But more and more, the trend is to post early. In fact, when it comes to summer internships—typically the most competitive time of year—larger companies, like Fortune 1000 corporations, are posting the previous fall. In other words… now.

Of course, you may be thinking, But we’re a small business. And it’s true; if you are not looking to fill 50-plus slots, it’s probably not as important that you post internships as far ahead of time.

That being said, why wouldn’t you want access to the same intern talent as industry leaders? Why would you want to settle for the students left after the larger players have made their selections?

To this end, consider the following perks of posting an internship early:

• Increased selection. It seems obvious, but bears mentioning: Posting internship openings in advance gives you a greater pool to pick from. Wait until the last minute, and you’ll have to choose from the smaller number of students still available.

• Superior selection. There are two reasons you snag superior talent by recruiting interns early. First, more motivated students look for internships in advance. Post now and you up your chances of hiring higher-achieving applicants.

Secondly, it’s not just the less-driven interns who are available last minute. Procrastinating means you’re more likely to meet candidates who did start looking early, but who were not selected. This is yet another reason large companies post early: to ensure they acquire the cream of the crop.

• Fall career fairs. Fall semester is when many schools host career fairs. Posting an internship and participating in career fairs simultaneously increases your chances of attracting the specific type of intern you’re seeking.

But what about rationalizing that you’re too busy/understaffed/overworked right now to plan next summer’s internship program? To this, I urge you to ask yourself the following: Will your schedule really be less packed next spring? Probably not.

Moreover, if you’re looking to infuse your company with the fresh ideas and creative perspectives that will propel you to the next category, hiring the smartest, most sought-after interns is an excellent first step. Integrate these students into your team as interns, and increase your odds of bringing them onboard as employees later.

There’s no time like now to post a summer internship. Check out sample postings… then start posting your openings.

Furthermore, in order to learn, interns must feel comfortable asking questions and seeking clarification. In order to feel at ease, they must believe they have allies in the rest of the team… or at least the loyalty of certain members.

So how can you help interns fit in? Put these tips into practice:

• Set up get-to-know-you strategies. You should start by introducing interns to the rest of the team, preferably on an individual basis. Then, follow this up with an activity, like a team lunch, to welcome interns.

Or, you might schedule a group get-acquainted session: Here, the interns can ask employees for information on the company and culture; and interns can share the student perspective on current situations. This helps bridge the gap between interns and older employees by both allowing interns to receive information and feel valued for their own input.

• Tell team members to make the first move. Encourage employees to make interns feel welcome by smiling and saying hello, offering to answer questions, asking about interns’ education and aspirations, and even inviting students to lunch. Explain how simple gestures like these mean a lot to new interns looking to fit in.

• Assign non-supervisor mentors. Interns need an ally they can confide in without worrying about being evaluated. So even though they have supervisors, each should also be assigned a mentor—preferably one that’s somewhat close in age. This assures students there’s at least one person on their side, initiating them into the group.

• Eliminate a competitive environment. Sometimes, particularly in start-up internship programs, entry-level employees fear that interns are being brought in to take their jobs. As a result, they are reluctant to help interns succeed or fit in socially.

The solution is to make it clear to employees ahead of time that interns are being hired to help them do their jobs more efficiently, not to turn paid positions into unpaid internship roles.

• Consider a second (or third) intern. As evidenced by the pledge-class structure of sororities and fraternities, people transition more smoothly into a group when they have someone entering alongside them. This ensuing camaraderie is especially helpful if your team is intimidating: if they’ve been together for a long time or are extremely tight-knit.

• Assign more than menial tasks. Students will likely feel isolated if they are working on only clerical tasks and coffee runs while everyone else is contributing to common, more critical projects.

This doesn’t, however, mean you must give interns only glamour jobs, or totally avoid assigning more menial tasks. Just be sure you balance the mindless work with more educational-based missions. Not only will interns learn more; they’ll have shared projects to talk about with the rest of the team.

• (Still) Assign a supervisor. Just because interns aren’t in your office, doesn’t mean they don’t need a manager. And virtual interns certainly shouldn’t be “on their own” after training ends. In fact, designating a strong supervisor may be even more important when a student is offsite.

• Schedule twice-daily updates. Have interns touch base by phone or email with their supervisor at both the beginning and end of each day. In the morning, the conversation should confirm what they’ll be working on. At the end of the day, they should provide a report on their progress.

The advantage is twofold: First, the check-ins will ensure a structure to the flow of work—and that more important projects are prioritized. Secondly, when students know they’ll have to account for their activities at the end of the workday, they are far less likely to procrastinate or slack off.

• Calendar a weekly call. Have interns set a standing weekly phone call with their supervisor. During this call, the supervisor should give feedback, answer questions, and preview upcoming projects.

While some employers prefer email check-ins, phone calls allow much more personal interaction. Since you’re not getting to know the student onsite, talking every week gives you a better idea of how an intern might fit with fulltime employees on an ongoing basis.

• Implement a time-tracking system. Especially for paid internship programs, it is absolutely crucial you set up a standard time-tracking system.

Essentially, you have the option of setting up a manual system or a computerized method. For manual systems, interns are sent a timesheet template. The student simply types into the document each day and time-period they work. At the end of the week or month, they email the sheet back to the supervisor.

If you have multiple interns, you might invest in a computerized time-tracking system. This software enables hourly employees to log in and out at the press of a button and automatically tallies time at the end of each pay period. Whichever method you choose, however, make sure you tell interns to log or timeout for breaks and any personal interruptions.

• Instruct interns to track time by project. You don’t want to get a timesheet that simply says “17 hours”—or you’ll be left struggling to recall the specific assignments. Instead, include a space on your sheet for “task or project,” and instruct students to write what they worked on during each block. This will let you know how long tasks are taking, so you can make modifications if necessary.

• Encourage questions. Interns should feel like the lines of communication are open for questions. Many times, offsite interns are timid to reach out for information or clarification because they worry they’re bothering supervisors. Errors are often the result… errors you have to remedy.

• Consider an initial in-person meeting. Even though it’s a virtual internship, you might consider meeting face to face at first or training onsite. For interns who live locally, actually seeing how things work can be beneficial. Some companies even have virtual interns come into the office on a weekly or monthly basis.

Essentially, an effective goal should…

•    Be specific. While general goals may sound grand (i.e. “significantly improve employee productivity”), they are difficult to accomplish: First of all, it’s hard to come up with specific steps to reach general goals. And secondly, it’s almost impossible to know when you’ve reached them. (This brings us to the second aspect.)

Examples:
Non-specific goal: Increase social media presence
Specific goal: Set up a social media presence on two platforms (like Facebook and Twitter) and make a minimum of one daily update to each

•    Be measurable. In order to know if a goal was accomplished, there must be some means for measuring it. So when setting goals, be sure to ask yourself, How exactly will we know when our objective has been achieved?

Examples:
Non-measurable goal: Fix staffing problem
Measurable goal: Increase two-year employee retention rate by 25%

•    Be realistic. Setting unrealistic goals undermines employee and program morale. On one hand, internship program participants and supervisors should feel like they’re accomplishing something. On the other, setting attainable goals evidences progress to those who allocate funds.

Examples:
Unrealistic goal: Build public perception of (startup) company as leader in field
Realistic goal: Generate two credibility building online mentions and two print mentions

•    Be of value to intern and organization. It takes skill to balance what students need from an internship program with what the employer wants to achieve. But the way to accomplish equilibrium is simply to assess the value of each goal from both perspectives: Is there something valuable for the student to learn? Is there something that the company needs accomplished?

The caveat here is that every single goal may not meet the needs of both parties. Some goals are simply more student valuable, or conversely, more for the company. And this is fine. Just make sure to balance an employer-centered goal with a student-centered objective and vice versa.

Examples:
Valuable to student: Be able to conduct an effective sales call
Valuable to employer: Organize backlogged employee expense receipts
Valuable to both: Research and evaluate potential social media platforms

•    Be few in number. One of the most important elements of effective goals is that they are focused. Because interns can’t accomplish anything if they’re sent in too many different directions. So select only a handful of your most pressing goals. Although there is no set number, 10 at a time is too many. Four or five is much more doable.

•    Be structured. Ensure that goals are structured by incorporating specific steps and a firm deadline. The deadline is particularly important, because without a formal due date, projects often get pushed back indefinitely.

The following format is one appropriate structure:
o    Specific goal:
o    Tasks to accomplish goal (how we will achieve the goal):
o    Evaluation method (how we will determine the goal has been met):
o    Deadline for goal completion (the date when we’ll evaluate):

Get more tips for appropriate intern tasks and work, from internships.com.

There are a number of reasons for employers to set specific goals:

• Maintain focus. Setting formal goals ensures you don’t get distracted by daily duties and fail to keep your focus on the big picture.
• Provide a context for clerical tasks. Goals offer a framework for showing interns the importance of seemingly trivial tasks. For example, tracking competitor blog mentions takes on more relevance when the student understands how it helps them meet a specific goal (like learning about important industry players).
• Evaluate potential employees. You’re likely using your internship program as a pipeline for finding future employees. But without concrete goals, it’s difficult to determine whether—and how well—an intern has met your objectives.
• Write detailed recommendations. If an intern works hard, their reward will be a recommendation letter. Similar to the above, specific goals will provide a barometer for measuring intern performance and assessing (then conveying) strengths.
• Gain greater buy-in. For newly implemented intern programs, setting formal goals helps prove program ROI to senior staff members and decision makers. If your program has been running for some time, concrete proof will facilitate continued funding.
• Make program improvements. A successful internship program always strives to surpass itself. Setting formal goals ensures that your program doesn’t stagnate, by revealing your weak spots, so you can improve upon them.
• Finally, remember that employer goals should be shared with students and, like intern goals, worked toward together.

The following are some of the most common school-year intern time issues and solutions for overcoming the challenges:

1.  Problem: Falling way behind on workload.

Solutions:

• Encourage open and honest communication. The primary reason interns fall far behind is they’re afraid to admit they’re struggling. By the time they are forced to fess up, so much work has accumulated that you have to clean up a mess.

The solution is to make it clear that interns should come to you when they start to get overwhelmed—rather than letting things spiral out of control (and thinking they’ll catch up later). Explain that it’s easier to delegate duties in the initial stages; also, you can alert others ahead of time if a deadline won’t be met.

• Teach how to communicate about time issues. It’s not enough to merely encourage interns to communicate with you when an issue first arises; telling them specifically how they should talk to you about timeline issues will make them feel more at ease. For example, should they send you an email? Schedule an in-person sit-down? Wait for formal meetings? Or simply call or pop in as problems develop?

• Put projects in context. When assigning new tasks, make sure you put them in context, priority-wise, with other projects. Instead of leaving an intern to fend for themselves about how they’ll fit something else into a busy schedule, explain, “This should be started after we wrap up X project, but before you begin work on Y.”

2.  Problem: Missing specific deadlines.

Solutions:

• Explain the importance. Since most students don’t have formal work experience, they may not understand how their piece of the puzzle impacts the big picture.

Therefore, explain how simply being a day or two late on a deadline can create a domino effect… which can have significant consequences. Not only does this drive home the message about meeting deadlines; it also highlights the company-wide value of their (however small) contributions.

• Teach “promise only what you can produce.” It’s important that interns learn to identify and assert their own limits. Therefore, you should teach students to speak up if a project is assigned and they honestly don’t feel they can complete it in the allotted timeframe. Emphasize how it’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver than to leave someone in a lurch.

3.  Problem: Skipping work for studies

Solution:

• Advise planning ahead. As you know, internship attendance is excellent at the start of the semester. But when midterms roll around, there are suddenly a lot of “sick” days.

Your solution is to address the issue at the onset of the internship and teach students how to plan ahead. Stress that things will get busier during exams, but that they are still expected to honor their commitment to the company.

This might mean they anticipate increased academic demands and only take on two days a week from the start, or they may ask in advance for reduced hours during finals. Or, it may simply mean the student accepts that during exam weeks socializing won’t fit into their schedule.

The bottom line is that you’ve put a plan in place before either of you has to suffer repercussions.

This novel new approach is built on the principle that students can still get valuable work experience—and employers, useful support—by committing a minimal number of hours weekly. In fact, as an employer, you should view the streamlined time commitment not as an obstacle to overcome, but rather as an intrinsic advantage.

In this way, hiring interns within an 8-hour architecture boasts a number of specific benefits for businesses:

• Higher-energy interns. Students who are not overwhelmed with a full load of classes and a fulltime job are simply going to be more productive.

As an employer, utilizing an alert, inspired intern for a few hours a week may likely net the same output as trying to wring energy and accomplishment out of an exhausted, four- or five-day-a-week worker.

• Larger applicant pool. Offering an 8-hour opportunity opens up your pool of potential interns by accommodating students who have to work a second job

It’s also an option for interns who may not live nearby; because even if your program is onsite, making a long commute once or twice a week is much more doable than driving a long distance daily. Additionally, since a student is working only approximately eight hours a week, they can come in during off-hours to avoid traditional commuter traffic.

• Test drive for fulltime interns. As we’ve discussed, one of the major internship advantages is the ability to “test drive” future employees.

However, selecting the right intern is important in and of itself… especially for fulltime, paid positions. Therefore, if the internship is a selection tool for finding permanent employees, the 8-hour internship might be seen as a vehicle for finding fulltime interns.

For example, you might hire an intern in an 8-hour-a-week capacity. If the intern is a fit, you could then offer an increased number of hours—possibly with additional pay and augmented responsibility (or with pay, period, if the previous position was unpaid).

• Resource reduction. First there’s the obvious: It’s less expensive to pay an intern for eight hours a week than for 40. Therefore, if you’re a small business or just starting an internship program, the 8-hour option is a perfect way to get your feet wet and assess your workload.

In terms of space and equipment, an 8-hour internship means you need not allocate a workspace and computer for fulltime use. 8-hour interns can easily timeshare cubicles and computers on alternating days with other interns or part-time employees.

• Proof for new programs. If getting financial approval to hire interns is an issue, the 8-hour internship is particularly advantageous.

Implementing this type of internship requires very minimal resources. This lets you start up in stages, proving program ROI incrementally to gain greater buy-in… and, consequently, a bigger budget!

Students are attracted to virtual internships because they allow them to gain experience without commuting, committing 40 hours a week, or considering physical proximity of jobs. However, the advantages of this buzzed-about hiring trend are equally as alluring for employers:

• Larger applicant pool. Hiring virtual interns allows you an almost endless choice of candidates. No longer are employers limited to only those interns who live nearby or—in the case of unpaid internships—to those who can afford to work for free.

• Workers only when needed. For small businesses who wonder whether they have enough work to support a fulltime internship program, a virtual internship makes it easy to utilize interns on a per-project basis.

As long as you guarantee an intern a certain number of hours per week, month, or semester, you can assign projects to be completed remotely as they arise, without worrying about creating work when things slow down… and an eager intern is standing in front of you.

• Space and equipment savings. Since virtual interns don’t work at your office, you don’t have to allocate additional workspace.

Furthermore, virtual interns are expected to have their own computer and Internet connection, basic office equipment, and standard supplies. So while it may seem miniscule to consider paperclip costs when assessing an internship arrangement, eliminating larger items—think furniture, paper, and printing expenses—can add up to significant savings.

• Payroll pare down. Speaking of savings, in some cases, virtual internships can nearly eliminate the number of unproductive, paid hours of work.

Assuming your organization implements a solid system for tracking hours worked remotely, offsite work can actually maximize productivity. The reason is that, when an employee is onsite for an entire day, a certain percentage of time will often be spent socializing or doing other less-constructive activities to mentally recharge. Yet the timeclock ticks on.

On the other hand, remote workers are taught to bill their time in blocks and to log in and out when they take breaks or switch gears. Therefore, the result can be far fewer hours billed for the same amount of actual work.

• Interruption reduction. If you have a small staff, hiring remote interns means you won’t have to overwhelm one employee with the task of training or supervising an intern 40 hours a week… or with an intern having unlimited access to assistance.

When interns are offsite, it is the supervisor’s choice when to respond to questions or requests for instruction. For instance, the staff member can address questions in a single email or phone call at their convenience, as opposed to having an intern pop into their office at will.

Wait… there’s more! Learn about two of the most important employer advantages: See Working with Busy School-Year Interns Part I: 7 Reasons to Consider the Virtual Internship for additional information on how telecommuting internships can help employers make the most of busy school-year interns.

If you are a small business owner and you want to get an intern, then you are already on the right track to growing and expanding your business. Unlike larger, more established businesses, small business owners don’t have a human resources department that can help create an internship program. To further complicate the matter, most small business owners are so busy that they don’t think they have the time to manage an intern even if they got one.

Internships come in many different forms, but there are certain steps that everyone must take to ensure that the internship is a valuable experience for both the employer and the student. In this article, we are going to cover the legal issues surrounding internships, how to effectively structure the internship program, and some quick tips on how to mentor and manage an intern.

Before you start hiring interns, you are going to want to seek the advice of your attorney to make sure the internship opportunity is in accordance with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulations. The DOL outlines the legal requirements for compensation that distinguishes between an intern and an employee. If you plan on hiring interns for paid positions, then you shouldn’t have too much to worry about with legal issues. However, if you plan on hiring interns for unpaid positions or offering to help them receive academic credit, then you need to be extremely careful when designing the internship. The debate about unpaid internships is currently a very hot topic, so you should always consult your legal representative before you create an internship program.

Once the legal requirements are out of the way, you can create an internship program. One of the biggest things colleges look for when approving employers to offer internships is honesty in the job description. Many small business owners try to get an intern to help relieve them of some of their busy work, like filing or organizing mail. Most colleges will instantly deny a request like this because they want their students to get real world experience related to their major.

A good rule for employers to follow is to have the intern spend no less than 75% of their time working on real projects. If you don’t have a ton of work for the intern on a particular day, you can always let the intern sit in on meetings and conferences.  This may sound trivial to you, but it can be a major learning experience for the intern.

Structuring your internship to be learning based will be mutually beneficial to both you and the intern. You get an intern to help you on your projects and an extra set of ears in case you miss anything from meetings. At the same time, the intern gets to work on real projects and gain professional experience.

One of the top reasons that small business owners say they don’t hire interns is because they don’t think they have enough time to manage an intern. However, the amount of productivity that an intern can bring to a small business is worth the time to get an intern. By giving feedback and guiding the intern in the right direction, you can make sure that you are receiving high quality work.

Many companies hire interns with the end goal that when they graduate they will be able to be promoted to a full time position. By being a good mentor, you can establish a professional relationship with the intern and understand their capabilities better than you ever could through an interview.

• Identify the three primary position-specific skills and direct questions toward these qualifications. Abandon the old, “What do you consider your three greatest strengths?” Instead, tailor questions toward determining whether the intern possesses the specific skills necessary to succeed in the position.

To do so, you must first clearly identify these traits or talents. So it’s worth a short brainstorming session with the parties involved in your internship program. Decide on your top three picks; then format questions to assess intern capabilities in each area.

• Ask open-ended questions. The open-ended question is intended to solicit additional information and spark conversation. Therefore, in the intern arena, where work experience is likely to be limited, you have to weight personality and willingness to learn more heavily. The open-ended question gives you a closer look at how the intern interacts and thinks about things.

• Ask for details and examples… but stress they need not be career based. As when interviewing fulltime employees, you want to ask for specific examples to back up claims of skills or experience.

For example, if the intern asserts that he or she is an excellent problem solver, you might ask for an example of a situation in which they devised a successful solution. Essentially, for any claim, think in terms of, “How do you know?” And when applicable, let facts (and especially figures!) speak louder than a candidate’s own opinion of competency.

However, keep in mind one caveat: When asking for examples, emphasize that they need not be based on job performance. Many students won’t have professional work experience; so stress that their evidence can come from real-world or education-based examples.

• Don’t leave with lingering questions. If an intern says something interesting—or that raises a red flag—dig deeper for more information. For example, if you find yourself wondering, “What does that mean?” or, “Why would she say that?” follow up.

This will help you avoid making incorrect assumptions that might lead to a mis-hire or overlooking an intern who could be a real asset. Remember, most of the time, you can’t get a complete answer in a single inquiry.

• Ask about personal interests and leisure time. Again, because of the lack of professional experience, intern interviews depend more on assessing personality and transferrable skills.

Therefore, learning what an intern is interested in will help you round out their personality profile. And abilities gained through hobbies and volunteer work can be extremely valuable. Questions might include, “What leisure activities are you most passionate about?” or, “What do you lose yourself in?”

Stay tuned for additional intern interview tips in an upcoming post!