How to hire a business internship

How to hire a business internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business internship hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a business internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new business internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a business internship do?

Post a business internship job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your business internship job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a business internship for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect business internship also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of business interns.

   Type of Business Internship	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Internship		$12-21
   Summer Analyst	Summer analysts are people who undertake an internship within a banking institution. These professionals perform analyses of detailed financial and corporate information... Show more	$20-49
   Market Analyst Internship	When it comes to a marketing analyst internship, an intern primarily follows a senior or a more experienced officer's directives. Most of their tasks will revolve around processing paperwork, maintaining records and databases, participating in research and analyses, and assisting senior analysts in various projects... Show more	$18-48

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Power Bi
   • Visualization
   • Data Analysis
   • Project Management
   • Business Operations
   • Human Resources
   • First Hand
   • Python
   • Data Entry
   • BI
   • Financial Statements
   • SAS
   • Market Research

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage BDC department and handle all inbound and outbound traffic from phone and internet leads.
   • Develop multiple macros in VBA to automate processes that allow reports to run more efficiently.
   • Manage a handful of the company's YouTube accounts in regards to judging if copyright infringement have been compromise.
   • Develop a database tool with VBA and SQL to automate the importing, archiving, and storing of client data.
   • Assist business clients with managing their wireless accounts; troubleshoot wireless devices and offer effective solutions to enhance their business.
   • Create dashboards in Salesforce and manage all relate documentation

   More business internship duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your business internship job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A business internship can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, business interns' average salary in arkansas is 36% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level business interns 39% less than senior-level business interns.
   • Certifications. A business internship with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a business internship's salary.

   Average business internship salary

   $35,282yearly

   $16.96 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business internship salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average business internship salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$40,408	$19
   2	Illinois	$40,291	$19
   3	Rhode Island	$39,869	$19
   4	Pennsylvania	$39,776	$19
   5	Washington	$39,586	$19
   6	California	$39,104	$19
   7	Massachusetts	$38,651	$19
   8	New York	$37,760	$18
   9	Wisconsin	$36,664	$18
   10	Virginia	$36,648	$18
   11	Minnesota	$35,579	$17
   12	Delaware	$35,057	$17
   13	District of Columbia	$34,169	$16
   14	Arizona	$33,710	$16
   15	North Carolina	$33,547	$16
   16	Kansas	$33,539	$16
   17	Nevada	$33,352	$16
   18	Colorado	$33,284	$16
   19	Nebraska	$32,956	$16
   20	Georgia	$32,806	$16

   Average business internship salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Sandia National Labs	$51,622	$24.82	69
   2	HP	$50,051	$24.06	12
   3	Baker Hughes	$48,006	$23.08	5
   4	Salesforce	$47,937	$23.05	4
   5	SAP	$46,037	$22.13	75
   6	Deloitte	$46,034	$22.13	235
   7	Cubic	$45,798	$22.02	1
   8	Ernst & Young	$45,476	$21.86	277
   9	VMware	$45,357	$21.81
   10	Alliant Energy	$42,530	$20.45
   11	Teledyne Technologies Incorporated	$42,380	$20.38	7
   12	Intel	$42,060	$20.22	4
   13	KPMG LLP	$41,706	$20.05	32
   14	Tucson Electric Power	$40,989	$19.71	2
   15	Seagate Technology	$40,940	$19.68	4
   16	USAA	$40,778	$19.60	30
   17	International Rescue Committee	$40,244	$19.35
   18	Palo Alto Networks	$39,876	$19.17	12
   19	Quorum International	$39,696	$19.08
   20	RubinBrown	$39,552	$19.02	11

4. Writing a business internship job description

   A business internship job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a business internship job description:

   Business internship job description example

   Founded in 1985, SelectQuote provides solutions that help consumers protect their most valuable assets: their families, health and property. The company pioneered the model of providing unbiased comparisons from multiple, highly rated insurance companies allowing consumers to choose the policy and terms that best meet their unique needs. Two foundational pillars underpin SelectQuote's success: a strong force of highly trained and skilled agents, who provide consultative needs analysis for every consumer, and proprietary technology that sources and routes high-quality leads. The company has three core business lines: SelectQuote Senior, SelectQuote Life and SelectQuote Auto and Home. SelectQuote Senior, the largest and fastest-growing business, serves the needs of a demographic that sees 10,000 people turn 65 each day with a range of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans.
   
   The goal of the SelectQuote internship program is to provide an opportunity to develop industry-related knowledge, and enhance skills that are transferable to any type of professional setting. No matter what your skills and professional experience, a SelectQuote internship is a chance to develop them even further. For this reason along with the day to day intern duties SelectQuote interns will work together on a multitude of special projects, community events, and fun activities throughout the duration of the internship program. The balance of the day-to-day work along with diverse projects, and community involvement will provide our interns with a well-rounded learning experience that will enhance their overall professional development. This is a paid position.
   Essential Function:
   
   + Analyze company performance history to determine optimum levels of productivity, helping to minimize waste.
   
   + Become familiar with customer relationship management software (SelectCare).
   
   + Perform SQL queries for real time updates on reporting requests.
   
   + Develop and maintain responsibility for performance and metric reporting on an historical basis.
   
   + Identify workflow/system improvements and present solutions to management team.
   
   + Provide analytical support for best business practices across all company departments (Finance, Marketing, Sales, etc.).
   
   + Produce clear and concise presentations regarding projects and other assigned tasks.
   
   + Provide analysis for strategic initiatives through modeling and sensitivity tool usage.
   
   Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
   
   + Possess a positive outlook and friendly attitude.
   
   + Ability to receive coaching and a desire to enhance learning.
   
   + Has a self-starter attitude with a high level of motivation.
   
   + Ability to adapt and use new technologies in the workplace.
   
   + High level of attention to detail while providing accurate data aligned with departmental standards.
   
   Training & Experience:
   
   + Currently enrolled in Junior or Senior year of college/university
   
   + Degree focused in Economics, Business, or related field
   
   Won the 2020 award for "Best Place to Work" by Kansas City Business Journal - our culture is one of innovation, collaboration and continuous learning, all centered around promise to save our customers time and money. SelectQuote has experienced rapid growth in recent years but always keeps a positive workplace culture with open communication across departments and a commitment to inclusion, diversity, and innovation as a main priority.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find business interns for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any business interns they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level business interns with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your business internship job on Zippia to find and recruit business internship candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting business interns requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new business internship

   Once you've found the business internship candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new business internship first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a business internship?