Preparing for your next cohort of summer students

For HR professionals, however, a summer student shouldn’t be seen as an employee who happens to be particularly young. Summer students, be they high school or college-aged, usually need more support over the course of their contract than their older counterparts.

Alberto Ramzi, recruitment and retention specialist at Operation Springboard, and a program support and student recruitment administrator at the University of Toronto, says employers must get back to the basics of what makes a successful work environment. “Interns are still the leading workforce for what the future will see,” he says.

Here’s what he recommends HR professionals do to give summer students the best experience possible:

Give a sharp, focused orientation

When permanent employees join an organization, they usually get a fairly comprehensive orientation handbook – Ramzi says employee handbooks can run from 40 to 50 pages. He recommends organizations come up with far more concise versions for interns that are tailored to their particular role.

A payroll assistant intern, for instance, might not need the full handbook, but would definitely benefit from a focused and concise guide to their duties as a member of the payroll team. Ramzi says this guide should also have fewer tasks than one for full-time payroll professionals.

Organize a robust mentorship program

No matter how good your orientation package is, it won’t compare to the advice given by veterans of your organization. Mentorship is a fairly standard part of most organizations’ internship programs, but Ramzi says they should consider a daily check-in with their summer students to track their progression and how they could improve.

Through regular check-in meetings, Ramzi says, interns can also talk about issues in the workplace that even mentors or different managers may not be aware of. They can also talk about how they want to progress in the organization throughout their time as interns (and possibly beyond).

Don’t expect them to be a typical employee

Students generally aren’t just at a summer job for the benefits or the salary. Usually, they’re also keen on gaining valuable career experience. That puts them on a very different trajectory from a mid-career employee looking for competitive pay and a chance to climb the corporate ladder.

“Make the expectations clear that they won’t have the responsibilities of a typical employee,” Ramzi says. In some cases, interns aren’t paid, volunteer, or do their jobs for minimal pay – and companies will take advantage of interns by giving them the exact same workload as their full-time (and far better paid) counterparts.

“That’s what makes interns either not leave a good review about that workplaces,” Ramzi says, “or decide not to stay there anymore.”

Give clear (and early) feedback

Another common mistake made by organizations with summer students is not giving them proper feedback. Ramzi says employers should be realistic about the chances of an intern landing a permanent position with the organization, and not string them along with promises. Word gets out, and Ramzi says some companies who disregard their interns have trouble finding candidates as a result.

He also says organizations should give feedback to their interns as early as possible. For an eight-month internship, he says, companies will often give reviews on the fourth and eighth month of the contract. To him, that’s too late. “I would recommend never doing it at the eighth month,” he says. Instead, Ramzi says organizations should consider doing it at the end of the first month, and then halfway through a contract.

Include interns in team activities

Don’t leave out interns just because they’re new or won’t be with your organization for very long. Ramzi says organizations should get their summer students involved with their team – and other departments, too. “And not just icebreakers over Teams for 10 minutes,” he says, “but actual team activities or company-wide events.”

That said, Ramzi cautions against throwing summer students into a room full of older or more experienced colleagues, something he says can be intimidating. “But they said having a crowd of roughly the same demographic does help,” he says.   

Enter some text...