Rice Cohen welcomed our 2024 summer interns this week. It always surprises me how many firms don’t seem to value an internship program the way we do. From my 12+ years of running an internship program I have found that there are many benefits that come from it.   

First, it allows the company to get familiar with potential future employees. Having an intern work for your organization gives them an easier transition to working full-time if your organization offers them a full-time position since they already know a little about your business and culture. This is a great way to pass on knowledge to the next generation and you may even inspire someone on their career journey.

I have found that having an internship program helps diversify the talent pipeline for our organization. It’s important not to rely solely on LinkedIn postings and internal referrals when searching for potential new hires. If you aren’t offering an internship program, you may be missing out on a valuable talent pool. 

Perhaps most importantly, I fully believe that running an internship program is a great way to give back to the community. Most internships are focused on providing local college students with an opportunity to learn about business. This is how many future business leaders get their start much like my first internship gave me my mine. Rice Cohen is deeply passionate about giving back to the community. In fact it is part of our mission statement:

“Rice Cohen International is a recognized leader in providing executive search and human resource solutions. Our mission is to be the executive search provider of choice, measured by the value we deliver to our clients, our spirit as an organization and our commitment to the community. To make this vision a reality, we live by certain core values – Client Service, Performance, Specialization, Integrity, Partnerships, Teamwork and Community Service.”

If your organization is thinking about starting an internship program, I strongly encourage you to do so. The benefits are numerous to your organization and it most importantly is an opportunity to give back by teaching and inspiring current students and the future workforce. 

Douglas De Almo

Managing Partner

ddealmo@ricecohen.com

Michael Daigle

Senior Researcher

mdaigle@ricecohen.com