Getting the Most Out of Interns

Every start-up can use some cheap labor. But successful internships require more effort than you might think.

1 | 2 NEXT

When Cary Catalano launched his marketing firm, Catalano Fenske & Associates, last year, it was clear that he and his partner would be quickly overwhelmed by the size of the to-do list. In addition to crafting boffo proposals to land those first clients, someone had to set up the office, create filing and billing systems, and take care of the myriad tiny tasks that come with launching a new company. Unfortunately, the Fresno, Calif., entrepreneur had hit his budget limit for payroll. So Catalano went out and got himself a couple of employees who were happy to work for next to nothing. In other words, he hired a few interns.

For start-ups like Catalano Fenske, internships are almost too good to be true. A young, eager-to-please student less interested in cash than in school credit and some shiny new bullet points for the resume can be just the solution when you lack the money to hire. But while interns may be a bargain, they're far from without cost -- and not only in terms of money. Finding, training, and managing an intern who will help your business grow takes time and effort. Do it right, and you'll have an enthusiastic helper -- as well as a potentially skilled and trusted employee should you need to hire someone down the line. Get it wrong -- and you'd be surprised at how many people do just that -- and an intern can be just another headache to add to the list.

Obviously, you want a go-getter who is determined to make the most of his or her time at your company. This could prove more challenging than expected: Just 11% of teenagers today (the hiring pool for interns, by and large) say their generation is focused on goals, while 50% say their generation is all about having fun, according to a survey by Peter Zollo, founder of Teenage Research Unlimited, a market research firm. Somewhat discordantly, Zollo also found that 71% of teenagers expect to be successful.

How to separate the driven and talented from the lazy and deluded? Enlist the help of the people who know students best: their professors, for example, or staffers at the career centers at local colleges and universities. The beginning of the school year is a good time to start establishing these relationships. Offer to participate in career fairs and brown-bag lunches and build ties with professors, especially those in the business department, by offering to serve as a guest lecturer, suggests Larina Kase, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a small-business coach based in Philadelphia.

Many colleges have internship training programs, which require applications and thereby weed out the less than motivated. Some programs even provide students with training in skills such as accounting, office management, and graphic design.

That's what Catalano found when he got in touch with the career center at nearby Fresno City College. He's hired four interns from the program so far -- each for an eight-week stint -- and he plans to bring on a fifth. His first intern, a 21-year-old participant in the college's office manager program, served as Catalano's office manager, creating the company's filing system and a mass e-mail system. His second intern, a 19-year-old bookkeeping major, helped set up a billing system. The third intern is handling marketing and website design and a fourth will start soon. "They've all been wonderful," Catalano says. "I am really lucky."

In fact, it was more than dumb luck that made internships work for Catalano. Before he hired anyone, he did his homework and made sure that he understood the way the college both screens and trains potential interns before sending them out into the real world. He also conducted rigorous interviews, speaking to seven candidates before settling on his first intern. "It's just like any job interview," he says. "You're looking for personality fit. Did we connect? Did they have the skills we were looking for? That's how you get the best of the best."

Keep in mind that the best of the best are in high demand and start-ups are often at a disadvantage. "It's harder for small companies to find high-caliber interns," says Kase. "Often, interns are attracted to large companies because that name is the one that will go on their resumes." Small firms must take extra time to craft an internship experience that will truly benefit the student's career. In other words, forget about getting someone to make coffee and do the filing.

At Chic Boutique, a Santa Barbara, Calif., designer of fashion dolls -- think Barbie with an attitude -- managing partner Sarah Nguyen almost always has an intern or two helping her full-time staff of 12. She promises an experience they won't find anywhere in their studies -- or at most other companies. Her two current interns, one a 25-year-old fashion student, the other the 14-year-old daughter of her creative director, are helping launch a line of cosmetics, pitching in on everything from brainstorming ideas to helping to create packaging.

1 | 2 NEXT

Try a RISK-FREE Issue of Inc. Today!

Renew | Contact Us | Current Issue

Select Services