Watch Out! 7 Pitfalls to Avoid When Setting Up a College Internship Program

1. Violating Employment Laws

Running afoul of employment laws is a real danger when setting up an internship program. You can avoid this by making it clear that the intern’s training and education far exceed the value of the labor they’re giving the employer.

— Jonathan Gabriel Sparks, Sparks Law

2. Failing to Manage the College’s Expectations

The long-term success of the college internship program will be heavily influenced by the ongoing relationship between the company and the college. To ensure a positive relationship, the expectations of the college (intern tasks and workloads, frequency, post-internship employment, compensation, etc.) need to be properly managed.

— Zahra Timsah, American Medical Center Laboratories 

3. Accepting All Interns

Not all students are excited about their internships — some are simply fulfilling graduation requirements. A nonproductive intern takes a lot of time away from focusing on your business, and you can’t force someone to be interested in an internship they couldn’t care less about. It is crucial to select your interns with care.

— Ajmal Saleem, Suprex Learning 

4. Not Getting Your Paperwork in Order

When I ran a large internship program for the World Trade Center San Diego, one of our students filed a complaint with the California Employment Development Department claiming he was an employee. Luckily, we had our interns all sign a handbook that clearly stated the internship was not a paid employee position. The board mediator used this as one of the main factors in the decision to dismiss the case.

— Reb Risty, REBL Marketing 

5. Underestimating Interns

Don’t underestimate the abilities of your interns. If you don’t expect them to have the skills to work at a high level and only assign them mundane tasks, you may end up with disengaged interns. Worse, that attitude can spread to the rest of the team. Talk with interns before they arrive to find out their interests. Then, use this information to create clear, individualized goals for their programs.

— Kyle Wiggins, Keteka 

6. Going in Without a Plan

It’s easy to get excited about having an intern on board to help the company, but make sure you have a plan for what they will be doing and how they will be learning. Without a plan, they will end up floating around and not providing as much value to the team as they could. An intern won’t develop into a quality hire for you in the long term unless you specifically help them.

— Todd Giannattasio, Tresnic Media 

7. Making the Program Too Short

Interns are there to learn from you, and that takes time. You are helping them thrive and develop their skills. If you want to see any real results, make sure your interns stay long enough for you to witness the return on your investment in them. The longer the term, the better the results.

— Jessica Baker, Aligned Signs