Contributed by Sara Kesler, Office of Student Professional Development
It’s clear that students gain a great deal from working as interns. The payoff for students is invaluable: real-world experience, evidence of their successes, and contacts in their field of interest. The result is an increased demand among students for internship positions and a pool of high-value, cost-effective talent for employers to recruit.
Businesses report the following benefits from working with interns:
- The opportunity to screen and work with potential entry-level employees
- Reduced turnover and training amongst employees who were formally interns
- A chance for junior-level managers to gain supervisory experience
- The convenience and flexibility of hiring additional staff during peak seasons
- An increased pool of qualified candidates to meet future recruiting needs
Starting an internship program is an excellent way to enable continued success and growth within your business. CSB students are eager to apply their skills and talents to an internship within your organization.
Why a CSB Seahawk?
CSB challenges students to apply skills and knowledge gained through their academic studies in a variety of initiatives that further grow their skills and provide hands on experience. This includes mentoring opportunities, organizational site visits, international consulting projects, and business competitions. The Cameron School of business is an AACSB accredited business school with dynamic and innovative faculty and staff and produces competitive and experienced graduates with strong interpersonal and cultural competencies.
Considerations for Hiring a CSB Student Intern:
- Hire an intern using the same method as is used to select an employee. Discuss both the business needs and internship goals. This process will help to create ownership and commitment from all involved parties. It will also lay the foundation for a future internship program structure.
- Discuss the student's class and exam schedule to ensure they have adequate time to balance work and school. If holidays and weekends are required, list the dates the student is expected to be available to work and have them agree before being hired.
- Think about creating a Statement of Understanding outlining policies and expectations such as requesting time off, dress code, and work breaks. This should be signed before the student begins work or within the first few days of hire.
- Consider having an internal member of your organization serve as a mentor for the intern to assist with the onboarding process and facilitate a productive environment throughout the internship experience. Be sure to include the intern in all business activities and follow up with a scheduled performance evaluation and goal review. This will help to assess abilities and cultural fit if you are considering an upcoming hire.
How to Promote your Internship Opportunities to Qualified CSB Students:
1. Create a Handshake Employer User Account
The best way to reach our students is by posting your available positions in Handshake. This is our university-approved platform most utilized by students when searching for internships and jobs. Use Handshake to identify qualified candidates for open positions, post jobs and internship listings, and even register for career fairs. Your first step is to create an Employer User Account.
Step by step instructions here: How to Create a User Account and Company Page
2. Post Available Internship Positions on Handshake
Once you have created an account, you can post positions and make them visible to students.
Step by step instructions here: How to Post a Job or Internship
3. Contact the CSB SPD to Promote to Cameron Students
After you have posted your internship(s) on Handshake, please reach out to the CSB office of Student Professional Development to discuss how we can assist you in increasing the visibility of your Handshake postings AND specifically target our Cameron Students who best fit your organizational needs.
Email [email protected] to learn more about how to reach and hire our students.
