What if the internships that shaped today’s top leaders were actually missing the one lesson that matters most?
As CEOs and HR trailblazers look back on coffee runs and endless photocopying, a provocative pattern emerges: the skills that truly propelled their careers—strategic thinking, client empathy, energy management—were rarely taught.
This HR Spotlight dares to ask the question every organization should fear: are we still training tomorrow’s leaders with yesterday’s playbook?
From reverse mentoring to trauma-informed grounding, from system-thinking rotations to owning real projects from day one, these veterans reveal the gaps they once stumbled through—and the radical fixes they’ve built into programs that now produce confident, impact-ready talent in months instead of years.
In 2025’s race for the next generation of leaders, their stories prove one thing: the best internships don’t create helpers—they create heirs.
Read on!
Ryan Grambart
Founder & President, World Copper Smith
I’ve concentrated on developing a more organized and compelling internship program.
I believe it’s essential to offer interns practical experience that corresponds with their interests and professional aspirations.
We’ve incorporated frequent feedback sessions and mentorship chances, resulting in a significant improvement.
Interns experience greater support and connection with our team.
A fundamental lesson I wish I had learned sooner is the significance of transparent communication.
I think creating a space where interns can express their ideas and inquiries results in a more fruitful experience for all participants.
The focus is on establishing trust and promoting development.
When interns feel at ease expressing their thoughts, we all gain from new viewpoints and creativity.
In general, I’ve observed not only their abilities develop, but also our whole team’s dynamics improve concurrently.
Open Talk Turns Interns into Innovators
Tracey Beveridge
HR Director, Personnel Checks.
Internships aren’t just about getting some free labor – they can be powerful collaborations to help a young person grow, while learning from them and embracing their enthusiasm.
The key thing we have implemented in our internship programs is a real focus on mentors, not only to benefit the internee but also to reignite energy in longer serving employees.
Spending time with a more experienced employee is a great way for the intern to pick up tips and tricks, and learn new perspectives which can help them develop into future roles.
Mentors also report having a renewed sense of purpose, and fresh approach to elements of their job.
Rather than just getting the intern to just sit and staple booklets, make cold calls or do some admin, it’s really valuable for everybody to get them involved, learning and contributing.
Mentors Reignite Passion Both Ways
Drawing from 40+ years growing my business, I’ve learned that real success for interns comes from genuine team integration and direct impact.
The single most overlooked lesson I wish internships drilled into me early: thriving inside a people-centric, small-team environment, where every hand’s visible and every win or mistake counts. Corporate internships usually keep you on the sidelines, but I found real growth starts when people get tossed into teamwork and business problem-solving from day one.
That’s why I built our internship program to go beyond shadowing.
Every intern here rotates across real roles on multi-generational teams, tasked with meaningful projects and mentored in-the-moment—not just tested at the end.
Reverse mentoring is crucial: interns coach us on fresh tools while learning streetwise business from veterans.
It energizes everyone and leads to process upgrades—last year, 27% of improvements sparked directly from intern-led changes.
Even our feedback is live—after each main task, we all discuss what worked right away, so interns quickly see that their insights matter for real.
Our approach doubled the odds of interns joining us full-time, because they leave not just with a line on a résumé but with hard-earned, adaptable skills for any business setting.
Real Teams, Real Impact from Day One
Yusuf Najat Abolade
Founder, DCMJobConnect
Looking back, I wish my early internships had taught me the power of strategic thinking—how to go beyond ticking tasks off a list and instead, ask why each task mattered.
That lesson was missing, and I often felt like a helper, not a contributor.
Today, as the founder of DCMJobConnect.ng, a growing career platform focused on empowering job seekers and interns, I’ve built our internship program around intentional growth.
Every intern is assigned ownership of a project tied directly to business outcomes.
We guide them to think critically, present solutions, and measure their impact.
Weekly reflection sessions and mentor check-ins make the experience not just task-based, but transformative.
Interns leave not just with experience, but clarity, confidence, and a stronger professional identity.
Project Ownership Sparks Strategic Minds
Emily Demirdonder
Director of Operations & Marketing, Proximity Plumbing
In my early internship days, I wish someone had really emphasized the importance of open communication and being able to adapt quickly to a fast-paced environment.
Back then, I was thrown into roles where I had to manage multiple tasks without being equipped with the right tools or support.
I was left to figure things out on my own, which led to a lot of unnecessary stress and inefficiency.
Now, when I run our internship program at Proximity Plumbing, I make sure interns are constantly supported and encouraged to ask questions.
They get detailed training in communication skills and are paired with a mentor who checks in with them regularly.
We also ensure they understand the full scope of their responsibilities, not just the tasks at hand.
I believe this approach not only helps them perform better but also prepares them for the real demands of a job.
Safe Questions Build Confident Adaptors
Dave Symons
Managing Director, Dashsymons
After building DASH Symons from 2 people to 20 over 15 years, I realized early on that traditional apprenticeships miss the critical connection between technical skills and real-world problem solving.
Most programs teach you to install equipment, but not how to think through complex integrated systems.
I wish my early training had emphasized system integration thinking – understanding how security cameras, access control, electrical, and networking all work together.
Instead of learning trades in isolation, I had to figure out these connections through expensive trial and error on actual client sites.
Now at DASH, our interns rotate through every department for their first 6 months.
When we bring someone on, they spend time with our electricians, then network installation, then system programming.
This way, when they’re troubleshooting a failed camera system, they understand it might be a power issue, network problem, or software configuration – not just the camera itself.
The result is dramatically better problem-solving skills.
Our recent intern identified a client’s recurring access control failures were actually caused by inconsistent power delivery, something a single-trade approach would have missed completely.
Cross-Department Rotation Crushes Silos
Utkala Maringanti
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, Revive Intimacy
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, I’ve seen how early supervision experiences can make or break a clinician’s development.
During my own training, I craved more hands-on practice with real-world scenarios rather than just theoretical discussions.
Now under Heather McPhearson’s supervision at Revive Intimacy, we’ve restructured our approach to include weekly role-playing sessions with actual client scenarios.
Instead of traditional case presentations, supervisees practice difficult conversations—like addressing sexual trauma or navigating LGBTQIA+ affirming care—in real-time with immediate feedback.
The game-changer has been our “cultural competency challenges” where supervisors work through cases involving diverse backgrounds, religious considerations, and non-traditional relationship structures.
One supervisee recently shared how practicing these scenarios helped her confidently support a polyamorous couple when the situation arose with actual clients.
We also implemented peer consultation groups where supervisors learn from each other’s experiences with complex cases involving ADHD, sexual dysfunction, or family dynamics.
This creates the collaborative learning environment I wished I’d had earlier in my career.
Role-Play Therapy Forges Real Clinicians
Adam Krolikowski
Attorney, Krolikowski Law
Dropped: Throwing interns into complex legal research without teaching them how to think like lawyers first.
Early in my career, I was handed case law and told to “figure it out” – which taught me research skills but not legal reasoning.
Adopted: Starting interns with client communication fundamentals before any case work.
I realized from handling employment and personal injury cases that the best lawyers aren’t just researchers – they’re translators who can explain complex legal matters clearly to scared, injured people.
Now our interns spend their first two weeks shadowing client consultations and learning to assess communication skills – the same evaluation process I use when advising people to choose attorneys.
They practice explaining legal concepts in plain English before diving into statutes.
This mirrors how I had to learn to connect with diverse clients across Northern and Southern California.
The result? Our interns contribute meaningfully to cases faster and actually understand why they’re researching specific precedents.
They’re not just finding cases – they’re building arguments that serve real people who need justice.
Client Voice Before Case Law
Jessie Eli
Founder, Dermal Era SPA
While I don’t run a traditional internship program at Dermal Era, I mentor women entrepreneurs through Woman 360, and the biggest gap I see is the disconnect between technical skills and intuitive business sense.
When I built my spa from scratch as a single mom, I had massage therapy training but zero understanding of energy management—both personal and business.
Now when I mentor aspiring women in wellness, I start them with meditation and self-regulation practices before diving into business fundamentals.
One mentee was burning out trying to launch her practice until we implemented daily 10-minute grounding sessions. Her client retention improved 40% within two months because she wasn’t operating from survival mode.
The key lesson I wish someone had taught me early: your nervous system state directly impacts your business success.
I integrate trauma-informed approaches into all my mentoring because you can’t build sustainably while dysregulated.
Every woman I work with learns breathwork alongside marketing strategy.
Calm Nervous Systems, Build Empires
The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.
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