Double Down on Diversity with the Power of Internships

The Talent Revolution

Notes from Tom:

What are the keys to creating diverse organizations? How do you hire diverse candidates when your current team doesn't reflect the future you want to build? I asked these questions and more to Esther Odejimi-Uzokwe of 10,000 Black Interns (also known as, 10KBI). Esther shared her story as well as insights from personal experiences and those she's developed over time working in the social impact space as the Executive Program Director at 10KBI.

For Esther, if a company talks about Diversity & Inclusion but doesn’t have a single Black person in management, it’s a sign of an organization that’s all talk and no action. She and many others are actively uninterested in seeking positions at organizations with all-white leadership.

So how can companies who have struggled to increase their ethnic diversity convince candidates that their efforts are genuine?

It all comes down to visibility and mentorship. Make everyone feel welcome and appreciated, and perform routine gut-checks internally to ensure that people are getting promoted at the same rate.

Where does that leadership begin? Internships. 10KBI is an organization which helps organizations hire Black interns in an effort to create equality amongst businesses who are working to become more diverse.

The key is to consider the internship an investment in your long-term recruitment strategy, not as free (or even cheap) labor.

Here are some tips Esther shared on the hallmarks of a successful internship program:

- Pay market rates: Pro-rate a junior-level salary for the length of the internship. 10KBI recommends a minimum timeframe of six weeks, but these programs can be extended and adapted to fit your interns’ schedules.
- Identify your target: 10KBI works exclusively with univeristy students, but not all jobs in knowledge work truly require a degree, so think carefully about the requirements of the role you’re training people for. You may be able to broaden your pool beyond the universities.
- Size doesn’t matter: You don’t have to reach a certain size to hire interns. Some companies who have partnered with 10KBI only have five permanent employees.
- Maintain a talent pipeline: You might even opt to provide additional training to promising interns who aren’t yet qualified for a full-time job offer. (This is also a fantastic way to improve your reputation as an employer—more on this below.)
- Provide feedback: Offer up feedback at the end of an internship, whether you hire your interns or not. Quality of experience is crucial for your employer brand, even for temporary team members.

Treating your interns and candidates well, whether you hire them on or not, is essentially free marketing. Above and beyond one-on-one conversations, candidates are leaving reviews on platforms like Glassdoor about their experience with you.

In a world where your reputation is just a Google search away, it pays to make a good impression at every opportunity. From the first application to the exit interview, people will share their experiences.

Attracting younger workers requires a different strategy than well-established firms are used to. They’re interviewing you as much as you’re interviewing them. They want to know what they have to gain from working at a company. Will they leave better off than they arrived, in terms of work experience or quality of life?

Esther calls this new wave of workers “generation side hustle,” because everyone is doing something outside of their day job. A job that promises a big salary but no quality of life doesn’t have the same appeal it once did.

Young workers want to know what’s in it for them—and it better be more than a paycheck.

Mentioned in this episode:

10,000 Black Interns

See Also:

TTR, Episode 2 - You’re Not a Billion-Dollar Tech Giant so Don’t Recruit Like Them
TTR, Episode 3 - Why Employee Experience Matters (and What To Do About It)