YouTern is community that enables young talent to become highly employable by connecting them to high-impact internships and mentors – and through contemporary career advice found on our blog, The Savvy Intern.

General Information

Founded: September 2010
Services: Career advice, internships, mentorship
CEO: Mark Babbitt
Blog: The Savvy Intern
Twitter: @youtern
Facebook: facebook.com/youtern
Number of Employees: 10

SmartRecruiters wants to know: How do you make hiring easier? Mark Babbitt, CEO and Founder of YouTern had this to say:

YouTern is much more than a job board. Our followers and champions come to us expecting only the best mentor-based internship opportunities. We don’t promote “go-fer” or “fetch coffee and file” internships. Instead, we focus on mutually beneficial internship experiences where both the employer and intern can expect collaboration and contribution.

We support our community of young careerists, university career centers and all-star career experts though our #InternPro Chat (Mondays at 9pm ET) on Twitter, our weekly radio show, #InternPro Radio (Tuesdays at 9pm ET) and one of the fastest growing LinkedIn groups in the career space, InternPro.

1. Tell us a little about the history of YouTern.  

YouTern launched in 2010 in response to the dramatic unemployment and under-employment of Millennials; our job is to help young talent get jobs. We quickly became a go-to resource for young careerists entering the workforce. Our message of approaching career development with an entrepreneurial mindset was an instant success; shortly after our launch, we were named a “Top Online Community for Starting Your Career” by Mashable, and Forbes recently listed us as a “Top Website for Your Career.”  Our blog, The Savvy Intern, is now featured by over 500 university career centers.

2. How does YouTern’s service work?

Our job board matches employers and candidates through a proprietary algorithm that looks at the requirements of the company as well as the goals of the applicant. This matching process, in addition to the high standards we set for our community, drives highly qualified applicants to each posting. And through our constant and engaging presence on social media, word spreads quickly about internship opportunities posted on the site.

3. What are YouTern’s market differentiators?

Our biggest differentiator is our community. We don’t just advertise internships, like most job boards do. We consistently talk about what it takes to be successful. We share best practices. In the process, we attract only the best talent ready to contribute right now.

4. Why should hiring businesses use YouTern?

Organizations today just don’t have time to sort through hundreds of emails to find the perfect candidate; and that is where YouTern comes in. Where a Craigslist or big job board might deliver 100 or 200 applications – and only 5 of them are worth interviewing – YouTern delivers maybe 10 applications, and you’re likely to want to interview each of them. In addition, we have many sponsorship opportunities available that display your employer brand as a “must work for” organization.

5. What’s a fact we may not know about You Tern?

YouTern doesn’t just talk about the importance of mentorship in career development – we live it. Our CEO, Mark Babbitt, was named to GenJuice’s list of “Top 100 Most Desirable Mentors” and to Career Bliss’ “Top Gen Y Experts.” Mark has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Forbes and Under30CEO.com regarding career development, internships and higher education’s role in preparing emerging talent for the workforce.

For many good reasons, more and more companies are hiring interns as an efficient and economical resource. However, it seems many employers are struggling to hire the right intern – the one who will step in with some hustle, an entrepreneurial spirit and a great attitude – and make an immediate impact. After all, how do you know which is the best intern to pick when, by default, they have little or no work experience?

Our advice: focus on the soft skills most in demand at your organization.

Rather than eliminating a student or recent grad or anyone excited to learn because their work experience is limited to delivering pizza or working at their uncle’s office, seek out the personal attributes of the intern who will learn quickly – and contribute right away.

When hiring your next intern, consider these “Top 10” soft skills:

1. Passionate

First and foremost, you don’t want an intern to just go through the motions for the next twelve weeks. Your intern should be passionate about the company mission, perhaps the service or products offered – and certainly the opportunity. If not, the internship probably will not be a great experience – for them, or you.

2. Work Ethic

Even without experience listed on their resume, we can spot a person with work ethic (and those without) a mile away. It’s in their posture, and embedded in their body language and how they answer questions. An intern without work ethic is generally high maintenance – and is ultimately a drain on your organization’s resources.

3. Entrepreneurial
This almost goes without saying – but we’re saying it anyway: If your intern candidate is ambitious, the proverbial “go-getter”, and you can see him or her leading their own business or not-for-profit someday… you’ve got a winner. And where better for the intern to learn than with like-minded people already running a challenging team like yours?

4. Ability to Problem Solve

Today’s internships come with considerable responsibility; a successful intern must be incredibly resourceful in completing assignments – and meeting challenges. You’ll want to pick the intern who can solve these problems through logic, critical thinking and by considering input from other members of your team.

5. Self-Disciplined

The most successful interns are those disciplined enough meet project deadlines without constant reminders – and who can sometimes even determine their own tasks and work schedule. This is especially true in a virtual assignment; even an in-office internship, however, requires self-imposed focus and determination.

See also:

• 10 Most Common Illegal Interview Questions
• How to Interview Someone in the HR Industry
• 5 Non-Technical Interview Questions for Software Engineers

6. Independent

Working independently, especially in small teams and start-ups, is the norm. Your intern must be adept at working without direct supervision – and making decisions without the help of others – to complete the projects and initiatives assigned. Perhaps even more important, the independent-minded intern never waits to be told what to do… they always find a way to contribute.

7. A Leader

Depending on the role and unique skill set of the intern, when interviewing an intern you may ask them to lead entire initiatives at your company, freeing up existing resources for other critical projects. Taking on a leadership role is a natural fit for many young professionals entering the workforce (and a great opportunity for them to be noticed early in their career!).

8. Resilient
In today’s economy, many organizations are constantly trying new approaches to achieve goals. Survival often means quickly discarding ineffective initiatives and trying something different. Interns working in this dynamic environment must not get discouraged if their work is replaced with a new approach, or they are suddenly asked to change directions.

9. Versatile

In many companies and non-profits, everyone from the CEO to the interns must wear many hats – and must be flexible enough to handle various assignments. Call it multi-tasking if you will; those who excel in this area often find the work exhilarating – and thrive in a dynamic work environment.

10. Coachable

This is the “big one”! Today’s lean work environments typically do not allow for elongated learning curves. Feedback is often spontaneous, direct and brutally honest. While in the long-term this form of coaching is highly effective, short-term it can cause anxiety for those with thinner skins and temperamental egos. The coachable candidate, then, goes to the top of the “must hire” list!

As you’re reading though this list of characteristics – and making your own Top 10 list of desirable attributes for your next intern – please consider this: not even CEOs and Directors have ALL these character traits; don’t expect perfection. Instead, look for those candidates who complement your existing talent. After all, if you have applicants that show just a few of these amazing attributes during the application and interviewing process, you just may have a real winner – and a major contributor – ready to hire right now!

Mark Babbitt,  Founder and CEO of YouTern,  is a serial entrepreneur and mentor. He is passionate supporter of Gen Y talent.

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