Here at #CSUSocial, we have nine student co-creators, and each provide different skills, expertise and creativity. We say it every day: We couldn’t do what we do without our student co-creators. After creating alongside students for the last few years, I’ve come up with a couple tips for working with student co-creators.
1. Take your time onboarding
Often, we hire students to help us push our social media content to the next level, and aid in the mountain of work we face each day as social media managers. As tempting as it is to set students free as soon as HR gives the green light, it’s important to slow down and take your time to properly onboard them first.
Onboarding can look a lot of different ways, and can include things like:
- Expectations: Clearly lay out what is expected of the student co-creator, and share/repeat this information in multiple ways (talking, printed copy, email, etc.). Then, be consistent in your expectations.
- Team culture and overall mission: Why do you do what you do? And how do you engage with each other to accomplish that mission?
- Goals: Share the goals for your team’s work, and discuss what goals the student co-creator has. Then, develop a pathway toward achieving those goals.
- Strategy: Bring the students in on your social media strategy so they can understand the big picture and what they’re helping you work toward.
- Practice makes perfect: Work closely with students on their first projects and help guide their process. The more feedback and direction you can provide in these early projects will aid in their independence later down the road.
- Share resources: This can be shared equipment, editing software, digital asset management tools, URL shorteners, project management tools, etc.
- Team building activities: I know, nobody is a fan of these. But they don’t have to be anxiety inducing. Pizza parties and personality quizzes can be just as effective.
2. Set goals (for them and their work)
As I mentioned above, it’s a good idea to set both personal and work-related goals.
For example, maybe one of our students’ goals is to reach X amount of followers on TikTok by the end of the academic year. Or, maybe they want to increase engagement by X%. These are all work-related goals. Go beyond that to determine a few of their personal goals, as well. Maybe they want to create three videos they’re proud of to include in their portfolio before graduation. Or perhaps their goal is to create an analytics report for leadership.
Internships should be mutually beneficial: to help your team and to help prepare them for job hunting once they graduate. Understand their goals and assist them in achieving them.
3. Be realistic about expectations
Student co-creators are extremely talented, and I often find myself wanting to give them more responsibility. And while they’re capable, they are students.
They’re juggling school, additional jobs, friends, family and more. And expectations should be set accordingly. Instead of piling on the work, base their responsibilities on their interests and goals – as well as some of those tasks that just need to be done.
It’s also important to remember students have a lot more unpredictability in their lives, and school should always come before work. That means there might be weeks they can’t work as many hours or take on as many projects. Be understanding and flexible, and help them set themselves up for success by creating a timeline that allows them to get their work done with plenty of time to spare before busier weeks.
4. Set weekly 1:1s and IRL
We give our student co-creators a lot of flexibility in their work schedules so they can go out and create content when they have time in their schedules. Because they’re out and about so often, it’s important for us to set weekly 1:1s to touch base on projects, assist in ideation, and provide direction and resources.
Pro tip: At the end of the meeting, follow up with an email about what you discussed. Or, ask them to send you an email outlining meeting outcomes.
5. Meet them where they are
Gen Z grew up with technology, and because of that, they’re used to communicating in multiple ways: text, email, Snapchat, Zoom, etc. It’s great to introduce students to professional communication practices, like email, Teams and Slack. But it’s also important to meet them where they are and leave lines of communication open when possible.
When it comes to social media, we can’t solely rely on communicating via email between 8 and 5, and our student co-creators know they can reach out to me via email, text, phone or in office whenever they need to. Being as accessible as possible helps them feel supported and keeps our content timeline on track.
That being said, it’s also a good idea to set boundaries. Students are often available after business hours. That doesn’t mean you have to be, too. While students are always welcome to contact me, I let them know I will get back to them during work hours (unless it’s an emergency). This allows me to give myself permission to set work/life boundaries, but also work within our students’ schedules, too.
6. Give them a seat (and voice) at the table
Gone are the days where student interns take coffee orders and make copies (or should be). Students are creative, intelligent and capable. They should not just be given a seat at the table, but a voice, too, especially in the world of social media.
Students know what our audience is interested in seeing on Instagram and TikTok…because a large part of our target audience is current and prospective students.
Encourage them to bring their ideas, no matter how “out there” they think they might be, and take time to consider them. Sure, Photoshopping CAM the Ram onto the top of a mountain while singing a song might seem wacky, but it also might lead to hundreds of thousands of views, too 😉
@coloradostateuniversity
7. Be open to change and taking risks, while providing structure and guidance
Students bring a lot of energy and creativity to the team. Our job is to harness that creativity into content that uplifts our organizations. Instead of saying no, work with them on ways to adjust their idea to fit within the brand.
Sometimes, you just have to say no. And that’s okay, too! If you do say no, don’t leave it at that. Have a conversation with them about why their idea doesn’t align with the brand or their content doesn’t meet brand standards. This is all part of their development and will help them when they go into the workforce post graduation.
However, you’ll often find their ideas, suggestions for new processes, and proposed strategic shifts are successful.
8. Create a flexible work schedule
…when possible. Many of these students entered adulthood as the world was changing with COVID, and they got used to flexible work structures (working remotely, working outside of normal business hours, etc.). Work with them to create a schedule that works for you both. For us, this means a lot of flexibility in when and where they work. However, weekly meetings and (some) events are non-negotiable.
9. Don’t pigeonhole them into specific tasks
As with any employee, we often find that the students we hire have their own unique passions, interests and strengths. Figure out what those are over time and nurture it. Sure, there will always be tasks we all have to do at work that we might find boring or don’t enjoy. But finding a student’s strengths and developing those as much as you can will lead to better work, better engagement, and a happier student.
10. Pay them
Please, please, please pay your student workers. We must be part of the culture shift of expecting students to work for free. Not only is it unfair to expect anyone to work for free (especially with rising tuition and cost of living), but it also prevents historically disadvantaged students (like first generation students and students of lower socioeconomic status) from getting the opportunity to gain experience that will help them land a job after graduation.
Student success doesn’t just include internship experience and a good education, it also requires food security and rent.
11. Positive reinforcement
Whether it’s saying a simple “good job,” a thoughtful “thank you” email, or organizing an awards ceremony at the end of the year, remember to provide positive reinforcement and recognition — and provide it often!
We all appreciate being appreciated, and that includes our student workers who often feel unsure of themselves. When they create an awesome video, go above and beyond, or help a teammate with a project, be sure to recognize that effort. Every time.
12. Get good at writing recommendation letters and being a reference
Internships are a gateway to full-time jobs. Get ready to be asked for a lot of recommendation letters and to serve as a student’s reference.
Tip: Remember the tip above about positive reinforcement? Make notes about each student whenever you recognize their efforts. This will help you write that recommendation letter or guide you when you serve as a reference. Also, there’s no shame in making templates for your recommendation letters. Create a shell of a recommendation letter that you can easily personalize to each student. Templates save time, friends.
13. Exit interviews
When it comes to student interns, turnover is real. Graduation weekend is a constant reminder that it’s time to start looking for new students to fill the big shoes your graduates have left behind to fill. But before you post that open position, take time to meet with your graduating students for an exit interview. This could be during your last 1:1, or it could be via email or in a survey.
Ask them what went well and what they enjoyed. And don’t be afraid to ask them how they think the internship could be improved or struggles they faced along the way. Not sure what to ask? Google has endless suggestions of exit interview questions.
Kind reminder: No boss is perfect, and we shouldn’t put pressure on ourselves to be perfect. Be open to constructive criticism, and take feedback seriously and with grace.
Bonus tip: Snacks
This goes back to student success. Sometimes, students’ schedules are too busy and they don’t have time to eat. Or, maybe they’re facing food insecurity. Whatever the reason, keep snacks at your desk and offer them to students (if it’s within your personal budget, of course). If it’s not within your budget, maybe it’s something your office can provide. Be the person you needed growing up.