Dear Reader, Greetings!
Let's start by addressing the most crucial point before we jump into the step-by-step guide on how to hire interns through LinkedIn - PAY. It's important to note that if you are going to make money from the services or activities performed by the intern, it would be advisable to then create a payment structure that compensates the young & eager folks you will be temporarily employing for 3 to 6 months. However, the debate that the organization is providing more value than it is getting in return, has been around for as long as the term 'internship' has been around. I've put my point across, the final call is up to you in the end!
Now, let's get into the meat of this blog post -
1. Write Out Your Hiring Brief
This begins with the simple questions surrounding - What is the role that you would like for the interns to carry out during their term with you, as well as what would you be teaching or bringing value to the interns that you are hiring.
Here is a format I follow, hopefully, this will act as a guide for you to use while writing up your content or hiring brief -
Pay / Remuneration
Duration of Internship (Number of Months)
Hours per Day commitment
Position Name & Role of Interns
Knowledge, Skill or Tool Requirements
Resources for the interns to check out before they apply for the role (Company Website, Vision/ Mission of the Company, Project or Department Page)
What will they learn? What will the intern's take away?
2. Create a FREE LinkedIn Job Listing
Here is how you can get in front of the right audience by Posting a Free Job Listing on LinkedIn in 2022.
July'2022:
Top right corner, click on 'Work' then 'Post a Job'
OR Top right corner, click on 'Work' then 'Talent Solutions'
You can choose to pay and boost your Job Listing or you can go ahead with the FREE job listing LinkedIn offers.
Please note, that LinkedIn only allows for you to have one Free Job listing active at one time however, you can post as many as you like one after the other by closing this job listing and opening a new one later. Please also note, that LinkedIn might automatically pause your listing once you have enough resumes or applicants since it is a free listing - LinkedIn controls the duration & quantity of applicants.
The FREE job listing is more than enough when using to hire interns, in my personal experience.
3. Shortlist The Resume/CV You Want To Interview
Look through the resumes of the applicants sent to you through the listing.
As on July'2022:
On the Top Right, Click on 'Work' then 'Talent Solutions'
Then Click on Top Right Corner 'Manage Job Posts'
Select your Active Job Listing
For LinkedIn, make sure you look through all the applicants, even those that LinkedIn may rate as 'not a good fit', since the criteria you desire may be overlooked by LinkedIn itself.
Write a message to the candidates you would like to interview. Make sure you send them the resources you would like for them to check out before the interview so that they come prepared for it!
4.Interview Your Candidates
You know what to do here! Validate their resume and required skills through questions, and make sure their personality & demeanour is something you can work with and would like on your team.
Since this blog post is about hiring interns, try your best to evaluate their commitment to learning, their passion for the vision of your company and their desire to be a part of the mission of the company.
There are several internship opportunities these days offered by different companies around the world, there are also several interns looking for these opportunities - the only way to make sure both parties are making the most of this arrangement is that both parties are committed to learning & teaching, as well as setting productive goals to be achieved across the tenure. The bonus would really be when the intern walks away from the internship with a portfolio & added value to the resume they can use when they apply to the full-time job market space later on.
Internship opportunities have really evolved into achieving more than just having or being a coffee runner. I would hope that this blog post sets the tone to remind you, dear reader, of that!
5.Prepare Offer-Letter, Contract & Collect Relevant Documents
Once you've settled on the intern you would like to hire. Send them your drafted offer letter clearly stating the timings and the commitments you desire from them during their tenure.
Once they accept your offer, ask for the relevant documents that you would need and relevant information like a copy of the ID or Passport, their current address, phone number and email address etc. Send them your contract to sign and send back, and voila you are ready to get building on this new relationship!