Internship. Just the word connotes a series of preconceived actions: getting coffee, making copies, running around town trying to find an obscure magazine. Though Millennials are making the push to obtain as many internships as possible, some are finding their experiences less than stellar.
Here are three things you can do to help give your intern a learning experience that doesn’t include cleaning up coffee grinds:
Networking: As a person in a management position, you probably go to many networking events or meet with clients to help close deals. Take your intern with you. What better way to teach someone with fresh eyes than to put them right in the center of what your company does? Not only will your intern get to see the in’s and out’s of your industry, but they may land powerful connections, connections that you can help make.
Personal projects: Have a meeting with your intern and see what they would do to help make your company better. From their ideas, help create a personal project that is theirs alone. This will help your intern feel more important and actually sense that they have contributed to the company. At the end of their internship, evaluate their progress and actually see if their hard work can be put into motion. You may find that your intern has some pretty powerful ideas that can benefit the future of the organization. Their finished project could also be something they add to their portfolio, which is another added benefit of a healthy internship experience.
Be a mentor: Interns are ultimately looking for experience that can help them not only stand out from the crowd, but also aid in them figuring out what they actually want to do. The best lesson you can teach them is to identify where you made mistakes, and help them avoid those blunders, if possible. Let them know how you landed your first job, how you helped a company achieve its goals, how you keep learning in the digital age. Most importantly, stress the importance of keeping in touch after the internship is over (which is a two-way street). Don’t burn your bridges; you never know who may be able to help you out in the future.
