Today more than ever, internships are a highly popular way for college students, recent graduates and others to get hands-on work experience in this country. And when it comes to interning in both the corporate and not-for-profit worlds, organizations need to get a head start! 

To get a picture of just how prevalent the tradition is in this country, consider these recent statistics on internships from a variety of sources:

1. Over a fifth of college students do at least one internship. (StandOut CV)
2. 70% of interns eventually get hired by the place where they interned. (Zippia) 
3. The U.S. government is big on interns! Nearly 90% of congressional workers were interns. (FinancesOnline)
4. Paid interns made an average of $20.76 per hour in 2020 – but many still go unpaid. (CNBC)

There are also some important things to know if you plan to hire one, such as federal and local rules regulating internships. But in addition to the rules, companies should also strive to be a place where interns want to work so that these intrepid learners give it their all and become educated about a whole new set of skills they can apply to their careers moving forward. 

Offer High-Quality Internships – and a Positive Work Culture

Ideally, both ends of the internship provide meaningful support, making them a win-win. But a high-quality internship is one that provides educational insight into the company that will benefit the intern more than the other way around. 

For example, the intern should have access to:

• Mentoring
• Networking opportunities
• Worker shadowing
• Better understanding of a field or industry

In other words, it’s ok to have them do some admin work, but be sure they spend most of their time learning and doing things that will be valuable to their career. Good internships aimed at students usually include learning agreements, certain valuable activities, and are often aligned with a number of academic credits.

Make Your Interns Feel Valued: Provide Tasty, Shareable Food at Work

Being the new person at work is never easy, especially when that person is an intern. They are typically young, inexperienced and eager to please while being challenged by a whole new set of professional skills. Still, you can make your place of employment stand out from the rest in several ways:

1. Turn your staff kitchen into a place for co-workers to bond 
2. Stash it with delicious, high-quality snacks 
3. Focus on creating positive morale throughout the workplace
4. Consider other incentives for workers to put in their best efforts

By establishing a reputation as an awesome place to work, word will get around and attract other young go-getters from top schools. After all, today’s intern can become tomorrow’s CEO. And nothing injects warmth and positivity into a workplace quite like shared, gourmet sweet-and-salty snacks. Providing a little sustenance between projects is a great way to encourage bonding and leave the recipient with something delicious to associate with their memories of working for you. 

Best Place for Workplace Snacks: Premier Snack Food Provider Funky Chunky

There’s a seasonal nature to college internships, as they typically align with fall, winter and spring terms. And there are also seasonal offerings at Funky Chunky each year. We like to celebrate upcoming holidays and seasonal events and always have something new around the corner that is sure to please – whether it’s hard workers you want to reward or potential colleagues you’re trying to impress. 

Funky Chunky is a premier provider of tasty gourmet snack food items made in small batches so that every order tastes fresh and delicious. We’ll handle your order from start to finish. Contact us today to stock up before your next internship season begins!