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What We Can Learn From Our Interns

kronos intern google chatToday I had the pleasure of watching a number of our summer interns deliver presentations on what they'd learned from their time at Kronos.  When people in organizations (that take internships seriously) think about intern programs, they're thinking about how to make the experience valuable for the interns.  Can we give them meaty enough projects?  Can we give them enough management attention to ensure that they're learning something from their time at the company?  Will they learn enough to make their time at our organization meaningful to them?

Listening to our interns speak this morning during their end-of-program presentations reminded me that those of us who've been working for a while can learn a thing or two from them.  Here are 3 of the recurring themes I heard this morning that we can all learn from when it comes to bettering our work lives:

  1. When you have a learner's mindset, you do better work.  The interns know they're here to learn.  They're not afraid to ask for help or do the research to familiarize themselves with a new topic.  They're excited about acquiring new skills - and that in turn makes them more valuable in the market.
  2. Teamwork will drive better results.  Most of the interns this morning mentioned that they learned how to be part of a team in a corporate environment.  They assumed they needed teamwork to be successful, and were proud of the results they produced through teamwork.
  3. Job fit is a two way street.  Not every intern here this summer loved every assignment.  Conversely, several mentioned that they'd gained new insights about career paths they'd never considered, but are now actively exploring.  They are trying on different roles and actively deciding what type of work and what type of company will provide job satisfaction.  They don't think of themselves as shackled to a particular functional area or employer.

We've hired a number of our summer interns in past years, and will be doing so again this year.  I look forward to benefiting from the fresh outlook and energy they add to our team.

Relevant Links:

2014 Kronos interns talking about their experience

Internships: Insight Into the Future (post by one of our 2013 interns who is now a Kronos employee)

The Kids are Alright (post from Katie McKenna, pictured above and one of our 2014 interns)

 

 

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