It’s in distributors’ best interest to show students a well-rounded view of what their companies are about, according to Brenda Jochum, internship director at the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s industrial distribution program. Don’t just offer students busywork, she says in College Recruiting: Go Beyond Career Fairs.

Kevin Kampe, president of Womack Machine Supply, Farmers Branch, TX, says interns at the industrial distributor work on a “significant project” and are allocated resources they need to “attack the project.”

“Having a really strong intern program helps in giving those kids a flavor of what the company would be like to work for,” he says. If they only get experience in busywork, that’s all they know how to do when they enter the workforce permanently.

Learn more about internships and working with colleges to recruit talent in College Recruiting: Go Beyond Career Fairs.