How students can benefit from internships, is something that is discussed very often. However, interns in turn can be a valuable asset to a company. Creating a robust internship programme for your company can pay rich dividends.

Here are some of the advantages of hiring interns:

• It is a great way to bring fresh, youthful energy into your team. Interns are generally keen to learn and have a lot of new ideas that can inject greater life-force amongst the team members.
  
  
• Bright interns can ease the work load of the full-time employees and help them to concentrate on strategy and development, rather than get consumed by day-today office running.
  
  
• Interns can be hired at a lower cost and can be moulded as per the company’s requirement and culture. Moreover, the interns of today could blossom into the future permanent employees of the company.
  
  
• If you are looking for great brand advocates, enthusiastic interns may be the answer to your prayers. The new generation of students are extremely comfortable with technology and are usually quite social media savvy. They could be a great asset to promote your brand online.
  
  
• By hiring interns, companies in a way give back to the community by encouraging fresh talent and nurturing growth.
  
  
  

Given the advantages of hiring interns, it is important to explore forums where one can find suitable interns. Here are some portals that offer excellent internship seeking and applying opportunities:

1. Letsintern
   Letsintern allows users to search for internships in a particular field or city. The website has a simple registration process. Employers who are searching for interns with certain specific skills or within a certain field will find this site most useful.
   
   
   
2. Firstnaukri.com
   Firstnaukri offers employers different ways of interacting with prospective interns such as Knowledge Sessions, Webinars and Pre-Placement Talks. Due to its large database of interns, this is a popular forum for employers to find suitable interns.
   
   
   
3. Internshala
   The USP of this portal is that it is not only a forum for internships but also offers many online and classroom training programmes. This is a great resource for interns who are looking to widen their skill-set. Clear demarcation of internship by streams and practical training programmes, makes this a popular portal for employers search for interns with specific skills.
   
   
   
4. Interestship
   As the name suggests, this portal helps people to choose a field or job based on their interests. The rationale is simple. If you do what you love, you are more likely to prosper and grow. This approach to internship ensures that employers find interns who have given careful thought to their chosen field and are likely to therefore be more engaged and competent.

In a recent discussion on GlobalLinker, Ayesha Saini enquired about the best forums to hire interns and apply for internships. The ensuing discussion inspired us to write this article. Share with us your experience and views on hiring interns.