Whether your business is large or small, defense contracting, information technology contracting, cybersecurity or even intelligence analysis, if you have a big vision for the future and you’re bold enough to try something a little different for potentially great payoff—not just fiscal dividends, but human dividends—then start re-thinking how you can redefine and leverage internships.
TO COLLEGE, AND BEYOND
While most large businesses wait for interns to come to them, Entrepreneur Magazine contributor Mike Kappel – like most entrepreneurs – reverses that approach to gain advantage. Kappel writes, “If you feel stumped on where to recruit, go to college. . . . you can find top talent at local schools. And they could end up being your right-hand man or woman someday.” Imagine where this approach could take Kappel and his business. Conceivably, Kappel’s establishing long-term partnerships with career counselors at the colleges and universities he frequents, relationships that could very well become pipelines for talent to his small business Patriot Software.
And it’s not just about mining the apparently “superstar” students at the top of their class. Talent and ingenuity cannot always be easily measured. With the right relationship building, career counselors may see unique talent that’s a bad fit for college but that’s a perfect fit for a particular business. Think about those kids in college who decide it’s just not for them and choose to drop out. They could be future failures. Or they could be diamonds in the rough. Remember Michael Dell? Steve Jobs? Bill Gates? Evan Williams? They all dropped out of college before they reached 21.
OPPORTUNITY YOUTH
By extension, don’t forget those Opportunity Youths too many may give up on. There’s an immense pool of interns waiting for a chance. There’s that kid whose parents (or parent) just couldn’t afford higher education. Then there’s that guy who couldn’t even speak until he was four years old. His teachers found him lazy and quite unimpressive. Or the kid who was told he was just too short for basketball. Yes, I’m talking about Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Michael Jordan.
Now think about the thousands and thousands we’ve never heard of who faced even greater challenges and obstacles yet ended up succeeding beyond all expectations. As Kappel points out himself, “Internship programs are a way for companies to bring in new and promising talent, see how well they do, and possibly extend a job offer to them.” Kappel’s stopping short, however. He should be thinking that internships are a way to bring in the apparently not-so-promising talent. You can see how they do, too. You’d be surprised.
If you seek spectacular successes for your small business, or large, step out of the traditional mindsets about hiring and internships and make some magic happen.
