The Importance of Intern Appreciation

You have just recruited one or a few interns to start working at your company. Sometimes it can be awkward to navigate these new professional relationships with people much younger and with less experience than you, but you should appreciate them nonetheless. This is likely your interns’ first step into the real working world, and you want it to be a positive one. Here are the top five reasons that prove the importance of intern appreciation.

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Fresh Ideas

Too many people make the mistake of looking down on their interns because of their young age, when that is one of the best reasons to appreciate them. The interns are younger than you which means they have fun and fresh ideas that you might have never thought of. You have completely different experiences that can contribute to a wonderful smorgasbord of ideas. You never know what you can bounce off each other and come up with!

However, when you do not show your interns appreciation, they will likely just sit quietly in the room, thinking they are not welcome to speak. They should be getting the most out of their internship. Rather than being a fly on the wall, they should be contributing to your workplace, which you need to encourage.

Hard Work

Interns are always going to be desperate to prove themselves as something more than “just an intern.” They start off working hard, but upon seeing they do not receive any appreciation or recognition for their hard work, that perseverance will start to wane until they are just doing the bare minimum. If no one is going to notice their hard work, why even bother?

Instead, now that your interns see that their presence and ideas are appreciated, they are more likely to stay motivated to work harder. They may even take on extra responsibilities to prove themselves as a valuable asset to your company, especially if rewards are involved just to show how much you appreciate them. You can reward them with something small like company merchandise, fun activities, or of course, one heck of a recommendation letter.

Company Loyalty

Another reason to appreciate your interns is to earn their loyalty to the company. Now that you have appreciated them enough to earn their great ideas and hard work, you see their potential in the field. After all, they have been studying this and have enough love for this field of work to intern in it! When you do not appreciate them, they will grow resentment towards your company and, once it is time to apply for full-time jobs, they will not even consider applying with you. Why would they want to apply somewhere that treated them so poorly? You will lose them to a competitor solely because of your attitude towards them.

Instead, when you practice intern appreciation, the first place they bring their resume will be with you, unless you offer them a job first! Your interns will fall in love with not just the work, but the company they are working for. This is the place that appreciated them and valued their hard work at the beginning of their professional journey, where else would they want to turn?

Recruit More Interns

Upon completion, most schools require students to complete evaluations of their internship. The more they were appreciated and the better they were treated, they are going to rate your company or organization higher, which will cause the school to suggest other students do their internships with you as well. By treating one intern highly and giving them a positive experience, you are opening the door to many more interns, all with unique ideas and hardworking attitudes.

Empathy

Last, but certainly, not least, you should have empathy. You used to be younger, less experienced, and in the shoes of these interns. If you were not appreciated, why would you want someone else to go through a similar experience? Instead, you would want to change that and make it much more positive for them, changing the way they feel. If you were appreciated, was it not wonderful? It changed your whole perspective on the professional world and made you the person you are today. You should be sure to give your interns a positive experience solely because it is the right thing to do and you can relate to them.

This does not mean you cannot be strict bosses or mentors, but you should not write them off just because of their intern status. We were all there at one point and needed that positive environment to push us forward.

Now you know just how important it is to appreciate your interns. There are many ways to do just that, from celebrating National Intern Day, rewarding them, and of course, giving them those letters of recommendation to help further their career–If you do not hire them first!