New York Summer Intern Activities

It’s the middle of May, which for many companies here in NYC and elsewhere means that summer associates and interns will soon be joining the ranks alongside your permanent staff. For those who have been tasked with recruiting these temporary hires and developing a program curriculum for the summer months, I salute you – it’s no easy task!

HR directors, intern coordinators, summer associate managers and other professionals like yourself are expected to take a disparate group of eager young people – often hailing from far and wide with little to no prior experience in a professional office environment (or New York City, for that matter) – and make sure that they have a highly educational, meaningful and enjoyable experience within your firm. And fewer moments of the session are as critical for setting the tone of the summer as the orientation.

Let’s fast-forward to arrival day: you may have anywhere from 20 to 200 bright-eyed, extremely smart students in the auditorium, staring back at you with anticipation as you walk them through what to expect over the coming weeks and months. What are the most important elements you need to convey?

Having worked with many groups such as these during many years producing summer associate & intern corporate entertainment activities in NYC, often right at the crucial moment when summer staff arrives, I would suggest keeping the following 3 recommendations at top of mind during your planning:

1.         Keep it as brief as possible – Yes, there is a tremendous amount of material to go through; yes, there will be a lot of questions asked. However, this group has been looking forward to this summer for a long time, and is eager to get underway in their new city – not to mention they’re also likely distracted, as well as tired. In order to start off on the right foot, resist the temptation to cover absolutely every single issue, item or contingency during orientation; you can always refer them to the Intranet for specific questions/concerns, or let them know that you are available afterwards.

2.         Do something social – Anything at all, just make sure you do SOMETHING. These people likely don’t know each other from Adam, and may be a bit intimidated. Have at least 1 structured event which is designed to be purely social, and which will allow people to mix, mingle and get to know each other – making sure, of course, that the activity is firmly in line with your corporate culture (If you will allow a note from my personal experience, I recall my first day of graduate school: we had 2 back-to-back orientation meetings, and then were “dismissed.” No social period, no icebreaker, no nothing. It was a real let-down, and I never forgot that).

3.         Get them fired up – There is no greater opportunity than the orientation meeting to truly set a positive tone for the experience to come for your summer hires: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT! Don’t make orientation it a long & boring presentation which is all about firm history, schedules, and codes of conduct; I’ve seen T-shirts made, rousing speeches given, scavenger hunts, pizza parties, funny videos, prizes, surprises, you name it. Just whatever you do, make it high-energy and motivating!

However you structure your orientation, do your very best to incorporate the above 3 elements.

Trust me, they’ll appreciate it.

Any thoughts/suggestions on how to companies in NYC and elsewhere can optimize the orientation for their summer associates and interns? Please leave your comments below!