February provides a great opportunity to get ahead and start planning for the summer. A strategic place to start is by considering hiring an intern! No matter what type of business you own, you can provide a great opportunity for students looking to gain experience while gaining value for your small business in return. That’s why The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center created the Small Business Internship Initiative, a collaborative program created to help small businesses learn about, attract, and host high-value internships and connect area small businesses and college students.
Internships offered through the Small Business Internship Initiative:
- Are structured experiential learning taking place within and under the supervision of businesses
- Have a defined beginning and end timeline
- Can be in-person/on-site or remote/virtual or hybrid
- Provide a benefit to both the intern and the business
- Are paid (through a wage & payroll process described on our web site), with an optional opportunity for class credit.
If you’re looking to host an internship for the summer of 2023, now is the time to start thinking about it since students start searching for summer internships soon! Here are some things we think you should know:
- Summer is a Great Time
Students’ schedules can be more flexible in the summer without the restraint of school and extracurricular activities. The summertime allows for approximately 12 weeks, possibly more, with a wide range in potential hours. Summer internships can range from a few hours a week to as many as 20 or 30 hours. This is enough time to allow your intern to integrate into your team and become a real asset!
- Mentoring is Critical
Students expect and look for mentors while they are searching for an internship. Mentoring and guiding your intern is critical to the success of the internship for both you and the intern. Mentoring includes sharing information about your career path, helping your intern with projects, and setting goals throughout the internship to ensure their progress. Consider who will mentor your intern and how you can plan a regular meeting schedule or regular check-ins. These meetings are also a great opportunity to see your business from their perspective!
- Hosting an Intern Can Help You Reach Your Goals
Having another person on your team with a fresh perspective can help take some projects off your plate. This means you can tackle some of the projects that always seem to be on the backburner.
- Your Intern Could be Your Next Permanent Hire
If you’re looking to hire a full-time employee, an internship is a great way to start! Before you make the big decision, you get to learn how your intern works solo, with a team and with you before deciding to make them a permanent hire.
- Marketing Your Internship is Critical
Marketing your internship is critical to ensuring you receive a good number of applicants. Many businesses are offering excellent internships these days and your business will be competing to attract top talent!
First, make sure you have an inviting description with clear details of your internship: a clear title, a summary of your business, learning objectives for the intern, required skills and experience, potential projects the intern will work on, and an application date. Don’t forget to include details about what an intern will gain from the experience and what makes this opportunity unique and interesting!
Second, market your summer internship as early as possible. You may not be thinking about summer, but students need to identify their opportunities and make plans in advance!
- We Can Help!
If you are interested in learning more about hosting an intern through the Small Business Internship Initiative for the summer of 2023 or in the future visit our web site or attend our quick webinar, “Grow Your Small Business with a Summer Internship”“ on 2/28/2023 from 12 – 12:30 p.m. Visit this link to register: https://pasbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/30197
