Norm Boone's Employer Tips

Practical Advice for Selecting and Employing Interns   

 If you’re an employer setting up an internship program for the first time or refining an existing one, consider these pointers from Norm Boone, CFP, gained from six years of structuring successful internship programs: 

First Steps-   Be clear about your needs and expectations, be psychologically prepared to delegate and share your time, and have specific projects lined up on the front-end.  Be willing to devote time and provide feedback to projects that arise from the student’s own interests.  In other words, give in order to get. 

Firm Size -  Even one-person shops may benefit from an intern, but firms with three people or more have the critical mass and infrastructure to get the best return. 

Duration-   Three months is the minimum professional intern engagement and six to 12 months afford even greater contribution.  A three-month horizon enables interns to devote one month to each of our standardized training modules in Client Services, Financial Planning, and Investments. 

Recruitment Sources-   Take advantage of all sources.  Besides the Principia connection, most of our hiring has been opportunistic, based on telephone inquiries and personal contacts at FPA-SF meetings.  All the people we’ve hired knew how to sell their strengths. 

When To Hire-  The best time to hire a student intern is halfway or more through their CFP course work.   

Career Tracks-   Two career paths should be available: the all-important financial planning track and the advisory path for technically competent, sales-oriented professionals.

Career Progression-   A possible career path may consist of one year in Client Services, two years in Financial Planning, and two years as an Associate Advisor. 

Professional Interns-:    Professional interns are on a faster trajectory than student interns and get involved more quickly in mutual fund research, writing investment policy statements, dealing with custodians, trading, and reviewing tax returns and trust documents. 

Feedback-   Ongoing, even instant, feedback is as effective as formal evaluations and sometimes easier to integrate with daily processes. 

Winning Intern Traits-   Having a passion for financial planning, strong intellect, and being a quick study are keys to intern success.