Having an internship program at your company is hard work. Correction: having a real internship program at your company is hard work. Having a bad one can often be illegal. So why put in all the time and energy into an internship program? It shouldn’t be for the free work: a well-run internship breaks even from time put in to training and educating interns versus time freed up by intern assistance and work. No, the real return on investment is how running an internship program can make your company better: both internally as your team grows and externally as you build new connections.

Find the Teachers and Leaders in Your Staff

Internships are all about education, and with that you can find who on your staff will step up and even be excited about instructing interns. With larger groups especially – common during summer internships where students’ time isn’t monopolized by classes – you may also find unexpected staff members who step up to coordinate and guide your interns, showing leadership and management skills.

Find the Weak Points in Your Policies and Procedures

While being monitored and reviewed, your interns should be doing real work for your company – not busywork or coffee runs. Even if this work never sees the light of day, it will be guaranteed to rigorously test your policies and procedures, especially when it comes to management, review, and quality assurance. These are all good things, allowing you to fix policy problems in a controlled environment.

Internships Improve Company Culture

You may be surprised how enthusiastic interns can bring out the enthusiasm in your own staff. Much like with policies and procedures, interns can help you find where you might have blind spots for your company culture, but just as importantly they can bring your company together to promote their education. Also, having these interns on your staff can help you promote company activities and team-building events.

Giving Back to Your Community

Internships are a great way to give back to your community, especially when you partner with nearby colleges. Talking about your internships and highlighting them on social media is a great way to show what you’re doing for local college students and show your community involvement.

Building Relationships That Last a Lifetime

You might be surprised at what impact a positive internship can have on a student’s education and job prospects. Don’t be surprised to get students from all walks of life and different fields of study. Making sure to stay connected with them after the internship through the internship program, social media (especially LinkedIn), and inviting them back for further internships or even job offers allows you to turn an educational experience into a networking one as well as they move on in their careers.

Here at Vision Advertising, we pride ourselves on our year-round internship program. Want to learn more about internship experiences and interning here at Vision? Check out our blogs, The Internship Experience That’s Right For You and Behind the Scenes at Vision Advertising. If you’re looking to intern here, feel free to reach out to us from our Contact Us page. We hope to hear from you soon and see you at the office!