Effective Capacity Building With Interns

Interns can bring immeasurable value and build substantial capacity for an organization. Additionally, if you design a program well, interns can become some of the most loyal advocates and maybe even entry level employees of your mission. It is also healthy for the community because helping an intern learn about a new industry and gain skills or fine-tune skills they already have is a great way to ensure the upcoming generation succeeds. Younger ones in the latter years of collegiate studies can provide fresh ideas, new insight and an exponential amount of energy to impact change. They are hungry and soak up knowledge like a sponge. Older interns (ie. the movie The Intern and The Internship) bring a wealth of knowledge amassed by life experience.

I have had the privilege of managing and preparing over almost 1,000 interns over a decade in various different fields including internet TV, radio, social services and the performing arts. I have seen interns transform departments, make game-changing contributions and invigorate work environments. Don’t get me wrong, I have also seen a fair share of bad apples, however, they were more the exception, not the rule.

When people tell me they are not fond of interns, I ask them to elaborate. When they do, it is often the same story. What they say, and what I hear are two different narratives. At the end of…