Tips and tricks for hiring an intern.

Updated April, 2026

Hiring an intern is a smart business move. Whether you are a nonprofit with limited resources, a small business looking to grow, or an established organization in need of a talent pipeline, student interns are a great source of fresh ideas and in-demand skills that won’t break your budget. But finding and hiring the right intern—one who can get the job done effectively and efficiently—may seem like a daunting task.

But it doesn’t have to be. Below, we’ll share five tips and tricks to help you hire an intern so you can achieve your organizational goals.

1. Focus on what you want to accomplish.

Before you can find the right intern for your organization, you need to know what it is that you want them to accomplish. This will help you hire someone who has the skills and experience required for the role. For example, if you need assistance writing a series of blog posts, then you’ll want to hire an intern who understands content marketing, has strong written communication skills, and is somewhat familiar with web publishing platforms like WordPress. That way, you’ll be able to achieve your goals efficiently, saving time and money, since you won’t have to spend as much time training the intern.

‍2. Be prepared to mentor your intern.

It's important to remember that interns are there to learn and grow, and for many, this may be their first experience working in a professional environment. So you’ll need to take the time to explain your organization’s culture, workplace expectations, and goals to make sure everyone is on the same page. A good mentor will meet with students throughout their internships, with more frequency at the beginning to help them navigate their first few months on the job. Later on, mentors can answer questions about the industry and career growth opportunities so interns can evaluate whether this path is a good fit for them.

3. Build a network.

As their manager, you’ll be the primary point of contact for your intern. But you may not always be available to answer questions, or your intern may need assistance from other employees in your organization to complete their work. Perhaps you are out of the office on a business trip, or your intern requires information from your product development team to write a new product blog. By building a support network for your intern, you’ll enable them to be more efficient and successful. It will also help students build a professional network to tap into when the time comes for them to look for a full-time job. .    

4. Consider hybrid or remote work.

While some internships may require interns to work in a specific location, such as a retail store or a lab, others include tasks that can be performed virtually. Writing blogs, for example, can be done anywhere. So, depending on what you want your intern to accomplish, consider offering a hybrid or remote internship. It’s a great selling point for busy students, who are juggling school, jobs, and family obligations. And in today’s world, students are adept with technology tools like Zoom for video conferencing and Google Drive for shared documents.    

5. Leverage technology for recruiting.

Technology platforms can be tremendously useful for finding interns. Social media platforms like LinkedIn allow you to post job descriptions, share open roles with your networks, and identify candidates with specific skills. And work-based learning (WBL) platforms such as Riipen provide turnkey intern hiring solutions, connecting employers with educators and student talent for internships and real-world projects. Some WBL solutions even provide helpful templates for creating internship job descriptions, promote open roles to thousands of talented students, and enable employers to vet candidates within the platform so they don’t have to manage multiple job board listings.  

At first glance, hiring an intern may seem challenging, but these tips and tricks will help streamline the process so you can accomplish your goals. For more information and resources on student internships, visit the Riipen Academy.

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About the author:

Jennifer Lussier is a bilingual Content Marketing Specialist based in Montreal, QC. With a multidisciplinary background and a desire to accomplish more for the betterment of society, she joined Riipen in 2019 as an Academic Account Manager and has since migrated to the marketing team as it is more closely aligned with her interests and expertise.

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