bake - May 2014 - 12

labor front

Summer Interns
School is out for summer in most places across the country,

2. The Recruitment Process

so this time of year presents an ideal opportunity to recruit

Hiring an intern requires similar steps to hiring a full-time

new people into your workplace. Paid and unpaid internships

employee. You'll need to write a job description with real work

are increasingly popular. Some students, particularly those

assignments and deﬁned objectives. Decide in advance how the

in college studying a speciﬁc major such as photography or

intern will be supervised and mentored, and how the student will

design, may be open and willing to produce custom projects

beneﬁt ﬁnancially and experientially from your program.

for you so they can add professional examples of their skills
to their personal portfolios.

Many schools and colleges operate internship programs through
their career services offices (in exchange for student credits).

According to government statistics, US employers planned to

Getting registered with one of these programs can provide a

hire 8.5% more college students last year for summer intern-

level of accreditation as well as access to a pool of motivated

ships than the previous year.

and screened talent. You can also get one step ahead by seeking
an advocate or reference for your business from college profes-

Internship programs are a smart recruitment strategy for small

sors or staff members. This is why it often makes sense to

businesses, allowing you to nurture and feed your full-time

approach colleges that you know or have attended.

hiring efforts. A separate study found that nearly 90% of
students who took part in internships said they would accept

3. Paying Interns

an offer of a full-time job from their internship employer.

If you are serious about attracting the right talent and creating
a program that nurtures your future workforce, then your

Here are several tips to help guide you through the process

compensation needs to reﬂect this (the average hourly rate for

of setting up an internship program:

paid bachelor degree-level interns is currently $16.21).

1. Review Your Needs

Can't quite afford that? Unpaid internships are a legal option;

Remember, an intern will be looking for good experience, so

however, there are many limits on the work unpaid interns

be sure your needs match those of the interns. Ask yourself

can perform.

the following questions:
Unpaid interns cannot do any work that contributes to a compa* How can an intern help you with your business goals?

ny's operations. This includes any tasks that help you run your

* Do you have enough work to support an intern?

business, like documenting inventory, ﬁling papers, answering

Think about short-term and long-term assignments.
* Who will supervise and mentor your intern?

emails, etc. Unpaid interns can shadow other employees and
perform duties that don't have a business need.

* What ramp-up and ongoing training can you provide?
* Do you have available office space and other resources?

For example, a bakery may allow an apprentice/intern to deco-

* What about seasonal highs and lows?

rate a tray of cookies that will not be sold to customers. Because

Could you use an intern beyond the summer months?

the task was only a training exercise for the apprentice/intern
and the bakery did not receive any beneﬁt from that work, the

It will take several weeks to recruit and hire an intern,

bakery would not have to pay that student worker for that time.

so the further in advance you plan, the better.

SOURCE: SBA.GOV

12 < MAY 2014 | bakemag.com

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bake - May 2014

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