Well, that escalated quickly.
And by “that,” I mean COVID-19 numbers. Back in March, expectations for July frequently involved tentatively returning to work on modified schedules, taking socially distanced vacations, and getting ready for back-to-actual school. So, okay, that didn’t happen. For a lot of reasons, it didn’t happen, and now a lot of agencies that prepared for short-term remote work are facing the reality of a much, much longer term. A lot of agencies are making decisions about what the future will look like, which of their workarounds are going to have to become permanent, what will have to stay and what will have to go. It’s a wide-scale Marie Kondoing of the entire industry, and some agencies are deciding that their internship programs don’t spark joy.
Please, please do not thank your internship program for being a part of your life and then chuck it in the trash. Those programs spark joy — like, crucial, required-for-graduation joy — for a lot of people. Internships are an important part of an advertising student’s curriculum — they offer important real-world experience, give students real work to put in their portfolios, and (let’s be honest here) provide cheap labor for overburdened agency professionals. They also provide college credits, and in a world where programs still require some kind of internship, programs that haven’t been canceled are in high demand.
Don’t give up.
I know money is tight. I know things are still chaotic right now with your office’s new way of working. But you don’t have to ditch your internship program just because it. In fact, I’ll go so far as to ask you to please not ditch your internship program. Students need it — and if you think about it, real-world experience in the industry’s new normal is more valuable than ever — and with a few adjustments, you can offer a meaningful internship experience even as the world around us crumbles. In fact:
This is actually a great time to figure out your internship program.
It’s great because you’re figuring out everything else already. Nothing is entirely sorted — you probably didn’t expect this to be a long-term thing when you were developing your ad hoc remote work strategy four months ago — so as you shake everything into place, shake that program along with it. It’s a little bit of extra work, but it’s not that much extra work, because whether you’re figuring out all-office procedure or just focusing on this one program, you should:
Consider the reasons you do things, not just the things you do.
We have habits. We have The Way It’s Always Been Done. Those two things tend to stand in the way of progress. We have “15-minute” morning meetings. We sign out and back in at lunch. We… like, use phones. But why? If that morning meeting is to make sure everyone is up-to-date on the status of each project, then sharing a chart and making a Slack channel for people to report their status accomplishes the same thing, without a whole big meeting about it. Even if that’s how it’s always been done (If you only have that meeting every morning to make people come in to work on time, that’s kind of schmucky. There are better ways to do that than waste, realistically, half an hour of everyone’s time.)
(Yes, I do feel better having that off my chest, thanks.)
Similarly, consider why you have your intern organize old client files on your chaotic hard drive, or proofread copy, or create mock campaigns, or sit it on meetings, or assemble a hundred media kits, or whatever else you have your intern do. Is it to get them accustomed to agency life? Introduce them to various elements of their job? Test their knowledge and/or talent? Get scut work out of them? (Also a valid element of a comprehensive internship program, ftr). You’re in the process of figuring out how to virtualize agency life, manage the elements of your job, apply knowledge and talent in a remote environment, and perform scutty tasks. As you proceed through that process, also give a thought to how an intern could be a part of that. After, all:
Remember that work can be done remote(ly).
I mean, yes, that seems obvious, but it’s a sticking point for a lot of agencies as they considering ditching their internship programs: What would an intern even do? Well, hell, what do you do? The work you’re doing at home because it can be done at home is likely similar to work an intern could be doing at home. Writing blog posts and social media posts, sitting in on Zoom meetings, calling a dozen media outlets to pitch some big announcement for your client? Your intern can do those things from home, too. They can even do that precious, precious scut work, which is good, because:
It can be nice to have extra hands while you’re going through a transition.
Did you frantically dump all your files onto a cloud service on your way out the door in March with no system of organization? Have you still not figured out all the features of your new project management system? Those are things — boring things, but still things — an intern could take care of for you. Of course, it shouldn’t be a major component of their internship — it’s supposed to be academically beneficial and give them a taste of agency life. But agency life for a newbie frequently involves deeply boring stuff, and there’s no reason not to throw just a tiny bit of that in with their internship.
Don’t give up on your interns. They definitely, definitely definitely — like, so definitely — definitely not given up you.
Ways to make your new, virtual internship program work
Now that I’ve singlehandedly convinced you to give a virtual internship program a chance, here are some tips for making it beneficial and productive for everyone.
Keep educational objectives in mind.
Always a good idea, of course, but remember that your intern probably has some key points to hit in order to earn college credit for their internship. And that’s good! It ensures that they learn something, and it keeps you from making them do whatever the virtual equivalent of fetching coffee is all day. Start out by reviewing those objectives, and make sure they’re satisfied by the end of the internship.
Schedule regular calls with mentors.
Those calls can be actual phone calls or just Zoom meetings, but put aside fifteen minutes at least a couple of times a week for the intern to check in, ask questions, or even just vent a little to someone who knows what they’re talking about. Your intern doesn’t have the opportunity to poke their head in your office right quick if they need advice, so making that contact gives the an opportunity to get information they need. And since you don’t have the opportunity to look over their shoulder and check their work, the calls give you an opportunity to check their progress.
Be sure to include the interns in any office (“office”) activities.
Whether it’s an all-hands meeting or a virtual Happy Hour, make sure you don’t forget to invite the interns. An important part of an internship is getting a taste of real-world agency life, and meetings and social gatherings are a part of that. Feeling like they’re a part of the team also makes the intern more likely to communicate with you, and can ameliorate some of the stress and loneliness associated with long-term isolation.
Remember that your interns might not have a lot of gear.
Because they’re so early in their career, your intern probably doesn’t have access to the kind of gear you have in your office-turned-into-home-office. If what they’ll be doing is writing blog posts and social media posts or returning client emails, they’ll probably be okay. But if they’re going to be doing any art or video that requires heavy processing, their home hardware might be up for it. Distribute their assignments accordingly. Or, hell, if you’re able, distribute your technology (you weren’t using the Shitty Intern Computer anyway). And hook them up with access to your Creative Cloud account for the duration of the internship. I mean, c’mon.
Welcome to the future.
This is a new world, y’all. It might not be one we wanted — it’s definitely not one we wanted — but it’s the one we’ve got, and we have to adapt to it. New ways of doing things aren’t inherently bad — they’re just new. And this new way of managing your internship program is similarly not inherently bad. It could even be — stay with me here — good.
And remember that however hard things are for you, professionally speaking, they’re even harder for a kid about to graduate into a shitty job market in a shitty economy, and oh right also there’s a pandemic. Whatever you can do to make their life a little bit better will come back to you in… good karma or something. A warm, fuzzy feeling, at least, and who doesn’t appreciate one of those?