Let’s talk about interns for a moment.
Since 2018, we’ve had a great relationship with Pinellas Technical College that offers first-rate career and technical education. We’ve developed a true partnership, one in which we play for the win-win: The students get real, hands-on experience in our field during their internships and we get a first pick of incredible up-and-coming talent for full-time hire, AFTER they have completed the requirements of their program.
To break it down, here are a few of the key highlights of our internship program:
- We pay well and invest in their development: Many organizations don’t pay their interns, and when they do, it isn’t a significant amount. Not us. We pay interns well from Day One. We also pay for certifications, mentor, create development plans, give them monthly feedback, they get to shadow onsite… they get real hands-on experience.
- They work their way up through the program: They are a core part of our business and a real part of our team.
- We don’t just hire for technical skills: We look for a real culture fit as well in order to position them for success within our organization.
- We make the time investment as an organization: we nurture them and help them grow in a real way – we don’t throw them in and see how they do.
How does our internship program work?
We have an active relationship with the college. One of the most important things for us is to support interns in their education. That means if they drop out of the program their internship is terminated. But, if they continue and graduate, they are eligible for full-time hire.
The number of interns varies from time to time, depending on our needs. They send over their best candidates and these candidates go through an interview process, much the same way as they would if we were considering them for full-time hire.
Once hired as an intern, they get to see multiple aspects of the business and we see where their strengths are – server, security, network – and we get a sense of where they would fit into the organization. We adjust to fit their level of expertise. We pay for their certifications as well as for their books and we work around their school schedule.
Interns are assigned to a mentor based on their areas of expertise and interest. They get to shadow our elite tier 3 engineers, including the opportunity to shadow a senior engineer on site sometimes. They get comprehensive feedback – monthly reviews, access to customer satisfaction scores, among others.
The best part? Once they finish their program, many of them get the opportunity to come on board as an employee after gaining their degree. We’ve hired from our internship program in the double digits.
Interns are an integral part of our workforce. There are no “seat fillers” in our teams; we hire the best talent and personality fit for our culture. It’s no different for our interns. They hold their own on the phone with our clients, shadow our senior engineers. They are active members of our teams, with responsibilities that help move our company forward, and we are their biggest fans.
If you think you have what it takes to be a Source 1 Solutions intern, or even a full-time hire, make sure to reach out to contact@source1solutions.com.
