Interns are not your personal baristas!

Today I viewed a video blog on Facebook from a well-respected entrepreneur and businessman about why interns are a great way to get free help. No offense, but getting you coffee all day is not something an intern needs to or should be doing to earn college credit.

Relevant Learning  - Student interns expect a valuable learning experience. Based on years of college teaching, I can tell you students want, expect and need to have an internship experience where they can learn about your business. While filing is a necessary evil in all businesses and getting you coffee is a nice gesture, it should not be the reason you hire (for free) a student.

Time & Attention - An intern requires a certain amount of your time and attention. Business owners must think about what they can provide the student, not just what the student will provide the business. Students are eager to apply the skills they have learned in the classroom to help you grow your business. Let them!

Planning - If you are interested in hiring an intern, you must plan! Many college students are required to complete an internship for graduation. This means the student must register and pay for credits so he or she can work for you. Typically, students are required to write a paper about their work experience. The more you plan for them, the more they can help you.

 

Flexibility - Most interns will provide you with new ideas (especially when it comes to social media) and a willingness to go above and beyond many salaried employees. Allow them a certain amount of flexibility. Student interns will surprise and delight you, if you let them.

When properly planned, the internship experience can be one of your best investments.

Social Media - Are you going to be left behind?

Social media are changing the way we build and maintain relationships. They are altering how, when, why, where and with whom we engage. Recently, I delivered a key note presentation on the importance of social media marketing in corporate environments. The presentation emphasized the role social media play in managing and building relationships. The presentation was met with mixed responses. For some, the ROI of social media is not obvious. While it may sound like a good idea, the real benefits (read here dollars returned for time invested) have yet to be seen.

I've included a section of my presentation.

I want to close today by taking quick look back in history. In 1995 Newsweek published an article in the Technology section titled “The Internet? Bah!” The author Clifford Stoll states, “Do our computer pundits lack all common sense? The truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works.” In essence, he was saying the internet would fail.

In a 1994 speech to the National Press Club in Washington, Viacom and CBS Chairman Sumner Redstone stated, "I will believe in the 500-channel world only when I see it". Last time I checked, I have more than 500 channels available to me.

And one more…When David Sarnoff pitched the radio to RCA, they responded "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
The radio was initially received with doubt!

Now, I could be wrong about everything I've shared with you but, if recent history is any indication I doubt it. You need to begin, if you haven’t already, to venture into on-line social networks. Even if you started today, it would take awhile to reap the rewards of online relationship building. If you invest the time now, you will not be left behind in the future. But, the reality is this - if you don’t start now, you will be left behind.

Social media is part of our culture whether we like it or not. We are living in the middle of a paradigm shift. How we respond to this change may be the difference between our ultimate success or failure in building and maintaining relationships.

In the end, aren't relationships what make or break any and every business? Social media are forever changing, shaping, and altering how we connect with one another and ourselves.

Why are you waiting?