Tips And Tricks On How A Small Business Owner Can Hire An Intern

Many small business owners don't know how to hire an intern. They are good at running the business and dealing with clients, but when it comes to hiring interns they just don't have the time or knowledge of what they need to do. Some of the steps that many small business owners get tripped up on are writing a winning job description, figuring out how and where to post the job description, and screening candidate resumes once they have interns applying. If you can get these three steps down, you can be hiring interns for your small business in no time.
The problem with writing a job description for a small business internship is that the intern will probably be working all over the place instead of just one area like marketing for example. A good amount of schools are actually ok with broad ranging internships because it will introduce the intern to a wide variety of work experience. The key is to be as detail oriented as possible with your job description. You should cover things like: what the learning outcomes for the intern will be, the kind of work the intern will be doing, and why you are hiring interns and how they will benefit your company.
There are many techniques when it comes to posting your internship opportunity. Some small business owners choose to post their internships on mass posting sites like NACElink, UCAN, or LACN. This approach is good because it makes sure that you are going to receive a huge applicant pool. Another popular method that many small business owners use is to post their internships to individual schools. Many small business owners hire interns this way because it lets them control the quality and type of students that can apply. It is also very rewarding when you can hire interns from your alma mater.
The final step in hiring interns is to screen through all of the resumes. If you wrote a really good job description and followed an effective job posting strategy then you should be receiving a large number of applicants. The standard approach that many small business owners take is to separate resumes into three separate piles for yes, no, and maybes. We prefer to take our resume screening process one step further and add a resume screening tool. A resume screening tool can be something basic like a requirement to write a cover letter or a small about me paragraph. What you are looking for here is not the greatest cover letter ever, but the ability for the intern to follow directions. This extra little step helps insure that the best students are applying for your position.
Every small business owner should look into hiring interns because it is a very effective way to help grow and expand your business. When writing your job description, always remember to be as detailed and honest as possible. Next, choose the job posting approach that will allow you to hire the best interns for your small business. Finally, add in an extra little resume screening tool to make sure you are receiving high quality applicants.