Talent Solution #1: Interns
We did a quick Google Image search for “interns” and one of the top results was displaying a definition of ‘modern day slavery’.
If that’s how you view interns and internships, you’re doing it wrong.
In case you missed it, we’ve been in the middle of a talent shortage crisis but we’ve decided that instead of adding to the pile of woe we’re going to try and figure out solutions to the problem, and the first on this list is… interns!!
A much better definition of an internship is “a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work related to a student’s field of study or career interest. An internship gives the student the opportunity for career exploration and development, and to learn new skills*.”
This aligns with how we view internships, and even though the search results may be facetious in tone we wanted to go loud about all the reasons that internships could be embraced as a talent shortage solution.
Over the last year, we’ve taken on two interns and been stoked with how the process turned out. Both interns were in their final year of a Bachelor of Business majoring in Human Resources and were actively looking for an internship in a related field as a requirement for their course.
Part of our values is that we believe in growing our own; most of our management team and Consultants started out as Candidate Managers and gained a strong grasp on why we use a search-based methodology as well as a full understanding of the AJ Way. Our growth has always been organic in so far that when a Candidate Manager progresses up to Consultant, we fill that gap, and the cycle continues.
It was our hope that the internships would eventuate into them joining the team as a full-time Candidate Manager and really hit the ground running from Day One of their “employment”. This is exactly what happened with our first intern and our second go round is progressing in a similar fashion.
3 Reasons Why Internships Worked for Us
- Pay Them
Given the level of output we were expecting and the fact that they were essentially going to be working more than full-time hours (balancing our workload as well as their Uni assignments), it would have been virtually impossible for them to maintain a part-time job for money too.
We believe in doing the right thing and we knew it would be important to invest more than just time and training so offered a fair wage that showed that we cared about their wellbeing. The smile on their face when they realised money wasn’t going to be yet another thing they had to worry about made this decision 100% worth it. - Mentor Them
We see little point in bringing someone on board only to leave them to their own devices and perform at a fraction of their capability.
Our team remembers what it’s like to be just starting out which made them more open to answering questions, explaining processes and encouraging initiative. We genuinely wanted our interns to not only succeed but see themselves staying in the recruitment industry long-term (ideally with us!!). And by delivering with passion, everyone can succeed. - Embrace Them
It would be easy to treat an intern as a temporary resource and not as a member of the team, but that’s just not how we roll.
At Alexander James we believe that we’re better together and this includes anyone who makes the choice to join our whanau. We pride ourselves on our relaxed yet enthusiastic culture, made up by people who want to be here – we absolutely want an intern to know this includes them!
Offering an internship may not work for everyone, however we recommend considering this as a way of sustaining the growth of your team and wider industry. Investing time, money and resources into the next generation of workers makes sense on so many levels, the real question is why wouldn’t you?!
Ngā mihi nui
*Career Centre, UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore City)
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