Purchasing

Mary Walker

How about hiring an intern?
January 22, 2008

I always thought it was the large corporations that hired interns. The number of intern programs at small companies is definitely on the rise says William Lowell, communications intern director at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He estimates that about 70% of all internship positions are at companies with fewer than 100 employees or non-profits.

Experts say, for small business, the pros of taking on interns out weight the cons. The key to success is inventing enough time and effort up front.

As for the students most interns hope this real-world experience will help them get a foot in the door to permanent employment. Interns can be a complex proposition for small businesses. They are a ready source of inexperience and enthusiastic labor. Kids today have high expectations and they want to be moving up all of the time. You have to help them slow down and fit into the business.

Managing young workers or interns is not easy. Someone said once said to me we need a book called “Office Behavior 101” for the corporate world today. The problem of always being late in the business world is major. Wearing flip-flops to a staff meeting is disastrous. I was working with a student who was above average in the grade level. He was one of the computer experts. I arranged a job interview with a large company in Dallas and the student shows up with tore up jeans, a faded T-shirt and flip-flops. I am not talking about the designer jeans that you buy already faded with cut places in them; I am talking about jeans that have been around since the kid was a freshman. You can’t assume that all of these kids know what to wear to an interview. Some have a very limited wardrobe as they are working their way through school. I know a kid that went to an interview in Texas with 100 degree weather with a coat on. He had tried to iron his shirt with a pan on the stove and burn a big hole in the back. Of course when he arrived they asked him to take his coat off and he had to talk his way out of that one.

Two of my friends work at very large companies headquartered in Texas. They have no dress code. They can wear jeans, short or whatever, as long as they are covered up.

In other words, no mid section can be showing. 

It seems we have two standards. You must dress for the interview but once you get the job and are on the payroll, who cares what you wear. Then why should employers think these kids should have a suit and tie for an interview. Many college students do not attend even their graduation programs because they don’t have the clothes to wear or the money to rent the cap and gown. It has been a long time since most of us were in this situation. If you interview a student for a job, do not just him by his cover.

Editor's Note: Purchasing's February issue will include a package of print and online stories focused on managing procurement internship programs and hiring the right staff to develop a strong procurement organization.

Posted by Mary Walker on January 22, 2008 | Comments (0)