Whether you are just starting an internship program or you have one already, discover the key qualities that make interns thrive, learn how internship programs can shape future leaders, and explore innovative approaches to foster a culture of continuous learning and development. We'll share tips on creating challenging projects that elevate interns to showcase their leadership potential.

Resources:

MRA Membership 

About MRA 

Intern Program

MRA's 2024 Internship Leadership Program Calendar

Recruiting

Let's Connect:

Courtney’s email

Courtney’s LinkedIn profile

Transcript

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Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything

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and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association.

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Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR?

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MRA has got you covered.

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We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not.

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I'm your host, Sophie Boler and we are so glad you're here.

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Now it's time to thrive.

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Hello, everybody, and welcome to 30 Minute Thrive.

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Today we're going to be talking about the ins and outs of internships.

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So if you're looking to start an internship program at your organization,

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or maybe you have one started already, but you're looking to make it

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even more successful, it's a good thing you're here today with us

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because we're joined by Courtney Lamers, MRA, senior manager of member Engagement

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and MRA's Intern Leadership program organizer.

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So Courtney's really here to help organizations

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not only design and implement an internship program,

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but also help develop existing ones into successful programs.

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And having been an intern myself at Emory,

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I love this topic, and I'm really excited to talk about it.

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So, Courtney, let's start.

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Start from the top here.

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Those who have never implemented an internship program before.

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What are some of the key starting factors that a company would really need?

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Absolutely.

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Great question. And thank you for having me today.

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You know,

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it really

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is that time of the year where everyone is reaching out about internships.

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And it's been exciting to hear from a lot of companies that are just

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beginning their internship journey.

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So I think it's going to be a really fun summer and I'm super

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excited for all of you that have interns.

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I think those that have had interns have really found it

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valuable and continue to see that year over year.

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And so I'm really excited for all of those companies that are starting it.

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I think that's a great question to start with, just because we do

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see a lot of companies that are starting internship program.

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And I would say the key in starting an internship program

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and there's a lot of things that go into it, but one of the most important

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things is making sure that you have the correct manager

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and managers in place to support and intern support their experience

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as a whole,

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and be able to have some of those

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difficult conversation zones where I think we see with companies,

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a lot of times managers will come and say, I really want an intern,

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but if that manager may not have the culture in the department,

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that character may not

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necessarily be equipped with the tools to be a great manager for an intern.

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Someone companies are having those conversations, so I think manager buy in

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and understanding of what it really takes to have an intern is huge.

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I think like any new employee, I think interns

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take a little bit of extra time and really supporting that experience

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from mentorship and coaching and giving them opportunities.

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There is a little bit of additional work

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for an intern, so

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I think we see companies that have super successful intern programs

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and what you see behind those are managers and companies that have complete buy in.

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So I think honestly, before you even get to the manager piece,

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you need to think about and talk with your leadership team and understand

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that there is a buy in needed and an investment honestly,

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between both time and money and what goes into a great experience.

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So I think, you know, really the buy in is the first step

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and then there are a lot of steps along the way to get to that manager piece.

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But I think that is so key.

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Just kind of starting about with the whole experience.

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So obviously once you have the manager buy in, that's huge.

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Or leadership by an excuse me.

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And then I think really think about why you're having an intern.

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You know, I think in the past interns have historically been added

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to a team to help with some of those, you know, daily tasks

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and some of those things that can be taken off of other people's plates.

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But we see a lot of companies that are looking to hire

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interns for a long term perspective.

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So one from a brand awareness standpoint, these interns are going back to

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and talking to their friends on campus

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and even on social media about their experience as a whole.

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So those you know, word of mouth brand, ambassador pieces is a huge part of it.

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And we also see interns a lot as their town supply chain.

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So really trying to hang on to those interns.

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So just really understanding the why.

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What's the purpose of your program and then putting some of those structural

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pieces around to support the intern throughout the length of their internship.

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And then, of course,

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thinking about what are those elements that make this an experience as a whole?

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So of course there's the work component of it,

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but what mentorship opportunities, what networking, professional development,

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all of that staff to provide this great experience.

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So the interns really want to either

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say at your organization or go back and tell their friends all about it.

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So long winded way of saying like, there's a lot of pieces to get started.

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But the most important one, just having that manager

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really be there to support their interns.

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Sorry that as long you continue to hear.

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Question So there's a lot that goes into starting an internship program,

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and like you said before, even thinking about it, it's the whole planning process