For most human resource professionals, HR internships was a great start in their career for them, preparing them for the journey ahead. This is why students should grab every opportunity that comes their way in the form of internships. No better way to get hands-on experience than that. Plus, the many invaluable lessons learned while at it, cannot be gotten elsewhere.
In this article, we are going to discuss how HR leaders can create the perfect HR internships that will help students or entry-level professionals reach a milestone in their careers. First off…
What are HR internships?
We are glad you asked. HR is short for Human Resource management characterized by 5 Ms (men, machines, money, methods and materials). Among the 5 Ms, men seem to be the most critical part of the equation.
Hence, HR Management deals with formal issues bordering men such as employment, training, and management of people in an organization. By extension, you would study psychology, sociology, and economics on how team spirit is built.
Now, in the internship program, we have, HR generalists, HR analysts, HR managers, and HR interns, and HR team members.
Setting up HR Internships Structures
For your HR interns to get the best out of the internship program, you must put structures in place that will help them build successful careers. This structure must be well defined so that the intern knows what he or she is up against and the tasks that must be accomplished in a day, week, or month.
For example, you could come up with;
- Daily schedules
- Learning objectives
- Do short term projects
- Assign the Review process to a supervisor, etc
Why short term projects?
Short term projects are ideal because you don’t want your interns working with very sensitive or highly confidential data on their first day. You don’t also want them working on documents that demand urgent attention on their first day at work. You can create a short term project for them, grant them access to the right resources and assign a mentor they could with to them.
All these should be painstakingly designed to give them a feel of the real thing.
Introduce them to the latest technologies & gadgets in the field
In HR internships, a lot of time should be spent teaching them on the latest industry tools and their use, and why they are important to the organization. Show them how to maximize the human capital management platforms (HCM) as they complete exercises assigned to them.
At the end of HR internships, interns must demonstrate a certain level of competency in the use of most HR software.
Assign duties to them
You could assign some duties to them such as studying the resumes of potential employees and making them rely on all you’ve taught them to consider when hiring people for a job.
As they go up the ladder, charge them with the responsibility of setting up some interviews. And, teach them how to process payrolls, and calculate taxes, bonuses, and expenses. This is all part of HR internships.
