You spend the summer getting to know your interns. Spend time talking during breaks, lunch, on the floor. Then they head back to school. A long time ago, I sent one son off to college, then two years later I was sending two off each fall. Now we get to relive it all over again.
Here at PlastiCert we put the word out we like to bring in college kids during the summer. Some are from the Composite Materials Engineering program at nearby Winona State University. We keep them busy doing a myriad of projects as well as gaining exposure to manufacturing processes on the floor. Others are home from other universities and looking to make as much money as they can over the summer. Being a manufacturing company, we pay higher than most summer jobs out there. In either case, our summer kids get practical experience in a true work setting, learning about what it is like on the other side of school. Not just directly but indirectly as they spend time with exempts and non-exempts alike.
Which is a large part of why I like to bring them in. When I graduated from college, I was looking forward to starting my career as an electrical engineer. After all, that is what my degree was in. I was offered upwards of eight different positions, but none of them were electrical engineer. I had opportunities to be a manufacturing engineer, quality engineer, field service engineer, software engineer, test engineer, even a reliability engineer. A great situation to be in, but the problem was I had no clue what any of those positions entailed! Some investigation AND assessing who interviewed me and who I would be reporting to helped me make my decision.
So having interns on your floor is a two way street. We’re getting energetic and conscientious workers. They are getting a look at the manufacturing world and getting oriented to what possibilities are out there.
The classic Win – Win!