Woo! Go interns! Although I agree with the extended interview part, I also see it as a chance for a company to get it’s temporary work done without having to give the employee benefits or go through the pain of having to get rid of him once (sometimes “if”) the work is done. School does it for them.

interns – ah. i’m interested in seeing what is going to come through the door (and new-hires)…although engineering interns are … engineers. right now i’m passively trying to work my way into the business sector. that’s where the money is. and conveniently enough, the babes are there too…

oh – and interns are by no means cheaper than full-time help. the amount of money it takes to set up and run the programs is very large compared to hiring new guys to cover the work that interns *might* finish. if it weren’t for the fact that interns were getting screened during their stay, i imagine the programs probably would fall apart in short order (or at least shrink).

oh – and i have a feeling that my company [and economic sector] might be going through a few job cuts sooner than later. we’re hiring 50% less new-hires this year fresh from college, and i remember a few other notable companies doing the same last summer. ridiculous…

My CEO recently wrote an article talking about how he uses internships as an extended interview and recruitment tool for Inc Magazine (available online http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070501/column-guest.html, but without the great picture of me and my colleagues — http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/04/25b.html). Sorry to hear about the layoffs, though.