Hunter needs a better way to retain top interns to ensure the future skill set of the company. The document provides several ideas to improve intern retention: 1) ensure interns have a robust experience with real projects and access to executives; 2) create an ongoing community for interns beyond the summer; and 3) follow and stay engaged with interns until graduation by allowing participation in future events and connecting them with mentors. Additional ideas include tapping interns as ambassadors at their schools and setting aside jobs each year for new graduates with non-traditional signing bonuses.

1. Ideate
Ideas placed in to common themes

2. Problem Statement
Hunter needs a better way to retain top interns
because the future of her company requires an
emerging skill set.
Insights: Many companies are struggling with this problem; if you
can’t attract younger talent, where is your company’s future?;
Culture fit is increasingly more important.

3. Ensure interns have a robust experience during
their internship:
• Real accountability and projects throughout
internship
• Meet with execs
• Brown bags with subject matter experts
• Access to forward thinking business
opportunities (product development, strategy
shifts etc..)
• Tickets to related events (i.e. Design Night)

4. Create a community among the interns that
extends beyond the summer
• Host networking events in key locations
throughout the year
• Set up Skype, Google hangout, or Facebook
groups
• Give references on their LinkedIn profile

5. Follow and stay engaged with interns until
graduation.
• Allow interns to be a part of user research
opportunities post-internship
• Hook an intern up with a mentor at the
company to stay connected for their final year
of school
• Invite back for known events (i.e. annual user
conference)

6. Tap interns to represent the company when they
go back to their respective schools
• Make them official ‘ambassadors’ of the company at their
schools
• Enable them to teach a course (provide tools, coaching etc)
• Support them in crafting a recap presentation to their
department, professor etc..
• Represent the company at a job fair or University Recruiting
event
• Represent the company in social media vehicles
• Allow interns to make referrals for future interns and give
them a ‘bonus’ if one of their referrals is hired
• Recognize and rewards these ‘ambassadors’ based on their
progress..uplevel their rock star status

7. Set aside X% of jobs per year for new grads
• Assess average age of company to date
• Get exec buy-in to change the average age to X
over a period of X years
• Research and compare new hire packages of
other companies
• Identify a role in each organization that could be
filled by a new grad and draft a job description
for it as a template (cannot say ‘requires 5 years
experience etc..)

8. Make offers in advance of graduation and make-
over the offer package
• Extend offer prior to last semester of school
• Offer non-traditional signing bonus’
– First/last month rent
– First three months of student loan payments
– Extra vacation days (see makeation)
– Complimentary memberships (i.e. TechShop, personal training)
• Enrollment in on-boarding curriculum
• Offer third-party transition counseling/career coaching to
students entering the workforce for the first time
• ‘Makeation’ rather than a vacation or sabbatical –
opportunity to work on project of interest in first X years
• Overseas assignment within first X years

9. Summary
• Most Practical Idea: Follow and stay engaged with interns until graduation
– Why: makes them feel like they are employed already and they build a sense
of loyalty to company over other potential offers that may come in at a later
date
• Most Disruptive Idea: Get exec buy-in to change the average age to X over
a period of X years
– Why: could be viewed as reverse age discrimination but based on the
assumption that youth represents new skill sets in a company that has been
around for 30+ years
• Your Favorite Idea: Tap interns to represent the company when they go
back to their respective schools.
– Why: A dress rehearsal for the real world and gives them a sense of autonomy,
build trust, and gives them a platform of status