From Karen’s Plate: Summer Interns
I’ve been thinking a lot about internships this summer. Just as the season started, the Department of Labor issued new rules that could hinder how companies hire interns. Then, I wrote about the importance of internships, explaining that they are “vital as vehicles for helping the next generation integrate into the social network of an entrepreneurial culture.”
My friend Karen Caplan, CEO and President of the specialty produce company Frieda’s Inc., took on three new iterns this summer and recently shared her experience on her blog. She couldn’t speak more highly of the experience:
No matter how small (or large) your company is, I highly recommend having student interns. What a great way to give back…and for students to get real world experience.
Karen is absolutely right. Internships give role models (such as Karen and her staff), as well as access to the specialized language and industry knowledge that is so critical to launching into adulthood. For young people they are essential and for the people that make up companies they are a way of giving back, of sharing their human capital.
Read the post in its entirety on Karen’s blog, including insights from each of her three interns about what they learned or share your own experiences below.