Interning is a great way for students to learn the ropes outside of the classroom for a future career. Plus, it gives companies—like yours—the opportunity to open your doors to fresh-minded thinkers who are eager to enhance their abilities—and teach your team a thing or two as well. If you’re thinking about offering a seasonal internship, we’re here to help you ace it with A+ advice from our own experience with our summer copywriting intern, Tess Koerner. And no, following these helpful tips does not make you a teacher’s pet—so let’s hit the books!
Let Your Intern Play Star Student with Some Skills Show and Tell
It’s no secret that everyone loves the opportunity to showcase their talents. Our summer intern, Tess, had more skills up her sleeve than just being a great copywriter. Turns out, she was an excellent improv coach too! When she wasn’t helping us with copy, Tess occupied her time by working on a “Capstone” project that allowed her to show us a glimpse into her life and teach our agency members something that would benefit our professional development. With a background in improv acting, Tess taught us how to incorporate improv methods into our business toolbox. We suggest giving your intern a fun assignment like this so they always have something to keep them busy, and so they can bring something new to your company’s conference table.
Group Projects Allow for Hands-On, Collaborative Learning
We can’t think of a better way for your intern to really discover what it’s like to be part of your company than to let them work hand-in-hand with different members of your team. Tess told us that she really appreciated working with various D&A departments outside of the creative staff. It allowed her to not only observe how we interact with one another during meetings and brainstorming sessions, but it gave her the chance to explore various agency responsibilities. From media case studies and blogs to social media content creation to segmenting mailing lists, Tess got a taste of it all.
Don’t Be Afraid to Give Detailed Instructions and Constructive Criticism
No one wants to overwhelm an intern with over-the-top instructions or aggressive feedback (remember, this is supposed to be a learning experience for them). There’s a right way to kick off projects and offer advice to your intern, and Tess helped us realize that sit-down meetings were the best way to relay information and provide client background before asking her to write content. If you really want this experience to be as realistic as possible, we suggest presenting projects to your intern the exact same way you would a current employee. For us, that meant providing Tess with hours to help guide her and teaching her how to bill her time.
Graduate from D&A University
There may not be a cap and gown at the end of the experience, but we promise you’ll leave your D&A internship with refined skills, plenty of great memories, and a team that will support you in your future career endeavors. Keep an eye out for upcoming internships on our website and social media!
Visit our Careers Page now to view available positions!
