Trying to decide if an HR internship might be worth your while? Hear from the following interns:
Let's dive in!
Note: If you need a refresh on what HR means, check out What in the world is HR? A guide for students.
The interns at Barnes and Noble and the non-profit were mainly responsible for hiring and onboarding new staff.
I had an HR internship at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on campus. It was pretty dynamic. We had high turnover since it was many students' first job, and they'd often move on to other opportunities.
Here's a breakdown of my main responsibilities:
About 50% of my time was spent on hiring new employees. This involved:
- Using Workday (an HR tool) to collect and screen resumes. I could filter for specific skills like retail experience or communication skills.
- Conducting interviews with potential candidates. I'd ask about their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations.
- Discussing candidates with my manager to decide if they'd be a good fit for the bookstore.
- Sending out job offers and handling new-hire paperwork. This included things like I-9 forms to verify eligibility to work in the US.
Another 20% was dedicated to onboarding and training new hires. This included:
- Teaching new employees how to use the cash registers and greet customers.
- Being a welcoming resource for new staff. I enjoyed helping nervous new employees feel more comfortable in their roles!
The remaining 30% involved various administrative tasks:
- Filing personnel paperwork and making sure all files were in alphabetical order.
- Purging unnecessary paperwork to keep our filing system efficient.
– HR intern @ Barnes & Noble
I interned at a non-profit organization focused on ocean clean-ups.
The organization operates with a fellowship model, where fellows oversee different departments like grant writing and business administration. The first 1-2 weeks were spent shadowing the fellows. I sat in on interviews they conducted, learning the ropes. Once they felt confident in my abilities, I was allowed to work independently, with weekly check-ins.
My role primarily involved supporting the recruitment process. Here's a breakdown of my responsibilities:
- Resume screening: We had a high volume of applicants, so this was crucial. We'd first consult with department heads about their needs, then review resumes to see who in the applicant pool had relevant experience and skills.
- Conducting interviews: We'd schedule about 30-40 interviews per week, of which I personally conducted 10-15. We had a standard list of questions, but they varied based on the role. For example, computer science roles would focus on relevant project experience. We always asked about their knowledge of our organization to gauge their interest and enthusiasm.
- Onboarding and offboarding: This was where I spent the majority of my time. For new hires, I'd prepare and send out onboarding documents, set up their email accounts, and organize everything into folders. For offboarding, I ensured all the correct paperwork was sent out. I would use Canva to design internship completion certificates for our departing interns.
– HR intern @ non-profit
On the other hand, the hedge fund intern did not touch hiring at all.
I'm currently doing an HR internship at a hedge fund in New York City. For context, hedge funds handle large-scale investments, and many of the employees here are traders who buy and sell stocks on a daily basis. It's a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
The internship is in-person, which means I commute to NYC every day. While it can be tiring, face-to-face interaction is really valuable in this role. Here's a breakdown of my main responsibilities:
- Shadowing: This is a big part of my job. I shadow my manager during the onboarding process, learning how to handle sensitive information like I-9 forms, passports, and social security numbers. We store this information securely where other employees can't access it.
- Immigration support: We have many international employees, so I make sure their work visas aren't expiring anytime soon.
- Maintaining the company intranet: This is our internal database that includes a directory of all employees across our global offices (we have locations in Dubai, Singapore, London, and more). I update information like employee locations, headshots, contact details, and company events. If an employee's missing information (like a headshot), I'll remind them to upload it.
- Excel work: A lot of my tasks involve Excel. I organize and clean up spreadsheets, updating headcounts as employees join or leave the company. We recently grew from 500 to 550 employees, so keeping these records accurate is crucial.
- Payroll for other interns: I handle the time sheets for all the interns. We record our hours worked and lunch breaks. I compile these into a folder and send them to the payroll administrator. This involves handling sensitive information, so confidentiality is key.
- Event planning: I help set up company events like charity drives, volleyball games, and 5K runs.
One thing to note is that I don't handle any recruiting or interviewing - that's managed by the business development department.
– HR intern @ hedge fund
It was a great learning experience. While it was unpaid, it was one of the best internships I've had, since it taught me every aspect of HR in one summer. I also had a part-time job to support myself financially.
– HR intern @ non-profit
This was my first experience working in HR. I realized that I loved interviewing people and getting to know a lot of people from different backgrounds. For example, I got to meet people outside of my major.
I also realized I like HR because we're a central unit of an organization. When an employee needs help or they want to feel welcome, HR is the person they go to.
– HR intern @ Barnes & Noble
Through this internship, I learned that HR interests me because I get to meet and talk to people on a day-to-day basis. For example, I meet a lot more employees than the trading interns who just focus on their work all day and don't talk to people except during lunch.
– HR intern @ hedge fund
The internship really set the foundation for my career. I had to do a lot of tedious work like making sure paperwork was in alphabetical order, making sure the necessary paperwork was filled in, and if there was any paperwork missing, I had to track the person down to get them to fill it out. All of this helped strengthen my attention to detail, which is necessary as you move up in your career.
My internship also helped me to be a better public speaker, because I had to help onboard groups of 10-15 people.
– HR intern @ Barnes & Noble
My internship made me more organized and able to handle pressure. It can get overwhelming if six people are emailing me to do something at once. If there's a lot I need to be doing throughout the week, I make a to-do list to see what I should do first. Staying calm and under control is important.
– HR intern @ hedge fund
Head on over to How to break into HR as a student.
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