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Hello Everyone in the Spiceworld of craziness! I wonder why anyone would like to be in it, that is what I was asked by my Customer Care folks here.

Just a quick note, we are a 2-man IT here now as before, we were only 1, just me. Now that we have a ton of project going on in the next 6 months, we’re looking into putting another body in the IT without having to get a consultant. Just need someone who can basically do Help Desk and hands on and exposed to other things.

I was wondering if anyone out there who have Interns in their IT group. It’s not just getting help but helping someone get their foot in the door or giving them experience because I did intern before. How did you guys go about acquiring an Intern in your group? Did you have to contact a school local in your area?

I’m just trying to get all my information on what steps to take to have an Intern to help them and then help us.

Thanks!

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A lot of colleges are looking for placing interns for the school or for a class (originally got my internship through my CC). It’s one of those things where it is a gamble but it can be nice because someone doesn’t usually have a pre-defined or set way of doing things when they come on as an intern and you can mold them. The downside is that it usually takes some time to get them up to snuff…I would say go for it and check with the local colleges…that will be your best bet.

Thanks,

A.J.

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I got my internship through criagslist. I actually posted myself as looking and was contacted though. I did not see the company I was approached by posting as needing someone either.

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Speaking with the IT/CIS coordinator at a local university or high school would be a great start. Most of the students that show an interest in an internship are usually well rounded and knowledgeable and won’t require much training. Best of luck.

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We’ve had a couple float through. Good way to get an extra set of eyes and hands, and usually they have some half way decent ideas. At the same time, you get to play mentor and teach them the stuff they don’t teach in a school. It’s a win-win situation for both sides.

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You may want to consider veteran groups as well. We’ve seen that a lot of soldiers returning home are entering the IT field and need a place to start. A post on Indeed.com might be useful as well.

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Thanks for the feedback folks. Keep them coming. I want to return the favor because I was an intern a long time ago and how it helped me out.

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This is another place I’m looking into as well.

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Possibly send out a company email and see if anyone knows an eager newbie to the field? Not 100% sure if it would be a plus or minus to have someone linked to the company but my thought is that they would be a bit more committed not to let anyone down. Internal referrals are typically the way most companies like to do their recruiting, right?

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This may not apply, but I’ll throw it out there anyway… I used to get free labor when I had my retail computer shop, by letting the local highschool(s) know that I would accept work-experience kids… I was the sole employee … and did everything from janitorial to advertising to building the computers… having some cheap/free labor and a young kid that wanted to learn more about computers was awesome!

The kids got highschool credit, I got a personal slave to do some of the more tedious PC building tasks, and I got a new kid every semester… it was perfect in my situation…

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I had a couple of internships. One was with my school and one was with a company. The one outside of school was acquired by manual search, just like any other job. But, most schools will have a job search assistance program for their students. I would get in contact with the career groups for the schools in your area. They usually have a way for businesses to advertise open positions to students. It also wouldn’t hurt to put a posting on Craigslist.

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My only problem with this is that you would be “pressured” into hiring this person before you can even evaluate their skills or drive to learn. Similar to hiring on a family member - there could be some less than favorable consequences. Just a thought.

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Look at local computer learning schools.

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This. I was required to complete 139 hour internship in my last semester. Did my work with a non-profit. Talk about duct-taping things together.

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This is great, I was considering hiring an intern as well.

Regards,

Paul “I’ll take an outtern if no interns are available” Luciano, MCSE

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We have hired summer students (four month term) in different areas of the business for a number of years, and have wound up hiring several of them. It has generally been a great experience, with a couple of exceptions (the ones who accepted the job, then didn’t show up or left part way through). I have contacts at the two local universities and one technical institute. It is a greatd deal for them because of the experience and mentoring, and a great deal for us, as the wage rates are fairly low, and we get people who are smart, in learning mode, eager, and used to working hard. Definitely win-win.

Now we need extra help outside of the four-month summer window, so I am looking at internships. These can 6, 8, or 12 months (typically) to as long as two years. Typical wage ranges are $14-19 (quoted from the technical institute) to $15-25 (quoted by the university)(Calgary, Alberta, Canada) - we have typically paid at the low end of these ranges for summer students. We are an oil & gas town, so that will push the typical university wages up the scale.

I have never gone to the high schools - I guess it depends on the level of expertise you require. I have also had offers of unpaid practicums in some areas, particularl database work, but I think that really depends on the local job market. There are also sometimes government subsidies available to suplement wages for students.

Good luck!

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Funny you should say that, I have two buddies that just recently got back from Iraq and both of them have decided to pursue IT. I helped both of them find decent starter jobs, one of which in a bit like an internship. I’ve noticed that IT appears to be a popular field for soldiers coming back home.

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http://www.internaware.org/

http://www.internaware.org/about/why-unpaid-internships-are-wrong/