What do interns expect from their internship?

[Ns1]

About to hire my first intern. I have no idea what they're expecting because I've never interned myself.

What's a good ratio of useful learning opportunities vs grunt work? 20/80?

 

[dullard]

1) A way to help get a job after graduation.
2) Spending cash.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It depends on the skill level and knowledge required. Too many companies treat interns like free labor while some bombard interns with company policy instead of exposing them to daily requirements.

 

[Cappuccino]

I finish me intern last year. What are you teaching?
I guess it all depends on the job. Most interns don't care they just do it for the experience and take that experience for the next stage and obviously the money too.

 

[Ns1]

I finish me intern last year. What are you teaching?

For the purposes of this discussion, it's an accounting job but not a big4 type accounting job.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

For the purposes of this discussion, it's an accounting job but not a big4 type accounting job.

Because for the purposes of an intern, there's a difference?

 

[Exterous]

They expect everything from 'nothing but mindless grunt\gopher work that still pads a resume' to 'high profile\paying work because they know everything'. Its more of a crap shoot than hiring a regular employee.

I've generally had good luck with unloading my easiest tasks and then working my way up the difficulty scale as they prove\improve their competence. Even if I won't let them do a certain task in the rare event I run out of things for them to do I'll ask them to figure out how they would handle the task I'm doing and then we'll compare work and discuss technical and non-technical differences.

Just be prepared for teaching opportunities where you wouldn't necessarily think to find them. Some of our groups look for those without any work experience as they often face a tougher road getting internships and jobs. This means a lot of them come with good classroom educations but have no idea how to function in a traditional work place environment. Adhering to a dress code might be foreign (ours is pretty relaxed but I had to let one of them know that a wife beater and flip flops was not a good idea) or they might not know that 2 weeks of notice for leave\quitting is a generally accepted standard (and I've had many conversations about better construction of a quitting notice). Conveying ideas can be awkward and poorly thought out as is the ability to properly give or receive constructive criticism. At first I was taken aback by this as I had worked within an expectation framework setup by my parents at a young age but not everyone gets that and it gives you an opportunity to help them build good habits if you have the time and inclination to do so.

 

[Ns1]

Thank you good sir

 

[TXHokie]

We hired a really good intern couple years ago who spent the few summer weeks developing a program/script that our group didn't have time to write. Our dev added some error check routine and it was good to go - still using it today. That intern could probably run circles around some employees here and would've been a definite permanent hire but have since moved on to bigger/better things.
Then last summer our group got "assigned" an intern because the intern was probably some VP's kid or nephew and that one wasn't worth a lick. But it helped the intern realize maybe what we do isn't what they were interested in pursuing so maybe some good came of it.
Each intern is expected to provide the group a Powerpoint presentation at the end of their internship to show what was accomplished.

 

[Exterous]

Thank you good sir

Hope it helps and I hope your intern works out

 

[FerrelGeek]

Just don't be like Bill Clinton and expect an intern that likes cigar play and spending time under your desk giving you a mouth massage.

 

[FerrelGeek]

On a serious note, what Exterous said.

 

[Kaido]

Depends on what you're hiring them for. Is it a paid or unpaid position? Is it full-time or part-time? Will they be doing a specific job or will they be learning many jobs?

My best internship ever was through a college program that connected with local businesses. It was paid, it was full-time, it was in the field I wanted to work in (IT), and they spent 2 weeks having me work in every department in the company to learn how everything worked...HR, production, management, IT, reception, the works. It was much easier to provide support after that because I knew who was in the departments & what their needs were.

Other than that though, I was pretty much on my own & discovered the two foundational rules of IT: git gud at googling for answers to problems, and be willing to tinker & not give up until things work. Persistence & google can take you far

 

[RLGL]

Unless I miss my guess, we have a useless intern for our President.

 

[Smoblikat]

They want to be able to put a company on their resume so they can get their foot in the door with their particular field. Expose them to very difficult situations, things they would normally not see, and give them a solid foundation to build off of. If this is a paid internship, they already want double of what youre offering.

 

[Insomniator]

I just wanted to know... what the job is actually like. I had no idea (IT) what to expect. For a whole summer I got paid 500 bucks a week to do basic help desk stuff and label the cables in the DC. Many days I spent the first hour in my office with the lights off recovering from a hangover. Was awesome. They offered me a job at the end of the internship but it wasn't enough money and too far for me to continue commuting from home (rather than from college).

So yeah, real world experience, job opportunity, $$$. It can be all grunt work -- depending on the position/field thats all there is for entry level/intern.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Depends on the job and company.

I've worked places where internships were basically a pre-hire trial period, and places where it was basically a summer camp for employees' kids.

Even the latter could usually be given a useful assignment or two.

Going to meetings and learning how white-collar businesses operate (as opposed to retail gigs) is helpful regardless.

 

[Mandres]

For an accounting intern, try to show them how it all really works. They've had exposure to the theories - they should have an understanding of basic debits/credits, types of accounts, basic report formats, etc. but they probably don't have any idea how those pieces fit together in a real business setting.

Start 'em off with the chart of accounts and (when it's slow/they're not actually working) have them study the transactions that post to each one over the course of the period. Show them how the budget works, how the AP process is setup from order to filing, how billing and collections works and the entries that the system makes in each step of the process. The goal is that when they graduate that they can design and implement the same kind of systems for their clients.

 

[Ns1]

The goal is that when they graduate that they can design and implement the same kind of systems for their clients.

I've considered having them do process documentation

 

[shortylickens]

 

[Herr Kutz]

I interned for this company that didn't really have a plan for what to do with interns. It was incredibly boring much of the time. I would walk around the lab and practically beg for something, anything, to do.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Based on my experience....

Interns expect magical unicorns, tons of fat cash, and to be challenged - but not too challenged enough to be criticized. In the end, they come in expect rainbows and unicorns and then they slowly realize that the real world isn't exciting or amazing.

 

[Humpy]

Just don't be like Bill Clinton and expect an intern that likes cigar play and spending time under your desk giving you a mouth massage.

Or... Be like Bill Clinton.

 

[zinfamous]

we call them "undergrads" or "postgrads" in my field.

they get zero or very little money (certainly no benefits!), and all they expect is to pad some bullshit that they don't understand on their resume while playing candy crush, or actually learn something and be surprisingly competent, curious, and useful.

Appropriately, we give them all the cancer-exposure risk work and instruct them through the protocols from a safe distance.

 

[Ajay]

Definitely agree with @Exterous in term of it being more of a crapshoot than regular employees. When I was a senior engineer and has the responsibility for overseeing the interns, I tried to challenge them. Those who stepped up were given more interesting work, those who didn't wrote boiler plate code. That said, I haven't supervised any millennials and don't know if that changes things at all.