Let the Intern Do It

Do you have more projects than time? Help might be as close as your nearest college. Many have intern programs, where students complete tasks for businesses as part of their studies.

Here are a few tips for designing an internship program that will work for both you and the student:

Have one or more specific projects in mind. You might want help with a PR campaign, design of a web site, industry research, creation of brochures and other marketing materials, or other tasks. Have duties in mind that will use and develop skills the students are learning.

Make it interesting. Most students already know the alphabet, so don't assume you can put them to work doing filing or other menial tasks. Give the intern something to do that will lead to a feeling of accomplishment, and maybe something to show in a portfolio.

Pay what you can. Although you may not be required to pay the intern, you should offer something. After all, the intern will provide services you would have to pay for elsewhere. (Of course, you probably won't get the quality or quantity of work you would get from an experienced professional, and the pay is secondary to the learning experience, so pay accordingly.)

Be prepared to provide supervision and direction to the intern. They are learning, and you are teaching. Although you aren't going to teach the intern designing your web site about HTML and programming, you will help them understand the user side of web site development. What do your customers need? How do you want to present your business? This is where they learn about the "real world."

When the intern does a great job, give them a reference they can use when approaching future employers. This may be their first professional work experience, and your reference may help in a job search. You may even decide to hire the intern as you expand your business.

If you would like to get assistance from an intern, contact your local college. They may have a central office, or you may need to contact the specific department (such as Marketing) that matches your needs.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker can help you attract customers and make yourself famous with inexpensive and free marketing ideas. Get free tips, articles and more at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.

Latest News


Washington Post

Wal-Mart disappoints analysts, Walgreen chops management team
Bizjournals.com, NC - 7 hours ago
(NYSE:WAG) announced plans to offer early retirement and severance programs to some 1000 corporate and field management employees, or 9 percent of those ...
Wal-Mart Declines After Management Change RTT News
AP Business NewsBrief at 11:14 am EST TMCnet
all 2,174 news articles

Reuters

US drugstore chain Walgreens to cut 1000 management jobs
Economic Times, India - 6 hours ago
WASHINGTON: US drugstore chain Walgreens said Thursday it would eliminate 1000 management jobs in fiscal 2009 as it restructures to improve profitability. ...
Walgreen to cut about 1000 corporate and field management jobs RTT News
Walgreens Announces Reduction in Corporate and Field Management ... WELT ONLINE
Walgreen to cut 1000 management jobs Crain's Chicago Business
Bloomberg - MSN Money
all 254 news articles

Comcast Network Management Policies In Place
PC Magazine - 18 hours ago
Comcast has fulfilled its pledge to put in a place a protocol agnostic network management policy by year's end, according to filings with the Federal ...
Comcast Removes Blocks On File Sharing InformationWeek
all 6 news articles

Paragon Wealth Management Offers Free Portfolio Reviews
MSNBC - 9 hours ago
PROVO, UT - Paragon Wealth Management is offering free portfolio reviews to investors to help them know where to allocate their portfolios in 2009. ...

Saratoga Electronic Solutions Inc. Announces Revocation of ...
FOXBusiness - 6 hours ago
... issued Management Cease Trade Order which prohibited trading by directors, officers and certain employees of Saratoga in the securities of Saratoga. ...

WELT ONLINE

Gary Berntsen Thinks CIA Needs 'Leadership Not Management'
FOXNews - Jan 7, 2009
CIA COVERT OFFICER : Actually, we need leadership, not management at CIA. That person who's going to be in charge of CIA is in charge of our fight, ...
Video: Analyst Weighs in on Obama's CIA Pick AssociatedPress
Obama's intel picks short on direct experience The Associated Press
Obama Is Under Fire Over Panetta Selection Washington Post
GovExec.com - Wall Street Journal
all 2,463 news articles

BBC News

Microsoft Touts Power Management in Windows 7
ENT News - 1 hour ago
Improved power management got briefly mentioned among the expected benefits of Windows 7 on Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show. ...
Hacking Windows 7 beta problems Computerworld
Windows Live Essentials released Neowin
Microsoft releases Windows Server 2008 R2 beta VNUNet.com
all 1,204 news articles

Babcock Lenders Favor Plans to Retain Management, Review Says
Bloomberg - 5 hours ago
9 (Bloomberg) -- Babcock & Brown Ltd.’s lenders favor plans that will keep management in place to oversee the sale of the company’s assets, the Australian ...

Seven Ways to Reduce IT Costs Using Master Data Management
eWeek,  NY - 39 minutes ago
Master Data Management (MDM) software and services are designed specifically for this purpose. An MDM platform offers a consolidated view of a company's ...

Tensoft(R) Announces Three Revenue Cycle Management Products for ...
MSNBC - 13 hours ago
Each of the three solutions is designed for companies with specific, challenging revenue management needs. All three versions improve the efficiency and ...

Resources