Does your company offer internships? Hopefully the answer is yes! But maybe it's something you're on the fence about, or you haven't given it much thought.

Internships are a great option for businesses and students. As the Great Crew Change nears, the next generation of workers needs to have the training to take over as Baby Boomers retire.

Offering internships is a great way to start that process.

Now is the time to get your internship posted. Students are planning now for Fall semester and it's recommended that employers get their internship ads posted by August. Generally, you would advertise a few months in advance, but there is such a shortage of internships in the industry that you'll probably get plenty of applicants no matter when you advertise. You'll want to contact colleges and trade schools in your area to see how to reach the widest audience when you set up your internship program.

The issue of pay is tricky. Ideally, interns would get some type of compensation but that may not be possible. It's no secret that most employers in our industry have pretty lean budgets at the moment, and you might not be able to offer paid internships.

However, there are other ways to give your internship value. Sometimes employers will accomplish this by offering brown bag lunch sessions with executives, providing industry-specific software training, or other little perks like taking them to a ballgame. It's important that interns feel included. Make them feel like part of your team. A major complaint interns have is the feeling that they weren't appreciated or had little interaction with those who did their job. Equally frustrating is when they end up doing grunt work unrelated to their position.

Make sure they are doing tasks related to their field of study or a specific program you're advertising. We all have to do our share of mundane tasks, and we know that not every second of the internship will be packed with excitement, but make sure they're not spending their days filing or doing errands. The opportunity to network and pick up job skills will be what gives your internship value.

More information can be found in this article.

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