Is A Summer Marketing Intern A Good Idea For Your Business? How and where to hire a summer marketing intern by UpStateNH.com

Is A Marketing Intern
A Good Idea For Your Business?
How and where to hire a summer marketing intern.

Hiring the right summer marketing intern can prove to be a valuable step. They can bring the latest technology, new ideas and concepts, and young but professional help at discounted prices. Many companies are well served by this temporary workforce that is typically rich in innovative ideas.

Prerequisites for Hiring Summer Interns

Before you hire a marketing intern, make sure that you can provide the following:

That you or an employee have time to mentor and supervise your intern.

Provide a professional and supportive work environment.

Provide real-world work experience relevant to each student's major.

Proper compensation in the form of on-the-job training and wages.

Finding Summer Marketing Interns

Visit the following sites where you can find profiles of marketing interns for your organization:

Internships.com

YouTern

WayUp.com

CoolWorks

Reasons for Getting Paid vs. Unpaid Interns

Governments have regulations that lay down limits for the amount of work that unpaid interns can perform. In NH, you generally have to be participating in an state or college approved education plan to utilize unpaid interns. It's usually better to provide a wage, even if small, to avoid 'complications'.

Theoretically unpaid interns cannot contribute to business operations. They shouldn't be composing marketing campaigns, etc. however they may undertake surveys or similar information gathering purposes.

Unpaid interns can only do work that doesn't fill a business need. You cannot benefit from the duties they perform.

Paid marketing interns can perform any business function. Upperclassmen marketing majors are usually particularly knowledgeable about graphic design and social media, gaps that many small businesses lack.

Staying Ethical

Keep in mind that this discounted labor comes on a 'quid pro quo' basis. Ethically you should:

Provide exposure to the real world experiences. Have them sit in meetings and sometimes accompany your employees during sales calls.

Provide genuine feedback. Coach them about their projects (and processes) and tell them where they can improve.

Set guidelines, and precisely communicate your 'expectations'. This can include work hours and business attire. The monitoring employee should also know these expectations. Mentor's expectations should be set so that interns aren't made to perform tasks beyond their limitations or abilities.

Important to note: There is a strong corporate movement to pay interns industry competetive wages. If you are hiring someone because of a specific skill set, remember they have made an investment to have the skill. Respect that as you determine their wages.

About the Author

George C. Jobel does business coaching, web development and SEO consulting and has been helping clients develop successful online & multimedia marketing since 1995. The author of numerous articles, George taught web development and marketing classes for over a dozen years. You can reach him at his web site, or 603.491.4340.