diana pressey

Many workplaces have high turnover rates when it comes to interns and entry-level talent. As a student with three past internships who has worked at roughly 7 different companies, I can attest: There are only a couple of them that I would even consider staying at full-time. 

Losing employees isn’t just inconvenient—it’s also expensive. Some companies have cyclical internship programs, looking to interns as a rotational source of never-ending cheap labor. These companies might care a lot less about losing them, but this can be a major oversight.

Interns are an opportunity to recruit loyal, long-term talent who fit in well with the organizations they serve. Despite this, many companies let us slip through the cracks. 

Here are 5 top mistakes companies make that reduce retention of strong entry-level talent:

Overworking and underpaying

Companies that don’t pay their interns enough tend to give the impression that they don’t value their work enough to compensate it. They treat internships as a source of cheap or free labor, often paying interns less than minimum wage or even not at all.

Without adequate incentives besides “learn new skills”, interns are less likely to put full effort in. New skills don’t pay the bills. By shortchanging interns, companies shortchange themselves. I don’t know how high-quality these companies think the work will be if they aren’t paying for it. But often, this practice goes hand in hand with…

Only offering grunt work and delegating no real responsibility

A lot of internships entail doing the work that no one else wants to do. To an extent, this builds character and can even build skills, if the grunt work is closely related to the internship industry. But when an internship or job is all drudgery and no responsibility, it leads to burnout and negative associations with the job.

The most beneficial internships combine grunt work with professional responsibility. Companies should give their interns the opportunity to drive results. My first one was the perfect example of this. I had to draft analytic and pay reports, but I also got the chance to manage a contributor network, Facebook page, and newsletter, among other responsibilities. If I hadn’t moved away from Utah to attend UNC, I would’ve loved to stay and work there after graduation.

Neglecting feedback—both giving and receiving

A feedback loop built on honesty and trust is key to retaining top talent. The best interns are critical thinkers who actively assess situations and consider potential improvements. Likewise, the best managers do the same to interns, encouraging them to learn from mistakes for lasting growth.

When interns and managers have proper avenues to provide feedback, internship programs develop higher growth potential. I’m one of those who will offer unsolicited constructive criticism over email, regardless of whether these avenues exist, but many interns don’t feel as confident in their ability to communicate without overstepping. This is especially true if managers don’t provide feedback.

Overlooking the value of mentorship

I wrote recently about lacking a mentor in most of my jobs, which doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Sometimes, you’re your own mentor. However, interns usually require some degree of guidance, especially early on. I’ve had to learn the ropes on my own several times, and while I appreciate the experience with a steep learning curve, mentorship can be incredibly beneficial.

Women, in particular, report higher job satisfaction when they have strong mentors, who are sadly in short supply. Most internships and entry-level jobs are more likely to reduce turnover if they establish a healthy balance of mentorship, collaboration, and independent work.

Ignoring the importance of company culture

This is probably the most important factor, in my experience (though I know I’m not alone). Aside from pay, whether or not I’ve stayed at each of my workplaces has depended almost entirely on company culture. When a culture is friendly and welcoming, interns are more motivated to stay. Values play into this a lot. I want to work at a company that emphasizes authenticity, empathy, camaraderie, and creativity while challenging me and pushing me to grow.

It’s easier to describe these values than to actually incorporate them into a company culture. But even thinking about culture and how interns experience it is a good start. I’ve worked at an internship where interns and full-time employees were physically and figuratively separated, with minimal interaction. Further, there was no attempt to ensure that interns were getting anything out of the experience beyond portfolio work. I would’ve loved to get to know the people who worked there better, but the culture didn’t welcome it.

In retrospect, I wish I’d built up the energy to network harder and build stronger relationships despite the barriers I felt. I blame myself for taking on too many responsibilities at once, but I also believe that the culture played an integral role. If I had felt more welcomed to the family, I would’ve been a lot more willing to stay, intern for longer, and join the team full time. Instead, I and other interns felt like we were on the outside looking in, so we left as soon as we could.