Human Resources Internships An Overview
Many recent graduates and current working students apply for human resources internships. These high school and college internships provide students with excellent work experience as well as exposure to various facets of what working in human resources entail, all while being a student.
Companies that offer human resources internships include all types of firms, such as industrial, customer service, technology, staffing firms, etc. Any time there are hiring needs, large enough companies will have their human resources department handle the screening of candidates. The human resources personnel will be responsible for posting the job opening, filtering qualified candidates, and forwarding the remaining applicants to the hiring manager for interviews. As a human resources intern, you will be assisting the HR department with this process.
Typical Salary for Human Resources Internships
The average salary for human resources internships can vary depending on a number of factors such as duration, location, and company. Paid internships in human resources can vary anywhere between a small stipend of a few hundred dollars to $10-$15 an hour. However, there are also unpaid human resources internships. This is the case for those applicants who are more interested in the work experience and are getting school credit for the internship. Many large and well-known companies that are leaders in their ventures offer internships with work stipend as the wage for their interns.
Summer Human Resources Internships
Since most interns are typically students in college, summer break is a typical period internship application. It is important to apply for summer human resources internships during the fall semester/quarter, as many companies begin their hiring process at that time. Although most companies prefer full-time employees over part-timers, interns are easily hired among a wide selection of applicants because of their lower rates and their potential to becoming a trained full-time employee upon graduation. Many companies offer internship programs varying from three months to five months while others can go as long as a school year or more, depending on the intern’s performance.
Benefits of Doing Human Resources Internships
Students choose human resources internships for a number of reasons. First, the human resources department is the most appropriate venue for the applicants to learn basic company rules and regulations as well as standard operating procedures that can be useful for the interns in the future, especially if they plan pursuing a career in human resources upon graduation. Second, most applicants gain knowledge and experience in the hiring process utilized by the HR managers in selecting applicants. This gives the interns a general idea on what are the standards and qualities that most HR managers prefer. Third, human resources internships can help the intern easily learn the basics of the labor code that is very essential in their future careers in human resources. Proper interpretations on the provisions can be best observed in the actual working places. Lastly, the applicant may gain advantages if he/she wishes to work someday for other positions in the same company. If the intern decides not to pursue human resources as a career path, there is a good chance that the company offers other positions and would be more inclined to hire a candidate that has worked for them before. Given the above benefits, high school and college students interested in human resources would greatly benefit from obtaining a human resources internship, especially while they are still in school.
While some interns may need to brew a cup of coffee every now and then, human resources internships provide great work experience and give the intern a chance to work with professionals in their field. Human resources internships are not just about being an assistant in the hiring process, but more importantly, it is about getting that invaluable first-handed experience in the professional workplace.
A great place to start your search for human resources internships are websites like Indeed.com, Careerbuilder.com, and Monster.com.
You may also be interested in one of these companies that offer human resources internships:
By Diane Barlow