An intern is usually a student or trainee who works, sometimes without pay, in order to gain work experience or satisfy requirements for a qualification.
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, an internship is used as practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.
Benefits of Internships
Interns are a great way to introduce new ideas and points of view to your company. They usually have freshly gained knowledge of the industry from what they have been studying and, combined with their willingness to work and learn, they can be a source of creative ideas and innovative solutions.
Hiring interns can be a great way to support your business and employees, especially during busier periods. Interns usually take on light administrative duties, alleviating your employees' workload so they can focus on other tasks.
However, interns are not just administrative assistants to be pushed around; with the right mentoring and supervision, they can take on other more serious tasks as well, and might even become full-time employees.
Think of the internship as a trial period that allows both the employer and the intern to decide whether your company is the right match for them.
Another good thing about making interns full-time employees is that they already know their team members. They are familiar with the work environment, so there will not be a period required for them to adapt.
Interns should be paired with mentors or supervisors to make sure that they are learning new skills and doing their job well.
This is a great opportunity to give some of your full-time staff the chance to showcase and develop their own leadership and job skills. This will also allow you to see who has management potential if you are considering promoting someone.
