At Gradability we have partnered with over 11,500 host employers across Australia. Here are our top tips for running a successful internship program, both for your business and your interns. Proudly part of the
Since 2005, we have partnered with over 11,500 host employers across Australia to help 35,000+ graduates start their professional careers through internship programs. And the benefits are mutual!
As our host employers discover talent, they have extended job offers to 40% of our interns as a direct result of the internship, speaking to the quality of training and guidance we provide to our students and partners. Most businesses today have some idea of what an internship is. Let’s dive into our Top Tips for a successful internship program and give you the confidence to get started.
As Abraham Lincoln once said: “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my axe”. In our world, that translates to “If I were to operate an internship program, it would require some clear planning to make it a positive experience for both the business and the intern.”
So ask yourself: what does a successful internship program look like for your particular business? This very question will open up a plethora of ideas as to what tasks, projects and/or level of responsibilities both the intern and your staff can commit to. From our experience, we have noticed that businesses that operate very successful internship programs are the ones that have a clear answer as to what constitutes a successful internship, which in turn has a positive spill-over effect on their recruitment processes, their training/on-boarding plans and potential succession plan after the internship ends.
Businesses that understand that an internship is more about the potential of a young professional than their technical skillsets, tend to offer more support via a dedicated mentor. And that in turn facilitates successful talent acquisition where interns are staying with the business as graduates after the internship.
To set your intern and your business up for success, provide a solid support network with a main point of contact i.e. mentor that they can come to for any questions that they may have. By having a good support network in place, the intern will feel much more valued as opposed to undertaking the internship just to have a brand name on their resume. A good mentor who is available to regularly touch-base and hold the intern accountable is quintessential for an intern to communicate any issues that they may have, as well as offer up any ideas that can benefit the business. It also creates a sense of belonging which will keep motivation and enthusiasm high throughout the duration of the internship and beyond.
If you know why you want to host an intern, it will help you define the processes to make it a great experience for you and your intern and help your business achieve the overall goal. Are you looking to pipeline graduate talent? Is the internship designed to develop my team’s leadership skills? Are you looking to generate new and innovative ideas? Or reach new audiences?
When setting up an internship program, think about the resources you will need to make it enjoyable and successful for all involved. Interns will need dedicated support and mentorship, but this investment far outweighs the value that they can bring to the business. The basic requirements and resources for an intern would include: physical resources i.e., workspace, laptop, stationaries, software etc. (if they are working onsite) as well as human resources i.e., mentor. Once you’ve got your set up in place, you can easily scale up and run multiple internships simultaneously. because of how inexpensive it is.
Whether you are new to hosting interns or are looking to expand your engagement with our future generation of leaders, we are here to provide guidance and support throughout.
Reach out to our Corporate Partnerships Team today and find out how we can help you: hostanintern@gradability.com.au
An intern isn’t very expensive for a business compared to the value that they can bring