Working in such a fast paced industry leaves little time to tend to all the projects that seem to insurmountably stack up on your desk everyday. No matter how much work is accomplished, the tasks that lie ahead still seem so daunting. Sometimes reaching your goals and meeting your deadlines may seem unattainable, as there is never enough time in the day. Perhaps you have thought about hiring an additional person for some assistance, but your company’s budget will not allow it. If this is the case, it is time to consider starting an internship program at your company. Sure the extra time it takes to research, find and train an intern may be time consuming, but the end result can greatly attribute to saving time, money and improving productivity.
Many colleges have internship programs designed to help students and companies find the perfect match. The ability to post internships or career opportunities is available via college websites typically free of charge. Some colleges even require students to complete an internship (based on a completion of hours, i.e. 150 hours) to graduate creating a need for more internship positions. The first step is to find out what colleges are located in the area. Contact those schools to see what types of programs they offer students and employers. Find out if there is a website available to post the internship or part-time position. Resumes and cover letters can then be submitted to you via email. It is your choice if you would like to include a phone number for the intern to call. It may be easier to have the resume and cover letter submitted to you via email for your review first. This will give you the option to contact only qualified students and will prevent unwanted phone calls.
If posting your internship on a college website has not yielded the results you were anticipating, contact professors that teach courses pertaining to the meeting industry and have them make an announcement to their classes. Several colleges host job fairs, which is another great way to meet students nearing their graduation date. Lastly, once you have hired your first intern, ask for a recommendation from them. They may have a friend they can refer to you. It’s always good to get a referral from an intern that you or a colleague have worked with, especially if they have exceeded expectations.
In terms of compensation, an internship can be paid or unpaid. The sole purpose of an internship is to provide a student or graduate with the opportunity to gain valuable industry experience. An internship also benefits a company by providing much needed support at little or no cost. With that said, it is up to you to decide how an intern is to be compensated. With an unpaid internship, you may also consider offering a mileage allowance based on the miles driven to and from the office.
Hiring an intern is one of the best ways to find future employees. You have the opportunity to not only get to know the intern, but also to see their work ethic and level of professionalism. A lot of companies will hire their intern to join the company full-time at the completion of their internship. Even if this is not the case, it is a great way to provide the intern with the experience they need to join the workforce. It would be a notable contribution to the industry to also offer referrals to other companies for interns you feel have really excelled.
Determining what duties will be assigned to an intern is the most important factor to be considered. This can prove to be daunting, but through trial and error, we were able to determine what roles the interns were best suited. After monitoring our first intern, we learned what skills and qualifications the average student possessed. This helped us decide what projects they were capable of handling and the projects that proved to be too cumbersome. The first few interns will be a learning process, but you will eventually be able to clearly define the role that best suits your company and your intern. It will take some patience, but eventually both parties will be able to work together effectively and efficiently.
So now you have reached the point where you have clearly defined the role of an intern. What next? Create the all-important “Intern Training Manual” to help eliminate the time needed to train each intern. A training manual also helps you remember which steps to go through when a new intern is hired. It can be a great reference for the intern to look back on when questions arise. They are able to review their manual and notes which helps them learn on their own.
After all this is said and done, you can consider hiring two interns concurrently. Since the average student can work around 20 hours a week, having two interns to work alternate days/times allows you to always have one intern in the office at a time. That means there is always someone there to offer the support you need. It is also more efficient to have them there at different times because it is easier to manage one intern rather then both. The average internship lasts two to three months; two interns will allow you to stagger their time with you. When one leaves, the other is still on board. This allows some leeway and time to hire another intern so you are never left empty-handed. Once you have seen how valuable having an intern will be, it is hard to work without that extra help.
As always, it will take a lot of patience and some adjusting to get things just right for both parties. Evaluate the benefits of hiring an intern and hopefully this may prove to be a valuable option for your company.
Robyn Russell, CMP, is a Senior Manager, Accounts & Meeting Services, at Meeting Sites Resource, a global specialist in meeting site research and hotel/contract negotiations. Robyn currently serves on the Board of Directors for the MPI Orange County Chapter as VP Membership. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
