Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals, October 12, 2011 

When students take part in internships, one of their goals is to learn about themselves and their future, explains Lauren Berger, CEO of Intern Queen Inc., who participated in 15 internships during her four years of college.

 “[Interns] want to be able to answer the question, ‘Is this what I want to do with my life?’ after the internship is complete,” she says. “They should leave the internship with a strong understanding of what that industry and specific job entails.”

This is where the employer can help: The employer that provides the best internships for college students offers ample opportunities for interns to learn about the organization and industry, and to see how they might fit into both.

“One of the biggest mistakes [employers make is that] they often don’t provide structured internship programs for students,” Berger notes. “They’re unaware of what the interns are doing at many times throughout the day. Interns do need to be as supervised as possible.”

According to Berger, the internship should have a learning objective associated with it, and interns should have mentors as well as the opportunity to gain insight and advice from executives. In addition, employers should guide students in all aspects of the internship, even as it relates to any college requirements associated with for-credit internships. Berger points out, for example, that employers often are unaware of the requirements students must complete to get credit for their internships.

“Employers should ask students on day one to bring in any materials the employer needs to complete for the student to gain full credit,” she says.

Furthermore, an employer should never assume that a student is going to know how to do a specific task or project. Detailed instructions, Berger says, should always be provided to avoid slipups.
“Internships change lives, so an employer is really doing a good deed by providing an opportunity for a student to come into their workplace and learn,” Berger says. “But employers should keep in mind that many times an internship is the first time a student is in a professional environment. [Students] need guidance on how to think and act like a professional, and they often need heavy instruction for entry-level tasks.”