Most managers carry general misconceptions about internship programs, but by applying thoughtful planning and the right tools, they can realize their full potential.
by Site Staff
February 15, 2007
Newtown, Pa. — Feb. 15
Most managers carry general misconceptions about internship programs, but by applying thoughtful planning and the right tools, they can realize their full potential.
Z University.org (ZU), an advocate of workforce readiness and innovator of internship management solutions, has identified a “top five” list of myths that organizations need to get the greatest returns from an internship program.
Matthew Zinman, president and founder, said the “Top Five Myths About Internships” are fueled by managers who think:
1. They don’t have the time to have interns.
“ZU’s mission is to prove why you actually don’t have the time not to have interns,” Zinman said.
A five-year study by ZU on student productivity demonstrates that a single supervisor can gain up to 225 full work days of productivity in a calendar year simply by managing interns instead of completing work tasks themselves.
2. Having interns is too much work for too little in return.
Properly managed internship programs reap significant productivity benefits by freeing high-level employees from time-consuming tasks.
3. Finding good interns is a crapshoot.
By applying the proper recruitment techniques, managers will learn how easy it is to attract the right individuals.
4. Internship programs are only for larger companies.
“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” Zinman said. “ZU has removed the barriers so that a company of one can do it.”
5. They can’t have interns without office space with phones and computers.
Again, not true, Zinman maintains.
“The Intern Toolkit shows how to manage interns virtually instead of doing so on-site,” he said.
These myths are addressed in ZU’s Intern Toolkit, a comprehensive resource that makes it easy for employers and nonprofit organizations to run an internship program in a way that increases productivity and improves the student internship experience and career development.
The toolkit removes the barriers to create a successful intern program. It’s designed for employers of varying size, industry and complexity, as well as for those with and without existing internship programs.
Among the toolkit’s benefits:
- It gives employers the structure to become more immune to common challenges such as turnover and novice managers, and it prevents students from being underutilized and underdeveloped.
- It focuses on productivity, profit and converting students into loyal employees.
- More than half of its 60 tools are adaptable templates that save time, labor and money.
- It has self-guides for interns to complete work with minimal supervision and training materials to make students more competent and valuable.
- Users gain online access to Z University’s Online Internship Knowledge Center and use an ever-expanding collection of internship-related resources.
“With all due respect to the organizations with world-class programs, most employers either don’t know what they’re doing, don’t have the tools to do it right or — in most cases — simply don’t realize what they’re missing,” Zinman said. “We’ve developed the solutions to make it possible for any company of any size or type to put college students to work in all the right ways and prepare these emerging professionals for long-term career success.”