Guyton also lists some basic steps an advisory firm can take:
Get ready to receive an intern. A successful internship program should create an environment that's beneficial to both the intern and the firm, Guyton says. That means, for instance, that the firm should set aside 30 to 50 minutes each week to meet with the intern to discuss their role and their performance, and to receive feedback.
Guyton says firms should also have a set of written procedures for working with clients. This, he says, makes it easier to assign interns jobs such as inputting data, preparing an agenda for a review meeting, updating portfolio reports or drafting a follow-up letter from a review meeting.
"If these are things you do already, it makes it a lot easier to take a skilled person and plug them into the process," he says.
Know what you're looking for. Deciding on an intern's duties before selecting a person for the position is crucial, says Guyton. For example, is a firm looking for someone with an analytical background to do behind-the-scenes work? Or will the intern play a role in working with clients or observing advisor/client meetings, in which case people skills will be helpful? Should an intern be proficient in Microsoft Office walking in the door, or is the firm willing to train them? Firms need to realize, Guyton says, that students majoring in financial planning and those with a finance major will have different skills to offer. He cited the experience of one planner in California who decided hiring finance majors as interns was the wrong way to go. "He said it took him three months to convince them that being a financial planner was a good thing," Guyton says. "He finally said, 'I'm sick of doing that. I want financial planning majors.' They come in already having made a decision that this is a career they're at least interested in."
Follow a smart hiring process. Firms should insist that their interns have either completed or enrolled in a CFP-registered program, unless there is no area institution with those programs. Guyton says the reason for this is twofold. First, it provides the firm with someone who has an interest in the field. Second, he says, it provides a point of entry into the field for an intern with a serious interest in the financial planning profession. "When these opportunities are available, you need to be sure they go to the folks who have already made an investment in learning about financial planning," Guyton says. "Once you get it down to a couple of top candidates, screen them the way you would any prospective employee.