Question: How can you find the right summer intern for your business?

Answer: Contact internship directors at accredited colleges and universities. Provide them with a detailed internship description of duties and responsibilities along with a complete list of qualifications the student will need to possess. Since internships need to be directly related to a student’s major area of study, the challenge is to locate the college that offers the majors that match the positions you are seeking to fill. 

Q: When is the best time to start recruiting for summer interns?

A: Many of the large mainland firms start recruiting in October or November, but if you plan to keep your recruitment within the state of Hawaii, February and March tend to be the best months to start.

Q: Do internships need to be paid or unpaid?

A: Internships can be paid or unpaid; however, since students often are forfeiting paid part-time jobs in order to complete an internship, paid internships tend to attract quite a few more qualified applicants than unpaid options.

Q: Do students need to be registered for an internship class or not?

A: If the internship you are offering is unpaid, the student must be enrolled in a formal internship class so that they are receiving something tangible (academic credit) in return for the work they are completing. The college or university you are working with can provide formal verification that the intern is receiving academic credit for their unpaid internship. 

Q: What differentiates an internship from a part-time job?

A: For an internship, duties should be meaningful and increasingly responsible assignments that directly correlate to academic work in the major functional areas of the intern’s career field. The intern host should be able to provide mentoring assistance to the intern and designate a program coordinator to whom all inquiries can be directed to facilitate information exchange and program liaison with the college’s counterpart. In addition, the host must be willing to complete work period evaluations as part of the intern’s records and furnish the college with a copy of the evaluation(s) prepared by the supervisor after each work period.

Q: How do you know if the intern is a right fit for your business?

A: Most college internship programs are set up to allow for employers to select their interns as they would a regular hire: collect and review resumes, and select their interns based on a standard job interview process. This improves the chances of finding a proper fit.

Q: What can a business do if the intern does not meet their expectations?

A: It is recommended that employers contact the internship coordinator at the school in question to have them meet with the intern first. The intern coordinator will use this as a teachable moment to see if the student can adjust to the needs of the employer. If not, the employer has every right to discontinue the internship and seek a more appropriate candidate.