In a previous post, I talked about how former interns helped employers to recruit new interns. The number one method was word-of-mouth. This method generally holds true for recruiting interns and entry-level employees. But word-of-mouth alone isn't enough. When our experts were asked what recruiting methods worked best for them. Here's how they responded.

"The most prosperous method of hiring interns is going directly to the local schools' career centers. Here we either post an internship on their career page, or we contact the staff directly to get prime candidates. This works well because it is a more personal approach to getting well-qualified candidates for our internships," said Chrissy Glover, intern recruiter for Scottrade.

Maureen Buehler, global manager for Autodesk Global University Programs, likes using the Internet. "Online recruiting tools have become a strategic supplement to other recruiting methods such as career fairs and company presentations. The trend towards capturing students' attention is to take an interest in students on an individual level. One way Autodesk is supporting this is through our Student Engineering and Design Community, a web destination where students can download free Autodesk design software, share designs, and connect with other students and faculty. Autodesk offers an internship listing forum for companies offering internships in games and animation, industrial design, architucture, mechanical engineering, and civil engineering. Autodesk uses the site to post its own internship listings as well, hiring for postings ranging from marketing to software engineering.

For JAKKS Pacific HR Director, Elsa Morgan, "The all time best recruiting method is an employee referral. When an employee can refer someone they know, there is some accountability that is associated with the position which helps bring in very qualified and valuable candidates."

Katie Layous, internship coordinator for the Art Institute of California-San Francisco, gives the school's side of this equation: "Our school has many strong relationships built with employers around the Bay area. We have our staple companies that have interns with us forever, but are always looking for new places that need interns. Career web sites and job boards, along with professional association networking, are two great ways for companies to find great interns. Many times students are able to find internships by cold calling. I also hold job fairs for on campus recruitment of internship opportunities, where students and companies can connect."

Finally, Keyla Cabret, university relations supervisor for Alflac described Aflac's way of doing things. "We have several methods for recruiting, with word-of-mouth being a high priorty. We also publicize through postings, company presentation, academic relations, involvement in student industry specific orgainzations, scholarships, and just good old on campus presence has been helpful for Aflac. We tend to be flexible to the action plan depending on the area (division of the company) that we are recruiting for and the major we are trying to attract."

There are many ways for employers to bring in the best and brightest for their internship programs, but it seems "through the grape vine" still holds the top spot for many of them.