Show off your Internship, Be Proud!

In order to have a successful recruiting season, you must be willing to talk about your internship.  Don’t think that your internship is boring.  Maybe the work seems mundane to you, but you may be surprised by what eager college students find interesting.  Share with potential interns what they will be doing and who they will be working with.  Don’t keep it a secret.  Be proud of what you have to offer.  Here are a few ways to show off:

• Have a page or two on your website dedicated to your internship (place a link on your front page for easy access).  Interview previous interns and post their testimonials detailing their internship experience.  Offer insight on what a typical day is like, students want to know what they are getting into.  We have created countless job descriptions and one thing we always avoid is making something sound better than it really is.
  • (Ex. If you are hiring a sales rep then tell them exactly how they will generate business, you can see how we did it for our ROCS Biz Finder Internship.)
• Constantly promote the internship.  Speak not only to college students about your program, but also share with vendors and clients.
• Send emails.  Keep an email list of possible interns to stay organized.  Maybe a few candidates who weren’t quite ready for full-time could make a good intern.

Get Your Name Out There

Alright, your website is up and running for your internship, but how do you create some buzz?

Unless your company has a household name like GE or an established reputation at a school, you will have to do more than the conventional recruiting….. like attending job fairs.  Here are a few other ways to get your name out there:

• Get to know the professors!  Find the professors that teach courses which relate to your company.  Email them, attend functions at the school, get out there!  The professors can be a gateway to top talent, and they always know which students stick out above the rest.
• Sponsor student organizations.  Most organizations are required and/or strongly encouraged to have philanthropic events throughout the year.  What a positive way to not only get your name out there, but to also see which students are active on campus.  (This relates to another topic I’ll touch on down the road:  How students can make up for a lack of work experience through extracurricular activities).
• Hold special events for students.  Some companies looking to hire programmers have been creating “hack-offs” – events where they invite students to hack into a secured program.  It’s a cool and unique way to get your name out there and provides an exclusive way to identify top hackers….Maybe “hack-offs” don’t apply to your business, but be creative!

PS.  Make a goal not to hire your boss’s daughters and sons.  They already know all about your company, probably more then they would like to know.

About the Author: Tom Moore is a co-ceo/founder at ROCS. A staffing and recruiting services company which helps companies find the top college student and recent graduate talent.

Career Services can help, but you need to do more

To make the most out of your relationship, you need to meet with Career Services directly and develop something long-term. Most importantly, have a company representative interact with students on Resume Critiques and Interviewing 101 classes on campus-along with Career Services – might be beneficial.

Flyers DON’T Work

College students are inundated with event posters, open mic nights, computer discounts, and offers from businesses near campus. Want to get lost in translation? Waste your money on expensive and flashy flyers will only make your boss angry with the money you spent and the 2 hours you took to put them up.

Job Fairs DON’T Always Work

They are helpful, but in order to get the attention of top students, you need to stick out. Unless you’re a Fortune 100 company, you need to use creativity to help build awareness. Get more involved by sponsoring on-campus activities or student groups.