Written By Staff Writer: Heather Wonders Of GPS Public Relations
Resources:Today’s businesses must stay sharp and need to be smart if they intend on continuing business. The role of the “boss man” as an entrepreneur is to utilize the three factors of production – land, labor, and capital. Of these three factors, interns inject the importance of human skill, knowledge, and applications of that knowledge into the business world equation, falling into the human capital category within the ‘capital’ factor.
Most interns are fresh out of high school or college looking for their first opportunity to truly break out onto the business scene, get professional experience, and make worthwhile connections. They may be green, but that will change as they become more educated. Education isn’t something any business can pass up obviously, unless they’re the masters of doing everything on the fly, but that’s not exactly going to keep them safe or in operation for long. In simple terms, the more educated your workers are, the more creative/ efficient your business will be; the more creative/ efficient, the more opportunities arise for growth and exposure.
For those students who want to start a career, joining a company as an intern exposes them to the environment they would encounter should they be offered employment from the same company (or one similar) down the road. You, as a business owner or manager, get increased productivity, a worker who is trained in more than one area of expertise, a chance to impress upon the intern the values of teamwork, and (varying between companies) inexpensive or cost-free assistance. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Companies like General Electric have been contributing to the next generations of employees by running programs made entirely for interns. Developed over many years, companies like this have built reputable intern programs “with rigorous recruitment operations that reach out to numerous college campuses and structured training and orientation sessions” as stated by Joyce Lee in her article “US Companies That Hire The Most Interns.” Despite the hard economic times, there’s always room available to aid the next age of the workforce into the educated employees we need.
All beneficial returns aside, it’s important to hire an intern that will be an appropriate fit for your workplace. Not every intern is the same as they are humans too. When decided on choosing an intern, be sure to think out your reasons and requirements for hiring. Don’t just pick anyone; pick someone who you believe has the qualities and work ethic to complete assignments with a level of understanding of your business. You are making a contribution to economic growth and mentoring someone who could become one of the top business leaders in future years; it may as well be gratifying.
- www.forbes.com/2009/07/07/biggest-intern-companies-leadership-careers-jobs.html
- smallbusiness.chron.com/hire-intern-instead-employee-13082.html
- www.careerbuilder.com/jobposter/small-business/article.aspx?articleid=ATL_0060HIREANINTERN
- workawesome.com/management/how-to-hire-an-intern/
- www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/index.php/2011/05/18/want-to-grow-your-business-hire-an-intern-2/
Consider if you have the time to mentor an intern and provide a valuable learning experience
