Intern: What is the cost of hiring?

Why hire an intern?

An intern can help your organization with different projects, such as assisting in research, analyzing data, and organizing events. Interns are usually still in the learning process and will often shadow executives to gain more experience in the industry.

Contributions of a great intern:

• assist with different projects
• will be able to learn quickly
• can manage a small team

What are the different types of interns?

Interns will work in a variety of different industries with the goal of learning about job-specific duties. Most interns are either new graduates or still students and will be using the experience to help them in future endeavours. The following is a list of different types of interns.

• Marketing intern: Will work with advertising executives to learn about the marketing industry.
• Government intern: Will work in different government departments.
• Research intern: Will work in universities or research labs.
• Accounting intern: Will work in an accounting firm helping with different projects.

Where to find an intern

To find the right intern for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Internship programs: Colleges and universities often have internship programs designed to help students get hands-on experience. Tying up with universities for such internship programs is a good place to hire interns, as the students will be keen to gain an opportunity to get exposure and have up-to-date knowledge of the industry.
• High School job fair: Since interns will be learning on the job, a high school job fair would be a great place to find candidates looking for junior and internship roles.
• Referrals: Asking friends, family, and colleagues is another great way to find your next intern. This way, you would have some certainty that the referred candidates would be reliable and have the needed skills.

Post your job online: Try posting your intern job on Indeed to find and attract quality intern candidates.

Skills to look for in a great intern

A great intern candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• Great communication skills, both oral and written
• Ability to learn quickly
• Time management skills
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Friendly and personable attitude

Writing an intern job description

A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified intern candidates. An intern job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your intern job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on intern jobs, according to Indeed data:

• intern
• internship
• student
• student intern
• co-op

Interviewing intern candidates

Strong candidates for intern positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Experience in the industry
• Experiences at school
• Their ability to learn quickly
• Their ability to work as part of a team
• Experience working with tight deadlines

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of interview questions for examples (with sample answers).