Summer internship season is nearly upon us, when talented students and recent grads hop aboard to bring our team fresh ideas, new perspectives and youthful lenses to all of the work we do. As an agency veteran of twenty-something years, I’ve seen hundreds (yes – hundreds) of interns from various schools make their indelible marks on our agency and culture. I’ve witnessed summer internships blossom into budding careers and then into industry leaders. I’ve also seen an internship experience enlighten a young professional that their initial career aspirations weren’t the best fit. As the parent of a now-college student, and an agency veteran, here is my best advice for both sides of the table.

Network!
Before intern application season hits around March, employers can identify opportunities to introduce their company or agency to prospective interns. This could be having the company attend a career fair; or seek out speaking opportunities at local colleges within marketing, business or communications classes. Conversely, students should start thinking about summer internships at least a year in advance by researching companies they may want to work for and asking professors about leading companies in the area. Students and young pros are told repeatedly that networking is a key step in building a successful career. This should be a two-way exchange. When staff and leadership take time to seek and meet interns from all teams, they are leading by example that networking and building relationships is important. Research from Annie McKee, best-selling author on workplace happiness, shows that supportive working relationships lead to strong collaboration and are important to employees’ state of mind at work, regardless of their level, status or position.

Pick up the phone
Anecdotally, younger Millennials are far less likely than older generations to pick up the phone to have a conversation and they rely more heavily on text communication. A Gallup poll revealed that 68% of Millennials admit to using text messaging “a lot” on a daily basis compared to only 47% of Gen Xers. Much detail is left to email, Skype and Slack. Assigning phone call duties to interns can help them learn the art of a telephone call – something that they may not be doing very often, if at all. Interns, take note of your team’s communication preferences, and pay close attention to how people in your organization communicate during different situations. One message delivered three different ways can have very different outcomes. Before responding to something, take time to note whether this response is best left to email, some form of instant messaging such as text or Skype, a phone conversation, or an in-person chat.

Pay attention to industry news for 5 minutes a day
The media industry is changing constantly and affects our careers and roles. (Hence, this eNewsletter!) Employers, by encouraging your interns to take some time each week to brush up on industry news, you’re setting them up for more critical thinking about the projects that they are working on and giving them a bigger picture of the industry. My favorite sources to share are AdWeek, MediaPost, CampaignUS, and Digiday. If you use a smart device such as an Amazon Echo, I recommend adding AdAge’s Daily Flash Briefing or another industry source to your Flash Briefing subscription. Podcast subscriptions may be a more useful medium for interns commuting many miles. Will 5 minutes each weekday really help? The Kaizen Productivity Philosophy suggests that even 5, consistent minutes per day can add up to measurable improvements while being a reasonable, attainable time investment, making it easier to stick to.

Operation Special Project
Giving an intern or a team of interns a special project to tackle can provide the experience of leadership and ownership. The outcome could also be a resumé builder, depending on the project. For example, I’ve seen a group of interns provide valuable research insights to our entire media team by being assigned several macrotrends to research and report out on after eight weeks. Interns can get more out of their internship by asking for a special assignment that can be worked on or tackled over many weeks during their spare time.