out-of-business-feedback baby. Since then, it’s grown to a terrific maturity – to the benefit of our area businesses who talk with us about their growth. Sometimes, the initial sentiment from the business is as simple as “I’d like to host an intern – my business is growing so fast– how do I find a student?”. But sometimes, it’s a client who knows he/she needs to plan for their future workforce – “I see my business growing X% over the next X years… I am going to NEED some great workers to make this happen!”
As a consultant, I LIKE that last sentiment. Alot. I want you to plan and think about what your workforce needs might be in 2019, 2020, and beyond. Of course, budgeting, planning, environment, economy and the like are all factors that can change your decision-making process– but thinking about how you can facilitate ways to MEET this next generation of workforce becomes critical to your long-term success.
Vicki Bradley, Pleasant Mount Welding, Inc., Carbondale, and Sophia Assaf, former stellar intern and new permanent hire!
Hosting a paid internship and receiving assistance from the Small Business Internship and SBDC can boost your chances of meeting a possible great hire. It won’t guarantee anything, but welcoming interns into your workforce for a semester does enable you to meet and talk with them, understand their goals and interests and see their performance. If nothing else comes of your hosting, you’ve made a great contribution to a soon-to-be graduate’s practical knowledge, and, as I remind businesses – you are giving back to the community with these efforts! Likewise, giving your business a great mix of culture through generations of knowledge is a benefit to all involved. You can see who works well with who, and even possibly breathe some life into a collective group. As the internship wraps up, you hopefully have a few more projects completed and can gather great feedback from your intern about your business. And, you might’ve just met a candidate you could see yourself offering a full time position to in the future.
I encourage you to consider internships as a way to Grow Your Business.
For information on:
– The University of Scranton SBDC consulting services, visit scrantonsbdc.com.
– The Small Business Internship Initiative, which includes 11 colleges, visit smallbusinessinternships.com.
Gretchen Kukuchka
Business Consultant
Artwork adapted from freepik.com
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