Interns Want More But Give More
Internship programs are probably more popular now than ever, and for good reason. Although today's interns look quite a bit different than the interns of previous decades (think tattoos and body piercing), today's interns are also better prepared.
"They know how to use all the electronic gadgets, which makes them better prepared in many ways than interns of the past," says Jan Nicholson, director of talent acquisition for Mellon Bank. "The culture is business casual, but they'll take that to the extreme. Many of them are tattooed and pierced and all those things. But they are who they are. They come in and hit the ground running, so you kind of put up with some of that stuff."
Although Nicholson has noticed that interns are more relucant to take on the menial jobs that stereotypically were the domain of interns in previous decades, he also says that interns of today are significantly better qualified than interns of previous decades, in large part because today's interns are so sophisticated with the technology tools that confuse their Baby Boomer managers.
"People worry about the youth of the nation, but I think we're in good shape," says Nicholson. "I think they'll be great."
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Campus Career Counselor.
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