Your Company < Your City

Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of companies providing meaningful internship experiences to prepare interns for their future professional careers.

Abstract

The article discusses the significance of internships as a formative experience for college students, akin to early relationships that shape future ones. It outlines three key strategies for companies to enhance the internship experience: planning beyond the cubicle by exposing interns to various aspects of the company, actively teaching soft skills and ethical behavior, and integrating interns into the broader community of the city. The author, Ed Fields, stresses that these approaches not only benefit the interns but also contribute to the success of companies and the nation by developing professionals with strong ethical foundations.

Opinions

Internships are likened to early relationships, setting the stage for future professional engagements.
Companies should select the best interns and provide a written plan for a well-rounded experience, including interactions with department heads and company leaders.
There is a recognition that colleges and universities often fail to teach the soft skills necessary for the professional world, and it is the company's responsibility to fill this gap.
Ethical training is crucial, and companies should proactively discuss ethical dilemmas with interns to instill a strong ethical compass.
The city's vitality and the company's engagement with the community significantly influence an intern's satisfaction and the overall quality of the internship experience.
The author believes that the way companies manage internships can impact the trajectory of interns' careers, the success of companies, and the prosperity of the country.

Your Company < Your City

This is the second of a two-part series about summer internships. Read my first post titled What Every Summer Intern MUST Know.

Courting talent often begins at the internship

The quality of lessons learned in previous relationships can affect the quality of present relationships.

That’s why companies who take on the challenge of providing college students with internships must manage them well. After all, most interns will not work for their first employer, just as most people don’t marry high school sweethearts. Thus, the intern’s first experience with you may be their first professional courtship, preparing them for what will eventually be a more substantial employment relationship after college.

Improve their chances for success by doing these three things:

Plan Beyond The Cubicle. Assuming you have selected the best interns you could find, you need to have a written plan to ensure interns have a well-rounded experience inside your company. Cubicle walls can seem ten feet tall for a professional neophyte. You should go the extra mile to setup meetings with department heads and company leaders to broaden the intern’s vision of what the company is and how your department fits.

Really Show Them. Interns — even the best and brightest — simply do not have the life experience to know how to act in a professional environment. Our colleges and universities do not train the soft skills needed for real world performance. Most companies don’t provide this training either. Truth be told, many of your own employees still may not have the degree of professionalism you expect! So, you need to teach them. Further, we are living in an incredibly age of ethical and moral dilemma. Your willingness to call out ethical dilemmas and discuss them with interns will help them build a habit of tackling ethical challenges head on. We can all agree that your company and our country will benefit immensely from a new class of professionals imbued with a strong ethical compass. YOU are responsible for experiential learning beyond day-to-day task management.

3. Your Company < Your City. The the quality of your company’s internship can be greatly diminished or enhanced by your city’s vitality. Put another way, the extent to which your company serves as a bridge to the broader community (socially, civic engagement, faith, etc.) will determine an intern’s satisfaction with their experience. Your company cannot overcome the influence of the city anymore than a parent can overcome the influence of a child’s teenage friends. Be a wise leader and keep your interns close and your city even closer.

So, be a good partner. Say what needs to be said, teach the hard lesson. Your interns are not just your interns, they are our interns — America’s interns. Your ability to train, challenge and inspire them will affect the trajectory of their careers, our companies and our country’s success for generations to come.

Ed Fields serves as Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist for the City of Birmingham. A graduate of Alabama State University and The University of Alabama Manderson Graduate School, Ed interned for two summers at Midwest Express Airlines through INROADS Wisconsin. He is the recipient of the INROADS Birmingham Distinguished Alum Award and has designed intern experiences and managed numerous college interns.