How to Hire Rock Star Interns Make progress not coffee
Nov 07, 2014
How to Hire Rock Star Interns
Make progress not coffee
Road Map
1. Background on InternMatch2. Nine Steps to Hiring Better
Interns, Saving Time, and Getting More Done
Our Background
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New Aggregated Internships
• Started in 2009• Roughly 300,000 unique student visitors
in April 2012 -- growing fast• Over 700 direct university connections
Our Interns
InternMatch has now hired over 50 interns
** US Employers with 20+ Employees
• We have hired numerous campus ambassadors at schools including MIT, Harvard, Upenn, Wisconsin, Michigan and more!
Why Hire Interns
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New Aggregated Internships
• Fill in critical skill gaps
• Pipeline for hiring
• Regional Expansion
• DON’T hire thinking this is a good tool for free labor
• DO expect to have to put some time into this process
Paid interns are generally more skilled, more likely to convert to full-time and will save you time and energy.
Free Labor?
Not for everyone
• Autonomous but not automatic
• Contributes energy to office/team
• Future hire
• Can’t test assumptions• Needs to be motivated• Only around for 3
months
+50K / Fantastic Intern
-25K /Mediocre Intern
Hiring top notch students with the right culture fit is essential for SMBs and Startups
Nine steps to hiring kick ass interns who save you time and money
#1 Have a Goal/Project in mind
Have a Goal/Project in mind
• Specific projects make management easier and products more valuable.
• This resume guide was made by our first ever intern when we had no in-house designer
#2 Decide on Compensation
• Marketing/Business: $10 - $12.50/hour
• CS $12.50 - $20/hour
• MBA $12.50 - $15/hour
Educational Compensation is worth more than $$$. Learning software (Basecamp, Hootsuite, etc) is huge!
#3 Decide on a Manager
Have a Goal/Project in mind
• Meet once a week for coffee
• Tell the student to ask questions
• Set benchmarks/goals for projects
#4 Define Position Nuts and Bolts
• Length? Typically 3- 6 months long
• Hours? Typically 10-40 hours per week
• Season? Summer you get more attention from a student
#5 Create a posting
Have a Goal/Project in mind
• Pitch company
• Pitch education opportunity
• Detail the role
Use our free template! Got to www.InternMatch.com/guides/gold-standard-internhip-posting
#6 Pimp it out
• Tweet about it• Send it to rock
star former interns
• Send it on to favorite TAs, professors,etc
#7 Always be Closing
Have a Goal/Project in mind
Interviews:• Sell: Spend first 5
minutes talking up your company and role
• Be prepared: Have a list of questions ready to evaluate the student.
• Review: Extra-curriculars are often more important than grades.
• Follow-up: Setup a time to talk again with the student before making a decision.
• Manage expectations.
#8 Get Started on the right foot
• Let students know what they need on the job (laptop, a suite, etc)
• Create an email account for them
• Be upfront about office rules and expectations, etc
#9 Have Fun
Have a Goal/Project in mind
• Interns can and should impact your culture
• They come and go but you can have a truly meaningful impact on their future
How to find applicants?
• Hustle• Post to
universities• Craigslist• Let us hustle for
you…
Post positions at www.internmatch.com/employers
Thank You
Nathan Parcells, Founder/CMO
nathan@internmatch.com
301-873-8435