Many CSRA companies and organizations were honored in the 2020-21 school year for their partnership in hosting Hull College of Business interns including “National” type companies in Augusta like Augusta National, ADP and John Deere—financial institutions such as Queensborough National Bank and Trust, SME CPA’s, The Cleveland Group and TaxSlayer and cause oriented groups like Augusta Locally Grown and Shepheard Community Blood Center. Please read the employer advice and consider contacting Jennifer below.
The fall internship season has just begun for many students as they embark on their experiential learning adventures! An internship benefits students as they apply their classroom knowledge to “real world” practice. Here are a few keys to hosting a successful internship experience that benefits you, the employer, as well.
- Integrate and Onboard the Intern as Part of the Team: Prepare the student to effectively navigate the organization and internship by onboarding them as you would a new employee. Integrating a new intern into your department is a great opportunity to display the benefits of working at your organization. By seeing your intern in action in your department, you will be able to determine their “fit” if you are considering extending an offer for employment once the internship is complete. This also aids in creating a future applicant pool as an intern can contribute to your brand via word of mouth among fellow students.
- Communicate a Clear Reporting Structure: The intern may work with several individuals or across multiple departments within your organization to acquire information necessary to successfully complete the assigned internship project. It is very important that the student knows who to report to daily or if they encounter obstacles along the way. It is best that you do not assume the intern understands the internship supervisor’s expectations or knows who their point of contact is.
- Create a Meaningful Internship Project and Scope: Hosting an internship should be mutually beneficial for both parties. Interns have the knowledge to complete many of the projects that have been placed on the backburner for your organization due to a staffing shortage. Ideas for internship projects include auditing and streamlining a process, forecasting or tracking trends, creating marketing materials, and developing training manuals.
- Provide Frequent Feedback to the Intern: Frequent feedback is integral to the internship experience as you guide students toward the desired project outcome. This also builds confidence in the student as you mold attributes such as professional behavior, communication, and industry specific skills. The student may also seek course credit for the internship with their degree program which may require a midterm and final evaluation.
- Schedule a Meeting for the Intern to Showcase the Deliverable: Scheduling a meeting that will take place at the end of internship allows the student to present the final deliverable/project to the team and stakeholders. This gives the student experience preparing for a business presentation and selling their results to stakeholders. This also allows your team to see how their contribution was meaningful in the development process.
Experiential learning opportunities help prepare future business leaders. In the Hull College of Business, we partner with the local business community to provide internships. These internships often help fill the needs of different businesses while also training our students to be career ready upon graduation. If you are interested in being an internship host with the Hull College of Business at Augusta University or want to learn more, please contact our career advisor, Jennifer Mansell, at jemansell@augusta.edu.
