Recruiting interns

It's that time of the year. For the second year in a row, Nü Echo is recruiting interns for next summer. We mainly advertise our projects at École Polytechnique, an engineering school here in Montréal. Since I am deeply involved in the whole recruiting process, I came to a number rules that proved very beneficial.

First, let me set the context. Recruiting interns is not easy in Montreal. (I guess this is true in all major cities.) There are five times more internship projects than there are students competing for them. So competition is tough. Moreover, most co-op programs favor students in the recruiting process (this is not the case at École Polytechnique). Add to that the fact that Nü Echo is a small, not really well-known company among students (we are well-known in the call center and telecommunications industries, though)...

Despite these pretty adverse conditions, last year's recruiting went really well, with great results at the end of summer. We filled all our positions and all students exceeded our expectations. And this year promises to be even better. We will have to decline great students.

To achieve these results, I try to apply the following rules:

1. Offer exciting projects. Most companies consider interns as cheap resources and ask them to do the dirty, uninteresting stuff. Like coding test cases, running the tests, etc.
   
   When elaborating an internship project, I always ask myself: would I apply for the job? To me, the best project is self-contained, with a right balance between analysis, design, coding, testing. It shall also involve leading-edge technologies and be a project that will matter to the company. Not something that will be put on the shelf in September.
   
   
2. Be quick! As soon as you receive the students' resumes, screen them and schedule interviews. And if the interview goes well, make an offer. At École Polytechnique, students have only 24h to accept/decline an offer. This can turn to your advantage. Bigger HR departments usually move more slowly, so a 2nd year student will accept a nice project early if they are not certain of being offered a better one later during the semester.
   
   
3. Supervise them adequately. This should go without saying, but it is not always the case. Summer is usually the time of the year when regular employees and managers take their vacations. It may be difficult to supervise your students. But believe me. If you are not gonna be able to supervise them adequately, don't offer internship projects.
   
   Of course, we expect our students to be rather automonous, but don't forget that they are students, they are with us to learn. I've seen companies where students were left almost unsupervised, not really knowing what to do. They waste time and money.
   
   
4. Treat them like regular employees. You want them to come back next year. So make them feel that they are part of the team, that they bring value to the company. They are your future.
   
   
5. Hire both 2nd year and 3rd students. The 3rd year students (given they are on a 4 years program) can make good candidates for your future job openings.
   
   The 2nd year students, even if they won't work for you during their 3rd year summer, will help cultivate the reputation of your company at school. They will talk about you. This is akin to viral marketing.
   

Internship projects, when done right, are a great way to advertise your company. Not to potential customers (although this could be), but to your future employees. Students will return to school at the end of the summer and will talk about your company if they appreciated their experience working with you. And good students usually attract other good students. This could definitely help your whole recruiting process.