Employer FAQs
Finding Interns
How do I find a good intern?
First, you need good candidates. Register with NEOintern.net to reach a broad audience of students. Also, consider attending Northeast Ohio career fairs and events, and even establishing a referral program to encourage current interns and employees to refer potential interns to your organization.
When hiring an intern, follow the same process as you would to hire a full-time employee. If you are truly looking to develop a talent pipeline to have the staff you need to grow, then you shouldn’t waste time with interns that won’t fit your organization.
How much does it cost to use NEOintern.net?
Nothing. Nada. Zip. It’s free.
What if I don’t have time to find interns, but I still want to increase my talent pipeline?
NOCHE can help. We currently have funding that allows us to spend the extra time to match students with entrepreneurs. This service is available to other employers for a fee. Please contact Brenda Davis Smith at 216-420-9200 x223 for more information.
How do I expand my recruiting activities at local colleges or universities?
The Career Services offices at each campus offer a wide variety of options that allow you to increase your candidate pool as well as visibility. Services may include on-campus recruiting, attending recruiting events, networking with faculty and student organizations and much more! Contact a Career Services representative to get started!
How do I register for NEOintern.net?
Click here to register! Be sure to read our simple Getting Started instructions.
Managing Interns
Should I pay an intern?
If you can afford it, it is a good idea. Some students will not consider unpaid internships, so you are limiting the available pool of candidates. And you don’t want to have talent in your pipeline that isn’t right for your organization.
If you choose to offer unpaid internships, we encourage employers to follow the guidelines established by National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE):
- The student must earn credit for the internship.
- The employer must receive formal documentation from the intern's college or university stating the educational relevance of the internship.
- Learning objectives must be clearly stated.
- No more than 50% of the intern's work should be the same as that of other employees.
- The intern must be supervised by a faculty member.
How much should I pay?
The actual number depends on experience, major, and responsibilities. We suggest referring to the 2009 ERC survey, which analyzes Northeast Ohio interns’ wages by job function.
What if I can’t afford to pay an intern?
There are programs that reimburse employers up to 50% of the wages. NOCHE administers two such programs, including the well-known Third Frontier Internship Program. For more information, please contact Sean McKinniss at smckinniss@noche.org.
How much of my time will an intern take?
About the same amount of time as other new hires that are relatively “green.”
What work should I have an intern do?
This depends on the student, but there is no reason that an intern should only be pouring coffee and mastering the copy machine. Too much caffeine is bad for you, anyway.
Give the intern some real work. If he or she does a great job, that’s less work for you. If he does a bad job, at least he got the project started for you. And you learned a valuable piece of information about a potential employee. How many of your current team members do you wish you had known that well before hiring them?
The key is to manage the risk. Don’t have an intern work on a high-stakes project for your most important customer. An intern can help you, but you need to remember he or she is still in school for a reason.
Do students need to earn academic credit for internships? If so, what do I need to do?
If a student's internship is unpaid, in most cases he or she must receive academic credit. The requirements for awarding academic credit are different at each school. For more information, please contact the appropriate career services office.
What if an intern has problems at work?
Interns should be treated the same as regular employees of your organization. However, you should always feel free to contact the appropriate career services office if you have any questions or concerns.
