The Employer Report: CNN.com on Urban Interns & Part Two in Our Series on Virtual Internships

Read about Urban Interns in 

CNN.com World Business's article
about Virtual Interns.

 

Welcome to the Urban Interns Employer Report - a free resource to help you grow your business by creating and implementing win-win opportunities for part-time staff and interns.  Each week, we will answer questions, provide tips and inspire you to think creatively about using flexible resources such as part-time staff and interns to achieve your business goals.

Virtual Internships Part Two: Selecting a Virtual Intern

As reported by Urban Interns earlier this month, virtual internships are on the rise.  In our October Trend and Insight Report, we noted that the percentage of virtual positions posted on Urban Interns increased from 9% to 24% between the end of August and September. This growing trend is also gaining a lot of discussion in the media, as indicated by yesterday's article by CNN.com World Business which featured Urban Interns as well as our work with our very own intern, an incredibly talented Columbia student.   

The benefits of bring on a virtual intern are many: low overhead since you don't need to expand your office space, you can set the hours that best suit your business and your schedule, and you can tap into a talent pool that expands well beyond your geographic location. 
 
But, before we dive into tips on how to most effectively manage a virtual intern, which we'll do in next week's Employer Report, the first question is how to select a virtual intern.  Unlike a traditional job interview, this interview may be entirely over the phone or Skype -- meaning there's no opportunity to evaluate body language and rapport. So how do you navigate the online world to find the best fit for your organization?  Consider the Three P's of Professionalism, Performance, and Presence:

• Professionalism:  Prior to your interview, you will likely have many initial interactions with a candidate through Urban Interns and over email. First impressions are still powerful, so even in these early interactions, you'll be able to get a lot of insight into a candidate.  If a candidate is writing you quick emails and forgetting to capitalize letters, think of it as the modern day version of walking into a room and forgetting to make eye contact or address you by the proper name.  Just because it's a virtual position does not mean your standards of excellence should be any lower.
• Performance:  If you're adding to your staff in any way, it means you're busy and need help. You need someone who will ramp up quickly and deliver stellar work.   Ask for samples of work, professional references and perhaps consider asking the candidate to do a short exercise so you can evaluate work product.
• Presence:  That's online presence.  With all the social networks and ways to get in touch, we're all so discoverable these days -- including candidates.  Go ahead and take a look at the information that's publicly available online. You are certain to learn a lot.
  

So while going the virtual road means you may need to forego some of the benefits that come with in-person interactions, there are still many ways to successfully evaluate a candidate and make the selection that makes the most sense for your business.

Stay tuned for Part Three in our Virtual Internships series in next week's Employer Report: Managing a Virtual Intern.

Ready to find your perfect virtual intern? Login here.

The Employer Report: Virtual Internships - An Update

A few weeks ago we highlighted for you a WSJ Article on virtual internships.

Since then, we have seen many employers turning to Urban Interns for virtual help to fill a variety of virtual needs. Some examples:

• Los Angeles-based software company seeking business development intern.
• Silicon Valley startup seeking part-time blogger - can work from anywhere.
• Web 2.0 startup seeking community manager for website to manage social networking profiles, respond to question/inquires about the company, and initiate conversations in applicable community.
• iPhone App Developer and Publisher looking for online marketing and PR internfor keyword research, app description optimization. 
  
• NYC Social Media firm looking for social media intern to do keyword research, link-building and article posting.

So what does this mean to all you employers?

• Hiring virtual interns is a growing trend and one that you should consider for your business.  Imagine having access to a pool of part-time help - students and graduates from top tier schools, seasoned professionals - that extends beyond your local area.  

• The advantages of a virtual intern extend beyond cost and logistics.  Are you short on office space?  They work from home.  Do you like work that's done while you sleep?  Set up your virtual intern's hours to be during nighttime hours.

• So many of today's small business owner's daily needs lend themselves to virtual work: blogging, social media, business development, research.  Sound familiar? Search here.

What to do once you've hired someone?  In our next Employer Report, we'll explore how to best manage a virtual intern.

Ready to find your perfect virtual intern? Login here.

The Employer Report: Seeking Part-Time Help with Experience

You may have seen Dan Schawbel's mention of Urban Interns in yesterday's US Metroencouraging college students to get started on looking for meaningful internships and entry level positions.  That college students are so on the ball these days as to not even be in school for a month and already be thinking about internships, is amazing, and presents a phenomenal opportunity for you as a small business owner to reap the benefits of such ambition!

However, this brings us to our Question of the Week: 
What if I am looking for someone with more experience than college level, but still on a part-time basis? 

Answer: 
College students are not the only ones looking for part-time jobs.  The Labor Department released data on Friday showing unemployment is at it's highest rate since 1993. In addition, the percentage of people employed part-time for economic reasons is up 220 basis points year-over-year and 10 basis points month-over-month.  In other words, a lot of people are looking for work right now, and a lot of people are turning to part-time work and internships in absence of a full time job.  This absolutely does not mean the quality of the labor pool on Urban Interns is any lower for it - quite the contrary.  Below is a smattering of profile excerpts from recently registered Urban Interns:

• "Accomplished executive with 11 years experience in business development, program/project management and growth strategy"
• "veteran in the Event Planning industry for 18 years and 15 years in the special event production industry"     
• "I worked as a sportswriter at the New York Daily News from May 2005-September 2009"  
• "I currently manage an e-commerce website"
• "Ten years of New York City advertising experience...encompasses marketing, promotions, and advertising"

The Bottom Line: if you need someone with work experience and perhaps a few years (or more) of post-college life experience under their belts to help manage your social media campaign, do some writing, research, or otherwise help you execute your dream, login to Urban Interns now and start searching.
 
Ready to find your perfect virtual intern? Login here.

Employer Report: WSJ on Virtual Internships

You may have seen the article about virtual internships and Urban Interns in today's Wall Street Journal.  If not, a few highlights:

• Virtual internships are most popular among small to midsize companies and online businesses.
  
• Virtual internships first became popular in the late 1990's in information technology and software development. Today, they also include the sales, marketing and social media departments of companies across various industries.
  
• One of the many benefits of virtual internships include an expanded pool of candidates and saved money on office overhead.
  

Hmmm...Interesting. Does a virtual intern make sense for your business? If so, here are a few things to consider: 

1. If working virtually is new to you, before jumping in and hiring a completely virtual intern(i.e. you're in NY and your intern is in Seattle), test the concept with someone semi-virtual (i.e. you're in Boston, so is your intern). This allows you to have the benefit of bringing someone on without increasing your office overhead, but still gives you the opportunity to meet face to face with your intern as needed.
   
2. Set up the structure for communication at the outset. Do you prefer to talk on the phone once a day, or receive an email update once a day? Especially because you won't be sitting together and your intern won't have the opportunity to observe your work style, it's particularly important that you set the rules at the outset.
   
3. What's the schedule you expect your virtual intern to keep? Do you want them to be available for you during your business hours or can they work on their own schedule? With a virtual arrangement comes a lot of independence for your intern, so if you'd like them to be working more on your schedule (and not potentially at 3 am!), it's necessary to state this at the outset.

A virtual intern can be a great resource for your company. Sure, because virtual internships are relatively new (and may be completely new to you!) you'll need to make an upfront investment in time in thinking through the position. But, find someone great (like our very own Urban Intern) and it could very well pay off in multiples.

 

Ready to find your perfect virtual intern? Login here.

Writing an Effective Job Post - an Urban Interns Success Story

Last week we told you about one of our recent users, savvy lawyer and insurance guru, Keith Le Pack. Keith heard about Urban Interns from a colleague and quickly posted a job-on a Friday night, no less.

When we checked in with Keith this week, he already hired an incredible Urban Intern. Now that's the kind of success story we like to hear about!

We're often asked for advice on what makes a good job post, so we decided to do some first-hand research on the topic. (Keith's post being one great example). We found the following common elements among the most effective job posts.

• Be concise.  While you want to give Urban Interns a comprehensive overview of your position, you don't want prospective candidates to get lost in the details.  Include the key elements (what kind of company, what kind of work) but the rest is better suited for direct communication with interested candidates.
  
• What's the opportunity? That's right- Urban Interns are working for you but in order to entice top talent, you also need to make it clear what you're offering. Is it a paid position, do you offer school credit, will you offer the best of the best mentorship and networking?  
  
• What's the potential? Do you envision your position as a short-term gig or is their an opportunity for a more  long term arrangement. There's a market for both, just be clear about your goals.
  
• Be flexible.  One of the great things about Urban Interns is that you can edit your job post mid-month!  So if you're not getting the number of responses you wished for, consider re-thinking the terms of the position and what you're willing to invest in it.

Have a job you've been meaning to post? Login here. 

The Employer Report: How to Build a Marketing Team on a Budget

Welcome to the Urban Interns Employer Report - a free resource to help you grow your business by creating and implementing win-win opportunities for part-time staff and interns.

This issue is brought to you by Traci Feit Love, a small business writer and consultant. To learn more about Traci and how she can help your company, visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

 

Question of the Week:

I need to do a better job promoting my small business, but I have a very limited marketing budget. What's the best way to get some marketing help without breaking the bank?

Answer:

Marketing plays a key business development role in any small business.  It's important to focus on, regardless of your budget.  

If marketing is a foreign language for you, setting a strategy is best left to the experts.  The good news is that once you have that strategy in place, you can bring in some less expensive resources to help you execute.  

For example, if part of your marketing strategy involves e-communication, there are many do-it-yourself email platforms out there that provide you with great templates.  Many programs also provide easy-to-understand analytics, so you can see how effective your campaign was.  We use Constant Contact, but another great one is Vertical Response.  Or if you're more tech-savvy, we've heard Campaign Monitor is good.

Still, developing the content for your campaign can be time-intensive and perhaps writing isn't something you enjoy.  This is a perfect job for a part-time person or even a really great intern.  

This can apply to many other areas: social media, guerrilla marketing, blogging, even PR. These "free" forms of marketing can comprise the bulk of your marketing campaign in the early days of your business.  The key is that as a business owner, you set the strategy, and hire others to execute.

The bottom line:  The more limited your budget, the more creative you need to be about finding great resources.  That doesn't mean cutting important pieces out of your growth plans, it just means understanding what's worth your time as a business owner, and stretching your dollars to include some highly efficient "do-ers".

When you're ready to find the perfect candidate, visit www.urbaninterns.com and click on "Find an Urban Intern." To submit your questions for future issues of Urban Interns' Employer Report, just e-mail us at admin@urbaninterns.com.

Announcing the Urban Interns Employer Report

Welcome to the first issue of the Urban Interns Employer Report - a free resource to help you grow your business by creating and implementing win-win opportunities for part-time staff and interns.  The report will go out by email to our registered employers, so if you are not already registered as an Urban Interns employer, you can do so here.

Each week, Urban Interns will answer your questions about internship programs and inspire you to think creatively about using flexible resources such as part-time staff and interns to achieve your business goals. This issue is brought to you by Traci Feit Love, a small business writer and consultant. To learn more about Traci and how she can help your company, visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

 

Question of the Week:

I live in a city with tons of college students. Back when I worked at a big company, we would often hire interns. I don't have the resources to support a formal internship program. Is hiring an intern still a good option for me?

Answer:

Yes! There are plenty of reasons why small businesses should consider hiring an intern, especially with so many qualified people looking for internship opportunities. Here are a few of them:

• Increase your productivity without the expense of hiring a permanent, full-time employee.
  
• Find the perfect fit for your next full-time opening by using an internship as a "trial period" to test out qualified candidates (instead of taking a risk on someone you've never worked with before).
  
• Only invest in the time and work you need - internships can be temporary, seasonal, or part-time, or unpaid depending on what you're offering and what your expectations are.
  
• Bring fresh ideas and energy into your business. College students, for example, are usually more familiar with new trends in technology and social media and can infuse your business with fresh perspective.
  
• Former interns who become full-time employees can hit the ground running.

The bottom line: if you have more work than you and your current staff can manage, you should consider hiring an intern to handle it. To find the perfect intern for your business needs, visit www.urbaninterns.com and click on "Find an Urban Intern."

To submit your questions for future issues of Urban Interns' Employer Report, just e-mail us at admin@urbaninterns.com.