Getting the Most Out of Interns

"It's just like any job interview," he says. "You're looking for personality fit. Did we connect? Did they have the skills we were looking for? That's how you get the best of the best."

Keep in mind that the best of the best are in high demand and start-ups are often at a disadvantage. "It's harder for small companies to find high-caliber interns," says Kase. "Often, interns are attracted to large companies because that name is the one that will go on their resumes." Small firms must take extra time to craft an internship experience that will truly benefit the student's career. In other words, forget about getting someone to make coffee and do the filing.

At Chic Boutique, a Santa Barbara, Calif., designer of fashion dolls -- think Barbie with an attitude -- managing partner Sarah Nguyen almost always has an intern or two helping her full-time staff of 12. She promises an experience they won't find anywhere in their studies -- or at most other companies. Her two current interns, one a 25-year-old fashion student, the other the 14-year-old daughter of her creative director, are helping launch a line of cosmetics, pitching in on everything from brainstorming ideas to helping to create packaging.

In addition to being a source of inexpensive, enthusiastic labor, Nguyen looks at interns as potential future employees. Her current director of product development began as an intern nine years ago -- a fact that helps entice potential interns.

Keep in mind that interns don't have to morph into employees immediately. "When they leave, they go back and study and learn more about the industry," Nguyen says.

Interns may be cheap, but they're not free. That's right: You need to pay at least minimum wage to remain within the bounds of the law, says Eileen Levitt, president of the HR Team, a Columbia, Md., company that provides outsourced HR for small businesses. "If someone is working for you and is not being paid, what's that called? Something that was outlawed in the 1860s," she says.