Hiring good staff and keeping a good budget for payroll can be stressful. Oftentimes, entrepreneurs and small businesses don’t have the budgets they need to hire quality employees.
There is another way to get good workers on your team while helping to mold the up-and-coming in your local area. Local interns! They are always a valuable option for any position.
In the recording arts and show production arena, it is always easier to nurture the skilled than to hire from scratch. You’re stuck hoping the skills on the resume are truly up to par. But, hiring a local intern means you can show them how to do things your way, so they fit right in with your team. If you’re looking for an internship, check this out. How To Land Your First Internship
Hiring Local Interns with Purpose
In Orlando, Florida there are plenty of people looking to get a foot in the door. Especially in the entertainment industry, there are many qualified job seekers looking for their own big breaks. Local internships give students credits that are used towards their degrees and to graduate. In fact, F.I.R.S.T. can help you get a sound engineer internship, filmmaking internship and many other great opportunities to get your feet in the door.
You need a proper internship program set up with a local technical college, so you can vet their qualified students. Just imagine… they do all the training, and your company reaps the benefits… for free!
Make a list of all of the things you need your intern to do on the job. You don’t want them doing mundane jobs they could be doing at any office building. It’s important to give them tasks that will help them learn to master their skills. Remember, you are adding to their professional resumes and portfolios.
There are lawsuits where interns were simply hired to do jobs the company didn’t want to pay someone else to do. These were trivial things like answering the phones and filing paperwork. None of the tasks had anything to do with their career fields.
Make sure you are enriching the intern learning process. Find out what their career goals are and how they align with your brand. Utilize them in the right area in line with that goal. Pair them up with staff members in that specific area to assist them and show them the ropes.
And, make sure you’re hiring a local intern to bring value to their future careers. They want to become producers themselves someday. Be a mentor they’ll always remember and respect.
An Intern for You, Another Classroom for the Student
With interns, you are essentially giving them another place to learn… like another hands-on course. You have to give feedback and encourage student interns when they feel out of place or stuck. Remember they will not be perfect. Expect them to make mistakes. Mentor them by showing them the “right way” to minimize that.
Most production schools don’t have internships available to students until their senior year or last semester. However, you can start an internship program with a freshman or a sophomore to get more time to train and groom before graduation.
Internships give you a chance to do a longer vetting process. This can truly help them rise up in the industry from the beginning. Plus, you get fresh eyes and someone passionate about the job.
Benefits of Hiring Local Interns to Mentor & Groom
The coolest part is that you get all this without having to pay your intern a monetary salary. However, you always have the option of hiring your intern as a paid employee who will have the utmost respect and loyalty for your brand.
In Orlando, you have a sea of technical students looking for local internships. Finding the right person and training them for your company (and any entry level position) will add a contact to your roster that brings value to your company.
Internships programs are looked upon as being beneficial only for the student. It gives the company benefits as well. Not only do you get to pick the newest graduates, it gives your company a chance to give back to the community.
In addition to having interns, your staff becomes mentors to the up and coming talent in your field. It gives your staff an opportunity to become leaders instead of bosses. It also tests the staff you have on board. A little bit of power brings out the real personalities of people.
How to Hire a Local Intern & Bring Value to the Student’s Life
You want to have set job description for the interns as you would any new hire. It gives the intern expectations of the job and lines them up for success. Develop projects, small and big, to keep your intern busy doing things in their technical field.
A lot of interns complain (or brag, depending on the student) about not having enough work to do. Give them a weekly list of what they should be doing. Have fellow employees teach them what to do and how to do it.
Internships are meant to be a form of educational training, not the replacement of regular employees. Your program should be designed with the student in mind, as well as training a possible future employee. Just think. An intern groomed and mentored by you and your team will make the perfectaddition once the internship is completed successfully.
Have an open-door policy with your interns. Give them plenty of time to ask questions and discuss ideas with you, so they don’t feel lost. Remember they are learning students. They don’t have all the answers to some of the questions you may know naturally. Just be patient and remember, this could be your future shining star employee if you mentor the student right!
Find Local Interns for Production Projects in Orlando, Florida
If you’re working on a production project with a really tight budget, you really should look into hiring interns to keep costs down. For projects in the Orlando, FL area, F.I.R.S.T. Institute is the go-to technical college for Recording Arts and Show Production interns.
F.I.R.S.T. students receive hands-on educational training. They learn professional producing skills using innovative equipment used by top-notch producers of today. So, your Orlando intern is fully-equipped to join your current production project and bring valuable skills to the project.
Interns work for free, expecting nothing but mentoring and guidance in return. When you’re ready to discuss hiring a local intern in Florida, call (888) 9-FIRST-1 to speak with a Career Development Counselor. Or, click here to contact F.I.R.S.T. Institute about hiring Orlando interns now.
