If you are like most small business owners, then you have probably never tried hiring interns before.  Just like any other small business owner, you are frantically working on a number of different projects at once and you just don’t have the time to set aside to get an intern.  It’s not like you have the resources of a big company and can just tell the HR department to take care of it.  The fact of the matter is, it’s actually a lot easier to get an intern than you think it is!

                For starters, most people find their jobs through their network of family and friends.  The same thing holds true for internships. Many businesses choose to find interns through their network before looking elsewhere because they already know the type of person they are hiring. You can’t ask for a better form of quality control than that. When hiring interns, you should always check your network first because chances are you will find a friend whose son/daughter can help you out.

                The next best place to find interns is at college campuses.  College career centers provide their students with a one stop shop for internships.  In recent years, internship experience has become almost essential for students seeking full time employment so you should find plenty of applicants.  Depending on the type of internship you are offering, some colleges even require students to get an internship before graduation.  By recruiting from college campuses, you can screen the applicants to make sure that you are getting the best and most qualified students for the job.  

                Another place you can post an internship opportunity is on a job recruiting website.  Recruiting websites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com are commonly used to find full time employment, but more and more companies are starting to use these sites to find interns.  One of the benefits of using these sites is that they automatically send out an email when new positions are posted.  They do all the job promotion for you so you can spend your time focusing on your business.

                It is extremely easy to get an intern if you utilize your network, college campuses, and recruiting websites correctly.  All three of these methods require a very small time commitment on your part so you can focus on your business while the interns come to you.  Finding and hiring interns is really that easy, so there is no excuse for thinking you don’t have the time to find one.  If you are serious about growing and expanding your small business, then hiring interns is the way to go!

It’s no secret that most big companies hire interns each year to help increase their productivity.  So why don’t small companies do the same?  One of the most common responses from small business owners is that they don’t have enough time or money to get an intern.  That’s because most small business owners don’t understand the massive benefits that they get when they hire interns.

In the past decade, having internship experience before you graduate college has become almost essential.  Before being hired full time, employers want to see that the interns can perform in a professional environment and perform well.  For this reason, applying for internships has become extremely competitive among students.  So what does this mean for a small business owner?  The high demand for internships means that it is extremely easy to get an intern. You will also get to pick from some of the best students that the college has to offer.  These students will produce quality work and be highly motivated to succeed on all of the projects you give them.  By shifting more projects over to your interns, you will have more time to focus on other more profitable areas of your business.

When you hire interns, not only do they increase your productivity, but they can also decrease your expenses.   Hiring interns can be a cost effective way of staffing your organization.  Although these students are very smart and capable, they don’t yet have the experience under their belt to command high wages.  By hiring multiple interns, you can provide some valuable experience for the students while at the same time getting the output of multiple employees for the price of one.

Hiring interns can also be used as a way to reduce the risk associated with hiring full time employees. Hiring a full time employee can be expensive because you have to guarantee them a salary and maybe even benefits.  If this employee turns out to be a bad fit for you culture or they aren’t as qualified as you thought they were then you could be in trouble.  By hiring interns for a couple months, you get the benefit of a trying out period.  During this period, you have the chance to make sure that the intern is a good fit for your company and if they are qualified to eventually take over a full time position.

The difference between a small company and a big company is that the big company utilizes all of the resources that are available to help it grow and expand.  One of those major resources is the use of highly motivated interns to share the workload.  When you make the decision to hire interns, you will discover that you have much more time to focus on increasing your bottom line.  If you are a small business owner looking for a way to get an edge on your competition, then you absolutely must get an intern today!