This year’s class of summer interns at The Riverside Company comprised nearly 40 talented students representing dozens of universities contributing at our offices across the country. The energy, ideas and enthusiasm they brought made them truly valuable members of our teams. That’s by design, as we both demand a lot of our interns and strive to give them a lot in terms of mentorship, real-world experience and desirable skills.
While Riverside’s internship program is likely larger than those of many smaller companies, a strong fundamental approach can help make internships successful for all involved. For us, it includes:
Casting a wide net. We post intern opportunities on our website, social media and through more than 70 colleges and universities, including HBCUs and liberal arts schools that often fall outside the well-worn Ivy League pattern in much of our industry. This results in interns with a broad range of life experience and perspective that we believe makes us better as a whole.
Onboarding with care. Our Global Talent Management Team provides a formal orientation along with weekly sessions to keep interns on track and educate them about the broader Riverside. Both my Co-CEO, Béla Szigethy, and I enjoy presenting to them each year.
Growth opportunities. Each intern has a specific mentor, often a junior or mid-level employee who is likely more closely involved with the intern’s specific tasks. These mentors are invested in the interns’ success, held accountable for guiding them and are eager to share their wisdom.
Value at each step. We strive to give interns tasks that help them understand our business and industry better while also helping meet the needs of the firm. Interns become team members and our teams count on them to deliver.
Powerful training. We provide formal training through Wall Street Prep (WSP) and offer a year of ongoing access to its suite of offerings that interns can use well after the internship ends. This is in addition to formal and informal training that tends to happen daily during their experience with us.
Feedback that matters. We conduct both online and in-person exit interviews to uncover gaps in the process as well as strengths in the program.
Staying in touch. We keep track of all our past interns because finding great people is critical to any company’s success. The best interns often become excellent employees — and whether that’s with us or if we’re providing a well-documented referral, retaining a record of their time with us is important.
The cost of our internship program is significant. We pay our interns a fair wage for their work and don’t charge them for the significant benefits they receive. While it is hard to quantify the ROI for Riverside, we believe it is high — because of the excellent work they do while they are with us, for the energy they bring to our offices and because for the rest of their careers they will be walking and talking billboards for Riverside. We would estimate that several hundred interns have worked with us in our 37-year history. Several of them run major firms. Many of them remain friends of Riverside. And more than a few of them are with us now, having successful careers at Riverside.
The key to unlocking the value in an internship program is finding the win-win, where interns get an amazing and enriching experience and not just a line on their resume. Putting care into an intern program often provides lasting value to your company. ●
Stewart Kohl is Co-CEO of The Riverside Company
