Debra Thompson is Chief People Officer of Chegg, Inc.
getty
The graduating class of 2020 has finished up their turbulent last semester. Crossing their virtual stages and walking directly into an immensely unprecedented job market, they’re faced with fewer opportunities to gain the skills they’ll need to be competitive. In the midst of prevalent furloughs and layoffs, internship programs have been hit hard. And, both current students and recent grads are having to pay the price.
In mid-March, all of our offices around the globe closed, and we went fully remote. One of the first things our C-team and board discussed was the fate of our summer internship program. We were all adamant about finding a way to not only guarantee that our internship program would continue, but to also provide an enriching experience that would ensure a student's professional success. Graduates who complete multiple internships are more likely to secure full-time employment, and resumes that list internship experiences are 14% more likely to lead to an interview request. So, for a student-first company, there was no doubt our internship program was vital. But, how can we all recreate the experience in the most beneficial way possible?
I started collaborating with our HR team on what an effective internship experience would look like. We wanted to ensure that our programs would teach interns hard skills that would help them successfully land their first jobs. Without landing a job in their field of study within one year after graduation, graduates are more likely to remain underemployed after 10 years. Considering that 4 million new graduates are now entering the worst job market since the Great Depression, a program that can help differentiate them from other candidates in this incredibly demanding job market is essential.
An enriching internship program that will set your students or grads up for success should focus on these three main objectives: properly preparing managers for remote interns, designing virtual mentorships and introducing your interns to remote work culture.
Preparing Managers For Remote Interns
The first step in ensuring a successful internship program should be to prepare managers for remote guidance. Keeping in mind that “remote workers are nearly twice as likely as in-office employees to feel ‘frequently’ misunderstood or misinterpreted by their colleagues,” require all intern managers to:
1. Submit a deeply well-defined project for review weeks ahead of the internship start date. This way, the interns will be provided with set tasks and deadlines to prevent misunderstandings.
2. Train and study remote management best practices through interactive workshops or other learning and development setups that work for your intern managers.
In doing these two things, you can set reasonable expectations for your interns’ remote work and help managers understand what peak remote performance looks like.
Implementing Virtual Mentorship Programs
According to a recent survey by College Pulse, roughly 1 in 5 college students say that one of the most important aspects of an internship is to feel like they are part of a team and understand the workplace culture. To help interns experience the culture and feel well-integrated, consider programming such as:
1. A multitude of virtual Q&A sessions with the C-suite. This way, they can candidly ask their burning questions, and leadership can provide helpful insights that can positively shape interns’ career paths.
2. Resume-building workshops with hiring experts. A resume that is excellently worded and professionally designed will help interns get their foot in the door.
Creating mentorship programs that guide interns remotely ensures interns experience your company’s culture and build worthwhile relationships with your staff.
Preparing Interns For A Remote Future
For many companies, the future of returning to physical offices is uncertain. In fact, tech giants are already planning or implementing fully remote workforces. Students participating in internships this summer say their top priority is to learn skills for the workplace, so providing them with the best tools for working proficiently in a fully remote environment is imperative. The most important remote skills you can teach your interns are:
1. How best to manage their time remotely. Time management skills might not be inherently gained from working closely face to face with the team. Teaching interns how to use task management applications will help them handle their workload in a remote position.
2. How to delegate tasks to “invisible” co-workers. Working remotely, interns may have a harder time holding colleagues accountable to get projects done. By implementing the best communication practices across your team, you can encourage interns to reach out to their behind-the-screen colleagues to complete their work.
3. Implementing a proper work-life balance. Allowing your interns the liberty to explore what works best for their work-life balance helps them better manage their workload and prevent from being overwhelmed. For example, not long after going fully remote, we launched a multitude of new benefits to support our employees’ mental and physical wellness.
By preparing your interns for the virtual office, you’re significantly broadening their work opportunities and teaching them an invaluable skill set that even the most seasoned of us are still working on.
Right now, students and recent graduates are facing an incredibly integral moment in their lives. There have been over 40 million jobless claims filed, and knowing that many graduates have lost their job offers, this number could continue to grow. By actualizing an interactive, mission-driven internship program, we can help this vulnerable demographic achieve professional success. We are all growing more accustomed to the remote workforce world, and by bringing interns along for the ride, we can grow together and support a stronger virtual future.
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
