Internships provide students with invaluable hands-on experience while simultaneously helping them transition more quickly from student to full time employee, reducing training expenses for employers.
Maintaining regular evaluations for interns during their internship is of utmost importance, particularly midway through. This can be accomplished using surveys or interviews with supervisors and mentors.
Ask for Feedback
Feedback is vitally important for all employees, but interns in particular. Interns typically only stay with your company for a short timeframe so giving frequent feedback throughout their internship program can ensure they start off on the right foot and remain happy in their position. According to research from Chegg, interns who receive consistent feedback tend to be happier in their jobs.
Interns should request feedback from their supervisors as it shows they want to improve and learn more about their job performance. Furthermore, seeking feedback helps interns develop beneficial professional relationships as well as increase the odds of being considered for full-time positions within a company.
Interns can seek feedback by simply inquiring with their mentors about their performance at work and requesting improvements in areas like communication or organization.
When asking for feedback, interns must be able to differentiate between constructive criticism and that which is unhelpful, as well as listen and respond in an appropriate and productive manner. Otherwise, their internship could suffer greatly.
Feedback processes can be improved by asking clear, straightforward questions. When possible, using a rating scale like Likert scale helps compare intern results easily.
Once feedback has been collected, it is critical that changes and improvements be implemented immediately. Interns will likely be more satisfied with their internship experience if their concerns have been heard and changes made accordingly. It would also be beneficial if written copies of feedback could be given directly to each intern as this makes reading and understanding easier for everyone involved.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Honest
When conducting surveys of interns, it’s essential that their responses be as honest as possible. While many companies try to avoid giving harsh feedback, often times frank discussions on an intern’s strengths and weaknesses are in their best interests – enabling them to make the most out of their internship experience and find employment that better matches their personality and skillset.
Even though it can be tempting to give interns a pass when it comes to areas in which they require improvement, doing so won’t do them any good in the long run. Being honest and direct with them will allow for timely issues to be addressed rather than having them fester until the end of their internship experience.
Internships provide students with a valuable way to gain practical experience, earn course credit and prepare for future careers in their field. Companies also view internships as valuable recruiting tools and an effective way of training up future workers – but both parties expect something different out of the experience; interns expect their supervisors to guide and educate them while managers hope their interns become permanent employees.
As with hiring permanent employees, selecting interns carefully and matching each with an effective supervisor is paramount to their experience and satisfaction at your organization. An effective supervisor not only takes time out to answer queries and provide guidance but has the skillset and experience to do so effectively – this ensures both intern and supervisor can have an enriching and profitable time at your firm.
For example, if the intern is a student who prefers working independently, finding a paid position that allows for this may be ideal. If they specialize in digital research or similar areas it would also be advantageous for them to find employment where their skills can be maximized.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
Internships provide students with hands-on experience, may lead to course credit or money, and prepare them for future careers. Companies, meanwhile, gain new employees as well as potential candidates for full-time roles.
Regular evaluation of internships is essential to ensure optimal growth and engagement from interns, avoiding frustration or disengagement due to miscommunication or confusion regarding their internship process.
Ideal evaluations should start on the very first day and continue throughout the internship, so supervisors can provide coaching and feedback in real time rather than waiting until its too late to make a difference.
Supervisors should pose some open-ended questions at the conclusion of an internship, including asking about how valuable their time with the organization was, whether or not they would recommend the program to friends and colleagues, and whether they’d consider joining the company later on as employees. Asking such open-ended inquiries provides invaluable unbiased data.
Mentors must set clear expectations of interns; however, it’s also crucial that they remain flexible and understanding during an internship period. It is normal for interns to feel overwhelmed at times; in such instances it might be beneficial to speak to another coworker or the internship manager to clarify expectations or ask for assistance.
An internship program’s most pressing concern is interns putting too much pressure on companies for permanent positions or expecting too much from them, yet these fears can be managed through open dialogue between supervisors and interns. Communication must occur between supervisors and interns as it’s essential that an intern understands what are considered minimum requirements for permanent employment with a company and understand their hiring procedures.
Make time during their internship to observe other teams or branches if possible; this allows interns to discover potential professional opportunities they might not have considered before and may lead them down an exciting new career path.
Be Flexible
Before the conclusion of an intern’s tenure, it’s advisable to conduct an evaluation. This evaluation can be as formal or informal as you like and should give them the opportunity to discuss their time spent working for your company and provide you with insights into any areas where growth or development might need improvement.
As you evaluate an intern, ensure the questions you pose are specific to their position and goals. Furthermore, ask if they feel their internship was worth their time, if they would recommend it to others, whether or not they’d consider becoming full-time employees at your company and what were some of its most invaluable aspects.
Keep in mind that internship experiences can often be an uncertain journey for students. They’re likely to encounter projects which need to be put on hold due to other departments or coworkers providing information they require; as part of your evaluation of them, include some background work that can keep them busy while making them feel productive at any time.
Internships offer aspiring professionals an invaluable opportunity to explore different career options and determine what type of work they enjoy doing. If one of your interns seems suitable for your organization, make it a point to interview them for full-time employment – this way you can ensure they continue their success within it!
To maximize the effectiveness of your internship program, be flexible and maintain an open dialogue with your interns. This could involve having regular or bimonthly meetings to review goals and progress; these should also serve as opportunities for them to share feedback directly with you. Making any adjustments that allow interns to have more fulfilling internship experiences will benefit everyone involved in equal measure.