Why Hiring Interns is a Smart Move for Startups | A Complete Guide

Interns are popular among startups as they bring new ideas and excitement with them at affordable rates. This was like buying your team a Swiss Army knife. Interns bring fresh perspectives, they are versatile, ready to take on any challenge and almost cost-neutral!

Today’s internships include so much more than just  old coffee-fetching stereotypes. They possess new ideas, no bad habits to unlearn and a hunger for action and knowledge. According to Tubular Insights, 87% of businesses do experience an increase in productivity as they hire interns. Wondering how to find interns for your startup?

Key Takeaways

• Bring interns on board when you are at a growth period, have new products coming out or need additional support.
• You can also find new enthusiastic talent through job fairs, job posting and referrals or online by posting your own recruitment process.
• Communicate what you expect from an intern and any compensation they might be expecting in order to have a motivated candidate get the most of their experience.

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Thinking of hiring an intern for your startup or small business? Here is everything you need to know!

When is The Perfect Time For A Startup To Hire An Intern?

Interns hiring for your startup is not only a stopgap solution, but also an opportunity to get fresh talent when and how it counts the most. This is when you should hire interns:

Growth Stage

When your startup grows fast, you might need more hands on deck. Interns can help update your website when you launch a new product or write content for social media. Interns fresh perspective and energy will keep things moving without drowning out your main team.

During Product Launch

New product launches are always an exciting time, but also a very busy and stressful one as well. Then, you can recruit interns to test the product and get feedback from your potential customers as well as work on your marketing. Their techy-ness and innovation can be just what your launch needs to get over the line.

Talent Hunt

Looking for your next star employee? 

Internships are like a sneak peek. By giving interns meaningful projects, you can see who’s got what it takes and build a relationship that might lead to a full-time role later.

Tight Resources

Interns are a great way to hedge against budget shortfalls or the absence of another team member. Performing minor functions while maintaining the status quo at a low fee.

How to Find Interns For Your Startup?

Interns are like saplings in your startup. One of the smartest ways to grow your startup when you have little funds is by hiring interns. Hiring interns can bring an influx of new ideas and perspectives to your team which is great for startups since they need all the help that they could get! Many students look for internship opportunities in the below options.

Career Fairs

Imagine a treasure hunt, but you find bright, eager minds instead of gold. Job fairs are like that for startups. They connect you with students, recent graduates looking for internships. The other plus of these fairs is you can get the story out that your startup has been working on and pique interest in those who might want to join this crazy group.

Referrals

You should consider that referrals are like personalized recommendations from your friends or own network. For example, if one of your current employees or past interns or other professionals referred the person to you — that is a huge stamp of approval. Turn it into a game and incentivize your team with small rewards for referring top talent.

Internship Programs

Partnering with local colleges and universities is like teaming up with a talent factory. By creating an internship program, you can regularly bring in potential interns eager to learn and contribute. Contacting startup consulting services can help you find the right fit for your team.

Industry Associations or Job Boards

Joining industry associations is like entering a club where everyone shares your passion. These groups are full of people who love your field, and many are looking for hands-on experience. It’s a great place to find interns who are just as excited about your industry as you are.

Online Platforms

It is a fishing pond — the internet, an online medium such as LinkedIn or Indeed, are your nets. Post your internship openings and see what you catch. Also, remember about social media — with Twitter and Instagram you can get a much bigger reach to independent contractors than when using LinkedIn only.

Career Centers

University career centers are giant platforms for internships. They give many startup founders access to good students and new grads who are looking for that all-important first opportunity. You can attract interns matching your startup by approaching such centers.

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How to Attract Interns for a Startup

Recruiting interns is not just about filling an empty chair in your boardroom but a win-win scenario for all — your start-up, team and the candidate. Here are ideas about attracting top talent and setting your team up for success!

Pre-Interview Materials

How about offering potential candidates a glimpse into your startup internships world?

Get a sense of how they think and work — you can do this by giving them some materials such as case studies or sample tasks before the interview. Kind of like a test-drive, but it takes 10 minutes and can help you identify the previous achievements-oriented type that is ready to get started.

Challenge-Based Interviews

Resumes are great, but they don’t tell the whole story. That’s why designing challenges that mimic actual tasks is vital. These challenges give you a firsthand look at an intern’s problem-solving skills and work ethic. It’s like watching them play the game instead of just reading the rulebook.

Real Work, Real Impact

No one wants to spend their internship making coffee. Give the interns tasks that matter, such as projects related to your startup's goals. It keeps them interested and engaged, it inspires them to learn real life skills. Their fresh ideas could be the very solution your startup needs to grow.

Transparency and Communicating throughout the Process

Communicate what your internship program offers—expectations, tasks, detailed job description and pay. Regular feedback and support motivate interns to do better and well, more importantly contribute when they are guided in a manner that makes them feel valued. Usually, there are fewer students prefer unpaid internship. So, it would be best if your remain transparency whether you are looking for unpaid interns or paid.

Is Hiring an Intern Worth it for a Startup?

Yes, an intern can offer several benefits, making them worth for a startup. Before you decide whether hiring an intern is worth it, let’s explore why many startups find it a smart move. While not every business needs interns, there are some clear advantages to bringing them on board.

Fresh Perspectives

Interns are like a breath of fresh air. More often than not, new leadership is filled by the young and innovative fresh out of school with all these great ideas that they read in a case study online. Hiring interns for your startup can bring a fresh set of eyes, helping you think out of the box and opening the door to new ideas.

Extra Help

One of the greatest benefits to having an intern is the additional pair of hands they provide. Even though you would not entrust them with your most important project, interns can assist in reducing the burden by managing small tasks. It frees up your core team to focus on the bigger picture.

Recruiting Method

How about hiring a full time employee soon? 

Internships are like test drives. You can observe what the intern is like at work, how he or she integrates with your team and whether they are someone you consider as potential future employees. It is a low-commitment way to introduce yourself as potential recruits. Remember, hiring unpaid interns or part time employees may not be beneficial.

Company Cheerleaders

Interns have the potential of becoming your biggest fans as well. They will help recruit new customers by talking up your firm to their friends, family, professional network and on social media following their time with you. You cannot put a price on that kind of buzz!

Leadership Opportunities

Having interns allows your full-time staff to step up as mentors and leaders. It’s like giving them a mini-manager role, which empowers them and helps you spot who has the potential to take on more responsibility in the future.

What Are The Cons of Hiring an Intern?

While there are so many advantages to hiring an intern, a few roadblocks do exist along the way.

Increased Cost

Well paying an intern can actually be expensive. You know, like buying a ticket to watch the game — you hope that it'll be valuable for money. However you can look for unpaid intern to keep the cost within limit.

Lack of Commitment

Interns are temporary, and therefore not everyone will be in your company for the long haul — so it can show. It is as though you are in a relationship with someone who does not want to commit.

Poor Performance

Not everyone can run with the ball, so to speak. Some may need more maturity or internship experience for the job, which can feel like trying to drive a car with a flat tire.

Time-Consuming

Building an intern program is time consuming as well as mentoring interns. Your employees may spend more time in training than they are actually working, which will hinder productivity.

What Internship is Fit for My Start-up?

Hiring interns is like adding in extra gears — they can be a valuable asset. Also, they keep everything turning, but only if you know how to fit them into the equation. Here’s how to make the most of bringing interns on board:

Write a Good Job Description

Even if you’re unsure what the intern’s role will look like, it’s important to outline key responsibilities. Tasks can range from those which create social media posts to ones that help with content creation and performance metric tracking (if you need marketing support). 

Oh, and interns should also meet with a team leader or mentor and attend meetings to learn the ropes. You should also figure out whether you need them on-site or if they can work remotely. Remote work can lead to hiring the best talent from anywhere in the world.

Outline the Commitment

Internships can be flexible, so you must decide what works best for your company. Part-time or project-based internships are great for students juggling classes, while full-time gigs attract those looking for summer experience or recent grads ready to dive in. Being clear about the time commitment upfront will help attract suitable applicants. Remember, the U.S. Department of Labor has guidelines to ensure your internship is valuable and fair.

Decide on Compensation

Are you going to pay your interns or not? 

In many cases, even though it may be unpaid internships (or in the case of undergrads college credit), some companies outright pay at least a reasonable hourly rate or offer monthly stipends. Consider what you can afford to give and splurge. For on-site interns, offering a transit or parking stipend along with credit is key if you are running low on cash.

What Questions to Ask to an Intern During Screening Process

Careful planning is the key when you're looking to bring interns into your startup. You can’t just wing it and hope for the best. Start by jotting down questions to ask during interviews. This helps keep things consistent and ensures you cover all the bases with each candidate.

After all, a few interns will have extensive work experience and a lengthy resume so you'll want to come up with questions that probe deeper. Needless to say, there are lots of other things that you can look at doing also.

• Why Startups Specifically? — The common thing to point out here is work at a startup.
• What makes you eager to work with us?
• How much do you know about our industry?
• What will you be doing after graduation?
• Where do you want to be in 10 years?
• How would your friends describe you?
• What’s your biggest strength?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What can you do for the team?
• Can you tell me about a time you took on a leadership role?
• Why did you pick your university and degree?
• Who do you look up to as a role model, and WHY?
• How do you like to spend your spare time?
• What is important to you from a company culture perspective?
• What are you hoping to get out of this internship?
• Why should we hire you?

These questions help you understand more about the candidate beyond their experience. For a technical internship, you may want to test the candidate with an actual project. Or even better, see them do the work to understand how they think.

Or, if you want to do something more collaborative, you could have all of your potential candidates collaborate in a group project together. That way you can see them as a unit.

By asking the right questions, and giving them an opportunity to demonstrate what they are capable of, you will find those interns that fit perfectly in your startup.

Wrapping Up

When you are bootstrapping your startup, hiring interns who could work for free or yet at a low price point is possibly the cost effective way to grow your business. That is how to find interns for your startup. Don't forget, the greatest internship programs offer interns legitimate work and cater to how they want their lives to look like!

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